- Joined
- Jan 7, 2013
- Posts
- 4,245
I think you all know, that I know, this is the last place for real life to be taken seriously. Anyway, shit's serious right now.
Last year I was encouraged by an old friend and coworker to apply at a company he'd been working at for a few years. I had always had a good working and personal relationship with the dude, and about a year ago the company offered me a solid pay bump to come over. I interviewed and took the job, and I actually was excited about taking it.
The good stops there. The supervisor I was under, which was the same boss as my old "friend" reported to, was immediately awful. She literally told me on my first shift that she didn't enjoy engineering and only got a degree in it because her teachers told her to. I can deal with that if someone is good with people, but, she didn't exactly have a passion for being a good people manager either. She pulled so much shady stuff, tried to put me on an "unofficial not a PIP PIP" 91 days into employment, and then denied me HR access for the "unofficial" performance meeting. I knew this was shady, I'm not dumb. This same manager also reported me to HR for failing to record sick days when I had a gas leak at my house, informed her directly, and literally reported all of the days. My old "friend" at the time told me this was all classic behavior for her, she had probably been in trouble before, and told me detailed stories of her retaliating against people; especially ones who used any health leave like FMLA.
I filed an internal complaint with plenty of evidence of her behaviour and retaliation. She questioned my dental work, was mad that I missed time for a covid vaccine. Reporting it internally was my first mistake. They put on a good show in training to make you comfortable reporting it to them; clearly so they can dodge liability, but still. Credit where it's due I guess; I should have just sued then. Their internal ethics board told me over and over they had to keep interviewing more people for evidence. In all actuality they deemed they should just wait 2 months to tell me my case was entirely unfounded, nobody could corroborate it, and ignored the screenshots etc. The HR rep that called me to tell me I absolutely -definitely was not discriminated against- under any circumstance thought it wise to literally start yelling at me when I questioned her. Subsequently I had my doctor write an ADA request (I have a disability and the job knew this) and unsurprisingly I was fired in retaliation my next shift, citing only performance. The state unemployment board has already ruled the performance argument cannot be substantiated by the employer and they didn't give me a proper PIP. So I should be receiving unemployment, but I lost the last 5 weeks on a technicality. Even if I were getting that money, which I might eventually (that determination helps, but the last 5 weeks may be a loss), it's at best 20% of my income. Nothing I can live on, not even close. But it might keep the lights on.
I did good to re-save after buying a house in 2018. I went into last year with a savings account in pretty good financial shape. Last year though we saw a good $35,000 in roof replacement and "the last owner didn't give a shit about building code and we kind of have to do this" repairs. We made it through it, but our savings was essentially deleted into the house itself, and I was actually in the middle of underwriting to restructure those loans when my job decided to fire me. They knew; they're planning on me being the average American who can't withstand a $500 emergency. I already have a lawyer and EEOC appointment, they know I am coming.
I can take a $500 emergency, but right now it's more like I've withstood $5000 and then some. As we say in our house when you're taking hits left and right, "my character is fuckin blinking right now." When I was let go I was supposed to get a full check; got half. Was supposed to get my earned vacation time; they said I had earned 4 days and used 3 (Absolute BS). My wife and I both signed a notarized release for over $10,000 (after taxes) of retirement funds, to be paid a month ago, as explicitly noted in their notarized release we completed and returned. I have received nothing, except a bill for $3600 for 2 months of health care, due in May. After repeated phone calls that they are in breach of written agreements, all they will say is that there is an "undocumented 45 day delay for lump sum payments, it is not documented in the pension plan. Once that 45 day period ends, the month in which it falls has to end, and then we can pay you. So that will be.... June."
I have to have health care, my wife and I both, obviously. For those of you lucky enough not to be in America, COBRA allows you to keep "healhcare" if you lose your job, but it's mad expensive. You have to pay whatever you and your job were paying in premiums, and you have 45 days to start making payments to keep health care; I think you see where that's going with the whole undocumented pension delay. It's nothing if I have my retirement funds, it's crippling if they get away with holding them till June, which it's almost certain they will.
At this point I've been selling things off but it seems like so little. Like, I am in "pick a whole ass hobby to liquidate to relieve financial stress even though I earned this shit my whole life" mode. If I had my retirement money I was entitled to last month, I wouldn't even be in a hard place whatsoever. We've had to rebudget for worst case when I got fired, worse case when they took my vacation pay, and worst worst case when they held our pension in breach of something we both signed (my wife and I). It was workable until the last one, now, I really don't know how the hell I am going to get by until June. I did get a meeting with the EEOC in June to get a right to sue letter, because in America, you can't sue for this without a letter of permission (literally, I have to obtain a "right to sue" letter). Given that, I can't even sue for severance until at least June either. And just obtaining an EEOC appointment took weeks of trying, every day, just to schedule a single one. I literally had to tell myself that automating the checking for an appointment in that kind of system would be unethical on my own part, so I tried at random hours every day. Finally at 3AM one day I got the appointment and fell asleep. That already seems ages ago.
It's some good news that I finally got a job interview, but the IT market is fucked right now. It's the only actual interview I've gotten, even with references at lots of companies, and If I take this (which I probably will) it's "contract to probably-not-hire," maybe a year engagement, and a 30% pay cut. The actual work is something I'm good at, at least. Silver lining I guess.
