Dont' it just figure?

[dawnmarrie1961]

It's been over a month, almost two in fact, since I was "Let go" from my employment with Walmart as a door greeter. I've been trying to find legal representation but it seemed that, although each firm considered my case to be good, none wanted to take it and would not say "Why?"
It was quite by accident that I figured out the answer myself.None of the lawyers I contacted would divulge this information, nor are they required to.Go figure? In the state of Texas one must first file a case with the EEOC, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. After they review the case to see if it has merit they will decide to grant permission that allows a person to file a civil suit or not. It is entirely their call. So much for giving "power to the people". I suppose this is done to limit the amount of frivolous lawsuits that actually make their way to the civil courts. I guess their are a lot of disgruntled employees out there that file suit for no good reason.
The fact is: Employers have the right to terminate an employee for any reason. The only exceptions being: Not if that reason involves a person that is considered a part of a protected classification and the reason is because of that particular classification.
The first thing I had to research was "Am I a part of a protected classification?". The answer being "Yes" and "No." Go figure?
According to the EEOC "Transgendered and Gender Identity" is covered under federal Equal Employment Opportunity Laws and Title 7 anti-discrimination statutes. However, there has never been any successful litigation in the state of Texas in regards to Title 7. Most legal firms will avoid these suits because they know it is a "No Win Scenario".
When i accepted employment at Walmart did I tell them that I was "Transgendered"? No. Being transgender should have had no relationship on my abiltiy to perform the duties of the position that I was being hired for. Absolutely none. I had been an employee of this company before, in Iowa, so such information was already readily available
to my employer had they looked for it.
I did not ask for, nor do I require, any special treatment by any potential employer. Don't need it. Don't want it. Not required. I can handle myself just fine.
I've worked for a couple of fortune 500 companies before and never had a problem.
If I was, for example, African American would I be required to state as much to my employer before they realized that to terminate me for being African American is "Not Legal"? I would hope not.
Does that fact that "I have opted not to continue my transition towards the inevitable conclusion of sexual reassignment surgery" have any merit on wither or not I am in fact a part of a protected classification or not? That remains to be seen. My opinion is that it should not.
Sounds like a slippery slope doesn't it? Most legal arguments are.
I have 180 days to file this case with the EEOC.

[Beverley Sims]

Did you go in one day as a guy and the next day as a lady, without consultation with your employer?

[karanne]

Had a friend of mine at Wal-Mart that was let go because she rather loudly and emphatically expressed her political opinions regarding the Arab/Israeli problems. She was also bipolar and could have said she was exercising freedom of speech, had diagnosed psychological problems, etc. Off duty, I, along with several other people suggested she calm down, and not argue with other staff or customers, but she didn't. If she wanted to say what she wanted off the clock, that was cool - I agreed with her on a lot of stuff (but not everything). Not while she's stocking spaghetti on aisle 7, though.

[Stephanie47]

I suspect when litigating against Wal-Mart any attorney is going to weigh the cost and time of litigation against the possible recovery. From everything I've read concerning Wal-Mart litigation, Wal-Mart will not settle suits but always litigate to a verdict. That cost money.

[Barbra P]

You don’t list any of the details of why they ended your employment. Do you know for a fact that the justification had anything to do with you being TG? Does Wal-Mart even know that you are TG? If Wal-Mart claims that they let you go because they didn’t think you were performing your duties as a Greeter properly then the fact that you happen to be TG is immaterial and would not be relevant. Even if Wal-Mart knows you are TG it is very unlikely that they would admit it and even more unlikely that they would admit that it had anything to do with your dismissal. Even if you showed up in feminine clothing I doubt that they would say that was the reason they dismissed you. It would be much more likely that they would produce customer complaints and say they had to dismiss you because of the complaints. Proving in court that an employer dismissed you for reasons other than what the employer claims were the reasons is an extremely difficult thing to do.

[Angela Campbell]

I wish you luck but do not expect much from it. Wal Mart has better lawyers than you do.

[Julogden]

What was WalMart's reason for firing you? If it was gender identity, at least try the EEOC route. It's definitely worth a try, regardless of past cases in Texas.

And in the future, you might want to consider moving to a state where you have some legal protections.

Best of luck, Dawn Marrie!
Carol

[Tracii G]

May be an age clause to look into if you are over 50.

[Lorileah]

or Texas may be one of the states where they can fire you at will. They don't need a reason and I can promise you that Wal-mart would NEVER say it was because you are TG even if that was their reason, they won't say it.

[Jenniferathome]

May be an age clause to look into if you are over 50.

The protected class is over 40 years old.

Still, any company can fire an employee and can call it "trimming the fat" or "restructuring" or "downsizing." The obligation on the employee is proving that the firing was done for the specific reason of age, sex, race, etc. THAT is nearly impossible to prove unless the company is so stupid as to just fire everyone over 40, or every black person, for example.

Move on unless you can PROVE beyond a doubt that your firing was malicious and targeted.

[Abigail]

Speaking as a non American, I'm amazed that some states allow employers to sack people without a valid reason.

[Jenniferathome]

Speaking as a non American, I'm amazed that some states allow employers to sack people without a valid reason.

I disagree Abigail. In the private sector, working is not a right. Do well and no employer will fire you, that is just good business sense. No one should be able to keep a job just becasue they have that job. Everyone must show their value.

[Abigail]

I disagree Abigail. In the private sector, working is not a right. Do well and no employer will fire you, that is just good business sense. No one should be able to keep a job just becasue they have that job. Everyone must show their value.

This probably isn't the place to discuss this, i'm not saying a bad worker should not be dismissed, but everyone imo should should be allowed a fair process and know the reasons for dismissal.

