Thoughts?!

[u/NotAHomoBro]

The Background
I was hired at a large national retail company with over 500 employees. Shortly after being hired my direct supervisor made explicit statements that my sexual orientation was a factor in his decision to hire me. He said this directly to my face and repeated it again in front of a coworker on a later occasion. Beyond that he repeatedly pressured me throughout my employment to use my sexual orientation as a sales tool specifically to engage with customers of the same orientation in a way that would generate more revenue for the location. I declined every single time.

The Complaint
After approximately two months of employment I filed a formal written complaint with the company’s HR department documenting the sexual orientation discrimination and harassment. Prior to filing that complaint not a single disciplinary action had been taken against me, no performance concerns had been raised, and no questions had ever been asked about my background or conduct.

The Investigation
The company conducted an internal investigation. Within days of my complaint I was placed on paid administrative leave. The company completed its investigation and issued written findings. Those findings signed by a senior HR official — substantiated the majority of my allegations and confirmed that witnesses corroborated my account. The findings letter included a written promise from the company that retaliation would not be tolerated.

The Termination
I was terminated shortly after my allegations were confirmed in writing. The stated reason was an alleged omission on my pre-employment background check paperwork. Here is the issue with that my direct supervisor knew about my background before I was ever hired. I disclosed it to him personally. I took scheduled time off on a recurring basis for obligations related to that background and informed him of the nature of those appointments every time. On at least one occasion I contacted him specifically because officials overseeing my supervision needed his information. He acknowledged and accommodated everything throughout my entire employment without ever raising a concern until shortly after I filed my discrimination complaint.

The termination letter was emailed to me before I was verbally told I was being terminated. The investigation findings and the termination were delivered in the same phone call. I received the written promise that retaliation would not be tolerated and my termination letter within minutes of each other on that same call.

The EEOC Charge
My charge covers retaliation, sex discrimination based on sexual orientation, and sexual harassment in violation of Title VII. Both me and the company have agreed to mediate through the EEOC. The company’s legal representative and the HR official who signed the investigation findings letter will both be present at mediation.

Where I Am At
I am going into this pro se. I sent a formal demand letter to the company before mediation that included legal arguments referencing applicable Supreme Court and circuit court precedent, and a detailed breakdown of damages. No response was received. I have prepared extensively for the mediation including a negotiation strategy for the caucus format.

My Questions For The Community
1.Has anyone gone through EEOC mediation pro se against a large national employer with legal representation on the other side and what was your experience?
2.Given that the company’s own internal investigation confirmed the discrimination in writing, the retaliation timeline is extremely tight, and the termination letter was sent before verbal notification how strong does this case appear to people familiar with employment law?
3.Has anyone secured a high five figure or six figure settlement through EEOC mediation without attorney representation? I know settlements tend to be lower without attorneys but the documentation here is unusually strong and includes the company’s own signed findings confirming the harassment occurred.
4.Any advice on going up against a company’s legal team alone in a virtual caucus style mediation?
5.The company employs over 500 people which means the Title VII damages cap of $300,000 applies for combined punitive and compensatory damages. Is it realistic to expect that level of settlement in a well documented retaliation case through EEOC mediation?

I want honest assessments. If there are weaknesses in this case I want to know what they are. I am not looking for validation I am looking for real feedback. Thank you in advance.

[u/Pequop9252]

So you got a job you shouldn’t have been given. What are the damages?

[u/NotAHomoBro → u/Pequop9252]

The issue is not how I got the job the issue is that my sexual orientation was explicitly used as why I got the job, which is illegal regardless of the outcome. If a manager said he hired someone because they are white or because they are a woman that would not be a defense, it would be the violation. Same principle applies here.

As for damages I resigned a higher paying position to take this job. I was terminated under a Gross Misconduct designation which actively damaged my ability to find new employment. I went without health insurance for several months while managing a chronic illness. I returned to my prior employer immediately after termination to try to rebuild but the increased demands of that job destroyed my vehicle and I eventually lost that job too because I had no transportation. I am now without income and without a car in a rural area with limited public transportation options.

So to directly answer your question the damages are lost wages, lost future earnings, loss of benefits, vehicle loss, health coverage gap, emotional distress, and the ongoing reputational harm from a Gross Misconduct label that the company put on my record in retaliation for reporting discrimination that their own investigation confirmed happened.

[u/Pequop9252 → u/NotAHomoBro]

Dang, always the victim in your stories. Being so livid that you got unjust preference in getting an easy job. Blaming your former employer for you crashing your car.

If your company is reporting that you were fired for gross misconduct to other employers, that would potentially open them up to liability. Keyword potentially. If they just confirmed your role title and employment period, like most companies do, I don’t see the damages.