Last year I was encouraged by an old friend and coworker to apply at a company he'd been working at for a few years. I had always had a good working and personal relationship with the dude, and about a year ago the company offered me a solid pay bump to come over. I interviewed and took the job, and I actually was excited about taking it.
The good stops there. The supervisor I was under, which was the same boss as my old "friend" reported to, was immediately awful. She literally told me on my first shift that she didn't enjoy engineering and only got a degree in it because her teachers told her to. I can deal with that if someone is good with people, but, she didn't exactly have a passion for being a good people manager either. She pulled so much shady stuff, tried to put me on an "unofficial not a PIP PIP" 91 days into employment, and then denied me HR access for the "unofficial" performance meeting. I knew this was shady, I'm not dumb. This same manager also reported me to HR for failing to record sick days when I had a gas leak at my house, informed her directly, and literally reported all of the days. My old "friend" at the time told me this was all classic behavior for her, she had probably been in trouble before, and told me detailed stories of her retaliating against people; especially ones who used any health leave like FMLA.
I filed an internal complaint with plenty of evidence of her behaviour and retaliation. She questioned my dental work, was mad that I missed time for a covid vaccine. Reporting it internally was my first mistake. They put on a good show in training to make you comfortable reporting it to them; clearly so they can dodge liability, but still. Credit where it's due I guess; I should have just sued then. Their internal ethics board told me over and over they had to keep interviewing more people for evidence. In all actuality they deemed they should just wait 2 months to tell me my case was entirely unfounded, nobody could corroborate it, and ignored the screenshots etc. The HR rep that called me to tell me I absolutely -definitely was not discriminated against- under any circumstance thought it wise to literally start yelling at me when I questioned her. Subsequently I had my doctor write an ADA request (I have a disability and the job knew this) and unsurprisingly I was fired in retaliation my next shift, citing only performance. The state unemployment board has already ruled the performance argument cannot be substantiated by the employer and they didn't give me a proper PIP. So I should be receiving unemployment, but I lost the last 5 weeks on a technicality. Even if I were getting that money, which I might eventually (that determination helps, but the last 5 weeks may be a loss), it's at best 20% of my income. Nothing I can live on, not even close. But it might keep the lights on.
I did good to re-save after buying a house in 2018. I went into last year with a savings account in pretty good financial shape. Last year though we saw a good $35,000 in roof replacement and "the last owner didn't give a shit about building code and we kind of have to do this" repairs. We made it through it, but our savings was essentially deleted into the house itself, and I was actually in the middle of underwriting to restructure those loans when my job decided to fire me. They knew; they're planning on me being the average American who can't withstand a $500 emergency. I already have a lawyer and EEOC appointment, they know I am coming.
I can take a $500 emergency, but right now it's more like I've withstood $5000 and then some. As we say in our house when you're taking hits left and right, "my character is fuckin blinking right now." When I was let go I was supposed to get a full check; got half. Was supposed to get my earned vacation time; they said I had earned 4 days and used 3 (Absolute BS). My wife and I both signed a notarized release for over $10,000 (after taxes) of retirement funds, to be paid a month ago, as explicitly noted in their notarized release we completed and returned. I have received nothing, except a bill for $3600 for 2 months of health care, due in May. After repeated phone calls that they are in breach of written agreements, all they will say is that there is an "undocumented 45 day delay for lump sum payments, it is not documented in the pension plan. Once that 45 day period ends, the month in which it falls has to end, and then we can pay you. So that will be.... June."
I have to have health care, my wife and I both, obviously. For those of you lucky enough not to be in America, COBRA allows you to keep "healhcare" if you lose your job, but it's mad expensive. You have to pay whatever you and your job were paying in premiums, and you have 45 days to start making payments to keep health care; I think you see where that's going with the whole undocumented pension delay. It's nothing if I have my retirement funds, it's crippling if they get away with holding them till June, which it's almost certain they will.
At this point I've been selling things off but it seems like so little. Like, I am in "pick a whole ass hobby to liquidate to relieve financial stress even though I earned this shit my whole life" mode. If I had my retirement money I was entitled to last month, I wouldn't even be in a hard place whatsoever. We've had to rebudget for worst case when I got fired, worse case when they took my vacation pay, and worst worst case when they held our pension in breach of something we both signed (my wife and I). It was workable until the last one, now, I really don't know how the hell I am going to get by until June. I did get a meeting with the EEOC in June to get a right to sue letter, because in America, you can't sue for this without a letter of permission (literally, I have to obtain a "right to sue" letter). Given that, I can't even sue for severance until at least June either. And just obtaining an EEOC appointment took weeks of trying, every day, just to schedule a single one. I literally had to tell myself that automating the checking for an appointment in that kind of system would be unethical on my own part, so I tried at random hours every day. Finally at 3AM one day I got the appointment and fell asleep. That already seems ages ago.
It's some good news that I finally got a job interview, but the IT market is fucked right now. It's the only actual interview I've gotten, even with references at lots of companies, and If I take this (which I probably will) it's "contract to probably-not-hire," maybe a year engagement, and a 30% pay cut. The actual work is something I'm good at, at least. Silver lining I guess.
