Today I am thankful that I am trying not to be a brat.
So....
My employer is breaking the law.....in a big way.
My soon to be new boss is too inept to know that he's breaking the law.
I'm trying to talk myself out of suing.
My current boss is cool.
I like him.
I fear he's going to be let go, like all of the other bosses before him. That's another story for another day.
There is another department vying for control of my employment.
This new department laid everyone off except for 12 of us.
This new boss thinks he's got us cornered.
He wants us all to work from home....get this....he wants us to pay for everything....
We've got to pay for high speed broadband cable installation.....
The monthly service charges....
We've got to reserve a room, a desk and ergonomic computer system for this job....
The room has got to have two exits....
a locking door....
and be a completely paperless environment.
Oh, and they want access to my house for pop inspections.
This is legal in Colorado (for now....).
This is against the corporate policy for the fortune 500 company I work for. If they demand broadband cable and you don't have it, the company policy is to help defray the installation costs.
For some reason, this new boss thinks that corporate policy does not apply to his department.
There is more. I was told I had until April 16th to get my house ready to work from home. That was do-able. Then, I was told I had to be ready by April 4th. That would be a little bit harder. I had planned to be ready by March 13th.
On March 2nd, I was called into a meeting. The deadline was March 3rd. They were sorry they didn't tell me.
They refuse to put any of this in writing, too. They want me to pay for this stuff for a job that may not be there.
In fact, my former manger told me that the jobs are temporary. As he was boxing up his potted plants, he told me to polish up my resume. He said they'd fire all of us in June.
I should listen to him.
I told my story to a former unemployment insurance magistrate who thinks the new operations manager is setting us up to be fired. Upon hearing the story, he thinks the new boss wants to control the sole operation which is on the east coast. I'm in Denver. He fired all but 12 people in Denver.
The former judge thinks this is a scheme to be rid of the remaining twelve people.
He suggested that I let them fire me and collect unemployment. He said that the terms of my employment have changed so much there is no way a judge would rule in favor of my employer.
Get this....I'm in my mid-forties. I've NEVER been fired.
The sad thing is that none of these things are illegal. A company can promise you a job and force you to pay for the office expenses without writing out a contract stipulating the agreement.
They can fire you on a whim and not reimburse your expenses.
Maybe I'd be better off flipping burgers.
*******
I have an upcoming hearing to ensure that the no contact order keeping my stalkerish ex-spouse and his family away from my house continues.
The divorce decree gives him access to my home if he picks the kids up from school and on holidays. This is part of the reason why it was hard to get him to move out.
The judge ordered that he not be allowed into my living space without my consent on December 28th. My ex didn't show up, so the judge set another hearing to discuss the matter.
That hearing is March 30th.
I asked my current supervisor and my new supervisor for the time off.
My new supervisor told me that I needed to submit to the layoff because of the stalker. He does not want me to tell anyone why I cannot work from home.
If I do not accept the lay-off agreement, my attending court would be akin to submitting my resignation.
In other words, I cannot do what it takes to work from home in a safe manner. If this fortune 500 company is going to store other people's social security numbers on a computer in my basement, I want that no contact order in full force.
I would think they'd want that, too.
I'm not sure working from home is safe for me, for my company or for the clients.
If working from home isn't safe, I have to quit my job.
This is par for the course. I've lost so many jobs due to the stalking!
I thought....this company....was more enlightened. I took a pay cut, a 90% pay cut, to work for a company with security guards. Yep, I went from $150 an hour to $15 because it still pays the bills and was a safe environment.
The reason I can live off of $15 an hour is that I don't pay for things like high speed Broadband internet!
The company won't let me use the office I rent for my hypnosis clients to do my work. That's a shame. It's a therapist office. It's HIPPA compliant. It's secure. It's one block away from this company's Denver headquarters. They could pop in at any time. One would think that would be a good place to do such work.
My boss says no. I have to work from a dedicated room, with two exits, in my home.
Some of the other people keeping their jobs were promised that they could work from a cubicle in the Denver headquarters. I wasn't. So maybe, they're trying to be rid of me and being somewhat polite about it.
What is worse, they refuse to say whether or not I can take time off for the hearing.
This IS a definite violation of Colorado law which allows domestic violence and stalking victims up to three days leave to deal with legal issues pertaining to safety.
I'm debating....
Do I respect this fortune 500 company enough to warn the HR department of this new manager's shenanigans? (Yes. That is why I'm going to be fired.)
Do I simply whine to my buddies at the state house and push that the law be strengthened? (Yes.)
Do I call my lawyer? (Yes, I did. I asked if he could go to the hearing in my place so I could keep my job. It's a moot point now.)
This guy is singlehandedly going to get the entire division shut down.
He may think he's saving his department money.
In the long run, it's going to cost him more. It's going to cause a problem if he's sued.
The ship is sinking.