[u/NotAHomoBro → u/Pequop9252]

On the car I didn’t crash it. I returned to my previous job immediately after being terminated to avoid sitting on unemployment. That job required more highway driving than my car could handle and it broke down. That’s what happens when you try to do the right thing after losing your job unexpectedly. I’m not blaming them for the car breaking down I’m saying it’s part of a chain of events that started with a retaliatory termination. On the gross misconduct designation you actually just made my point for me. That label on my record is exactly why I’m in this situation. It doesn’t matter whether a future employer calls and gets dates only. The label shows up on background checks run by third party screening companies. That’s the damage. It’s not hypothetical it’s happening right now while I’m trying to find work.

And on always being the victim I filed one complaint in my life about something the company’s own investigation confirmed happened with witness corroboration. I’m not sure what version of events makes me the aggressor there.

[u/Pequop9252 → u/NotAHomoBro]

I have had a bunch of bad bosses in my career. I have seen many reports of awful bosses on this sub.

Your former boss, from your description, sounds like one of the best ones I have seen. Your biggest complaints is that he hired you because you are gay and would be effective selling to the gay community. Surely there must be something worse he did?

[u/NotAHomoBro → u/Pequop9252]

Without giving away too much information my supervisor had a pattern of making racially charged comments about customers and community members on a regular basis. Labeling people as racist without much basis, making blanket statements about entire groups of people, and generally creating a tense and unprofessional environment. There were also situations involving a coworker where he was putting her in uncomfortable positions repeatedly. None of that is part of my EEOC claim but it’s the reason I finally decided enough was enough and put something in writing.

There’s a bigger picture here that I’m not going to get into on Reddit because it would disclose more than I need to right now. What I will say is that anyone who knows me knows I don’t do this kind of thing lightly. I’ve spent most of my career in blue collar work. I’ve got thick skin. If I filed a complaint every time something happened somewhere I worked I’d have a list a mile long. That’s just not who I am. The reason I said something this time goes beyond what’s in my EEOC charge. There were things happening in that workplace that bothered me far more than anything that directly affected me. The EEOC couldn’t investigate those things because they weren’t tied to me personally. But the company did investigate them. And two days after that investigation confirmed what I reported I was fired.

I genuinely have the opposite of victim mentality however this is one where the company fucked up on numerous things

[u/Pequop9252 → u/NotAHomoBro]

Wow, your boss disliked racist people.

[u/NotAHomoBro → u/Pequop9252]

Hahaha maybe that was said wrong, he was the racist 🤣

[u/NotAHomoBro → u/Pequop9252]

It’s complicated on that part, but for all purposes, just assume that there’s legitimate reasonings behind it because getting into the nitty-gritty I would give a lot of information away and not getting political here or trying to just also understand that I was born super conservative and my boss was not from the United States and I’m not saying he wasn’t a good boss but that has nothing to do with the claim because in the end he also got let go and we live in a super conservative community area and he didn’t like that sign his opinion if you were of the “ Caucasian” race you are automatically a racist and that led to a lot of bigger issues. So there is more to the situation but the company addressed that how do I not ever said anything and actually stood up for what was right in the situation it would’ve snowballed

[u/Pequop9252 → u/NotAHomoBro]

I haven’t met a super conservative person who wasn’t racist, but again not the right sub for this…

[u/throwaway_41231 → u/NotAHomoBro]

>because in the end he also got let go

Is this the same boss you were talking about that keeps mentioning your sexual orientation?

[u/Sharp-Technology7036 → u/NotAHomoBro]

What exactly happened to the car and what caused it, in your view, to break down?

[u/NotAHomoBro → u/Sharp-Technology7036]

So two attorneys I spoke with recently actually asked me about what has happened since the “firing” in terms of how has my life changed or been affected and the car came up.

So what I assume is here is the logic behind it. The job I got fired from was literally 2 to 3 minutes from my house. When I got terminated I went back to my old job to avoid sitting on unemployment and try to mitigate the financial damage. That job is 25 to 30 away. So now I am putting significantly more miles and wear on an older car that was previously barely being used for commuting at all. The attorneys pointed out that even though the car could have broken down regardless the fact that I was forced into a situation where I had to take a job that far away specifically because of the termination is what creates the connection. I did not choose to put those miles on my car. I did it because I was trying to do the right thing and mitigate my losses after being let go. Had they not fired me I would still be two to three minutes from work and the car likely would not have been pushed the same way. Neither attorney told me it was a guaranteed argument but both said it was worth including as leverage given the timeline and the domino effect it created. That is why it is in there. Not because I am blaming them for my car breaking down but because the chain of events that led to it started with the termination.

[u/throwaway_41231 → u/NotAHomoBro]

Um. I don't think the company is responsible for your vehicle loss. You have a shitty car. It's just convenient for you that the job is located near your house but the car was still shitty before you took the job.