Do I take stay on the sinking ship?
Do I take their offer of 60 days pay and look for another job?
If I didn't fear my stalker, I wouldn't have had this job.
I'd be a full-time therapist.
I still fear my stalker and his family.
I still lay low.
I probably shouldn't work from home.
I probably should care enough about this company to warn them about their inept new manager, huh?
I've caught him doing other crap and I've stayed quiet because I'm trying to be respectful. My job is to listen to the calls the sales agent make and coach them to help them improve their sales numbers.
I often overhear this new manager in the background screaming at the agents and giving them misinformation. Some of this misinformation is based on federal and state law. I fear it's going to create a lawsuit. It's absolutely maddening!
I hope I'm wrong.
Maybe I'm not?
Decisions.....decisions.....
I have until Monday to decide. Either I put $500 into revamping my basement to fit the needs of my employer or I'm fired.
What to do?
I'll probably call the victims advocates and tell them what is going on. I'll probably offer to testify if they hear of another woman working for the same employer forced to leave due to domestic violence.
I'll probably warn the HR Department and cite the law he broke (I did.).
I'll probably complain to my lawmaker buddies.
It's just sad that people are so stupid.
Stalking victims probably shouldn't be forced to work from home.
Companies should pay for Internet service they require. It's bad business to pawn your business expenses off on your employees. They want access to my house? They want to micromanage every minute of a twelve hour period five days a week.
It's not a flexible job. They have me timed by the minute. I can only go to the bathroom when their timer decrees that I can go!
This job is not a good fit for people who work from home.
Working from home with a creepy people who like to invade your privacy isn't safe either, is it?
Stalking victims who need to go to court to stay safe must be allowed to do so. Colorado state law makes it clear.
It's a shame some managers can't read.
You should have heard him stammer when I told him about the different occupational privilege taxes in various jurisdictions within Colorado.
He had no clue. He doesn't think it is the employer's responsibility! Um......I spent a long time trying to fight the head taxes. I know my enemy. The company pays half and the employee pays half.
Sigh.....
I'll probably be fired on Monday because I can't promise to wire my house for broadband cable immediately and will need to go to court to maintain that no-contact order.
Pray that I hold my anger long enough to avoid calling an employment lawyer. I've sued people when I thought my point was enough to save other people.
This would not be the first time I've sued a company for its failure to protect its workers.
Maybe I can get what needs to be done through the statehouse rather than the courthouse.
Love ya lots,
S.
So....
My employer is breaking the law.....in a big way.
My soon to be new boss is too inept to know that he's breaking the law.
I'm trying to talk myself out of suing.
My current boss is cool.
I like him.
I fear he's going to be let go, like all of the other bosses before him. That's another story for another day.
There is another department vying for control of my employment.
This new department laid everyone off except for 12 of us.
This new boss thinks he's got us cornered.
He wants us all to work from home....get this....he wants us to pay for everything....
We've got to pay for high speed broadband cable installation.....
The monthly service charges....
We've got to reserve a room, a desk and ergonomic computer system for this job....
The room has got to have two exits....
a locking door....
and be a completely paperless environment.
Oh, and they want access to my house for pop inspections.
This is legal in Colorado (for now....).
This is against the corporate policy for the fortune 500 company I work for. If they demand broadband cable and you don't have it, the company policy is to help defray the installation costs.
For some reason, this new boss thinks that corporate policy does not apply to his department.
There is more. I was told I had until April 16th to get my house ready to work from home. That was do-able. Then, I was told I had to be ready by April 4th. That would be a little bit harder. I had planned to be ready by March 13th.
On March 2nd, I was called into a meeting. The deadline was March 3rd. They were sorry they didn't tell me.
They refuse to put any of this in writing, too. They want me to pay for this stuff for a job that may not be there.
In fact, my former manger told me that the jobs are temporary. As he was boxing up his potted plants, he told me to polish up my resume. He said they'd fire all of us in June.
I should listen to him.
I told my story to a former unemployment insurance magistrate who thinks the new operations manager is setting us up to be fired. Upon hearing the story, he thinks the new boss wants to control the sole operation which is on the east coast. I'm in Denver. He fired all but 12 people in Denver.
The former judge thinks this is a scheme to be rid of the remaining twelve people.
He suggested that I let them fire me and collect unemployment. He said that the terms of my employment have changed so much there is no way a judge would rule in favor of my employer.
Get this....I'm in my mid-forties. I've NEVER been fired.
The sad thing is that none of these things are illegal. A company can promise you a job and force you to pay for the office expenses without writing out a contract stipulating the agreement.
They can fire you on a whim and not reimburse your expenses.
Maybe I'd be better off flipping burgers.
*******
I have an upcoming hearing to ensure that the no contact order keeping my stalkerish ex-spouse and his family away from my house continues.
The divorce decree gives him access to my home if he picks the kids up from school and on holidays. This is part of the reason why it was hard to get him to move out.
The judge ordered that he not be allowed into my living space without my consent on December 28th. My ex didn't show up, so the judge set another hearing to discuss the matter.
That hearing is March 30th.
I asked my current supervisor and my new supervisor for the time off.
My new supervisor told me that I needed to submit to the layoff because of the stalker. He does not want me to tell anyone why I cannot work from home.
If I do not accept the lay-off agreement, my attending court would be akin to submitting my resignation.
In other words, I cannot do what it takes to work from home in a safe manner. If this fortune 500 company is going to store other people's social security numbers on a computer in my basement, I want that no contact order in full force.
I would think they'd want that, too.
I'm not sure working from home is safe for me, for my company or for the clients.
If working from home isn't safe, I have to quit my job.
This is par for the course. I've lost so many jobs due to the stalking!
I thought....this company....was more enlightened. I took a pay cut, a 90% pay cut, to work for a company with security guards. Yep, I went from $150 an hour to $15 because it still pays the bills and was a safe environment.
The reason I can live off of $15 an hour is that I don't pay for things like high speed Broadband internet!
The company won't let me use the office I rent for my hypnosis clients to do my work. That's a shame. It's a therapist office. It's HIPPA compliant. It's secure. It's one block away from this company's Denver headquarters. They could pop in at any time. One would think that would be a good place to do such work.
My boss says no. I have to work from a dedicated room, with two exits, in my home.
Some of the other people keeping their jobs were promised that they could work from a cubicle in the Denver headquarters. I wasn't. So maybe, they're trying to be rid of me and being somewhat polite about it.
What is worse, they refuse to say whether or not I can take time off for the hearing.
This IS a definite violation of Colorado law which allows domestic violence and stalking victims up to three days leave to deal with legal issues pertaining to safety.
I'm debating....
Do I respect this fortune 500 company enough to warn the HR department of this new manager's shenanigans? (Yes. That is why I'm going to be fired.)
Do I simply whine to my buddies at the state house and push that the law be strengthened? (Yes.)
Do I call my lawyer? (Yes, I did. I asked if he could go to the hearing in my place so I could keep my job. It's a moot point now.)
This guy is singlehandedly going to get the entire division shut down.
He may think he's saving his department money.
In the long run, it's going to cost him more. It's going to cause a problem if he's sued.
The ship is sinking.
Do I take stay on the sinking ship?
Do I take their offer of 60 days pay and look for another job?
If I didn't fear my stalker, I wouldn't have had this job.
I'd be a full-time therapist.
I still fear my stalker and his family.
I still lay low.
I probably shouldn't work from home.
I probably should care enough about this company to warn them about their inept new manager, huh?
I've caught him doing other crap and I've stayed quiet because I'm trying to be respectful. My job is to listen to the calls the sales agent make and coach them to help them improve their sales numbers.
I often overhear this new manager in the background screaming at the agents and giving them misinformation. Some of this misinformation is based on federal and state law. I fear it's going to create a lawsuit. It's absolutely maddening!
I hope I'm wrong.
Maybe I'm not?
Decisions.....decisions.....
I have until Monday to decide. Either I put $500 into revamping my basement to fit the needs of my employer or I'm fired.
What to do?
I'll probably call the victims advocates and tell them what is going on. I'll probably offer to testify if they hear of another woman working for the same employer forced to leave due to domestic violence.
I'll probably warn the HR Department and cite the law he broke (I did.).
I'll probably complain to my lawmaker buddies.
It's just sad that people are so stupid.
Stalking victims probably shouldn't be forced to work from home.
Companies should pay for Internet service they require. It's bad business to pawn your business expenses off on your employees. They want access to my house? They want to micromanage every minute of a twelve hour period five days a week.
It's not a flexible job. They have me timed by the minute. I can only go to the bathroom when their timer decrees that I can go!
This job is not a good fit for people who work from home.
Working from home with a creepy people who like to invade your privacy isn't safe either, is it?
Stalking victims who need to go to court to stay safe must be allowed to do so. Colorado state law makes it clear.
It's a shame some managers can't read.
You should have heard him stammer when I told him about the different occupational privilege taxes in various jurisdictions within Colorado.
He had no clue. He doesn't think it is the employer's responsibility! Um......I spent a long time trying to fight the head taxes. I know my enemy. The company pays half and the employee pays half.
Sigh.....
I'll probably be fired on Monday because I can't promise to wire my house for broadband cable immediately and will need to go to court to maintain that no-contact order.
Pray that I hold my anger long enough to avoid calling an employment lawyer. I've sued people when I thought my point was enough to save other people.
This would not be the first time I've sued a company for its failure to protect its workers.
Maybe I can get what needs to be done through the statehouse rather than the courthouse.
Love ya lots,
S.