[Chickhe]

It all depends on what you want as a result if its worth doing or not. The best thing you can do is learn exactly what's legal and not... its is amazing actually what is legal that many people think they have protection from. Talking to many people working for a corporation I was shocked that they actually believed their employer cared about them...that all changed when they started loosing their jobs. ...I've seen people slack off when were then laidoff and given huge severences and others who worked well but were forced to quit because of working conditions who got nothing. Don't under estimate what someone with great negotiation skills can do for you... companies will settle, you just have to let them believe you are being fair and that you will go the distance.

[Emma Beth]

Something I thought was interesting is that Texas is a right to work state. Now on the surface it looks like things should be fair to all, now so.

The right to work, as far as I know, only applies to Union situations where a strike is going on and Union members can cross the picket lines to work without reprisal.

IMHO, the right to work should extend to other issues even if a Union is not involved.

[Rogina B]

Don't dwell on it..get on your bike and ride to a better state and find a new job..

[linda allen]

I disagree Abigail. In the private sector, working is not a right. Do well and no employer will fire you, that is just good business sense. No one should be able to keep a job just becasue they have that job. Everyone must show their value.

Exactly. If you were hiring people would you want to be told who to hire and who to keep? A job is where the employer needs someone to do some work and the employee is paid to do that work. If the employee is not doing the work or is causing problems, the employer should not be required to keep him or her on the job.

[Julogden]

This probably isn't the place to discuss this, i'm not saying a bad worker should not be dismissed, but everyone imo should should be allowed a fair process and know the reasons for dismissal.

I couldn't agree more, Abigail. Here in America, corporate values are taking over the country. Many people put the almighty dollar ahead of everything and everyone, and are okay with being inhumane if it increases profits.

Carol

[dawnmarrie1961]

Did you go in one day as a guy and the next day as a lady, without consultation with your employer?

To answer this question: When I went in for my employment interview my son let me borrow one of his shirts, a size 3x. I didn't have any colthes of my own, other than shorts and tanktops, since I had been on the road for months traveling about the country by bike and rollerblade. I don't wear a lot of make-up. Just a little bit of eyebrow penciling and light eye shadow. I was never asked "Are you male or female?" or "Are you transgendered?" And since such should be irrelevent in my ability to perform the duties for the job I was being offered there was no reason disclose such information. I don't require, nor did I ask for, any special accomodations. I use the "gentlemen's" restroom because, in my opinion, it would be inappropriate to use the ladies room. For the first few weeks, until I recieved my first paycheck, I continued to wear the oversized shirt that my son lent me. I always strictly adhere to the dresscode of what ever employer I happen to be working for. This usually helps me avoid problems.

[dawnmarrie1961]

Don't dwell on it..get on your bike and ride to a better state and find a new job..

I've done enough "Running away" the past few years. No more!
I have a daughter who needs my help in her battle with cancer. I am where I am supposed to be.

[dawnmarrie1961]

What was WalMart's reason for firing you? If it was gender identity, at least try the EEOC route. It's definitely worth a try, regardless of past cases in Texas.

And in the future, you might want to consider moving to a state where you have some legal protections.

Best of luck, Dawn Marrie!
Carol

According to Walmarts personel director their reason for "letting me go" was because the Black Friday, after thanksgiving, Sales event was completed. However my understanding, as to the length and term of my intial employment offer, was that it would continue until the end of the holiday season. I was told that I was "at the top of the list to be laid off". Curious. Due to the fact that on two seperate occsasions during a three mth period I was offered less visable positions in the store in order to get me off the front end. Each time I refused the offer I was met with some form of retaliation by management. ( I can not go into details about this at this time.)

[dawnmarrie1961]

Exactly. If you were hiring people would you want to be told who to hire and who to keep? A job is where the employer needs someone to do some work and the employee is paid to do that work. If the employee is not doing the work or is causing problems, the employer should not be required to keep him or her on the job.

Was I not doing my work? Was I intentionally causing problem? No. To both. On my occasions I recieved comments by the management staff on how nice it was to finally have a "pro-active" door greeter. The customers were great and so too were most of the walmart employees. That is not to say that I didn't have the occassional customer that made a rude comment. But that is "normal". As for having a problem with a fellow employee? Yes. (But I can't go into details at this time.)

[dawnmarrie1961]

It all depends on what you want as a result if its worth doing or not. The best thing you can do is learn exactly what's legal and not... its is amazing actually what is legal that many people think they have protection from. Talking to many people working for a corporation I was shocked that they actually believed their employer cared about them...that all changed when they started loosing their jobs. ...I've seen people slack off when were then laidoff and given huge severences and others who worked well but were forced to quit because of working conditions who got nothing. Don't under estimate what someone with great negotiation skills can do for you... companies will settle, you just have to let them believe you are being fair and that you will go the distance.

What do I want from all this? Most people would want money. But I'm not "most people."
Then if you don't want money then what do you want? I want to keep this kind of deplorable behavior by an employer from happening to anybody else. That's all.

[dawnmarrie1961]

Had a friend of mine at Wal-Mart that was let go because she rather loudly and emphatically expressed her political opinions regarding the Arab/Israeli problems. She was also bipolar and could have said she was exercising freedom of speech, had diagnosed psychological problems, etc. Off duty, I, along with several other people suggested she calm down, and not argue with other staff or customers, but she didn't. If she wanted to say what she wanted off the clock, that was cool - I agreed with her on a lot of stuff (but not everything). Not while she's stocking spaghetti on aisle 7, though.

I was employed to do a job. Not make a political or social statement to the world about being transgendered in the workplace. Oh sure I got a lot of customers commenting "You go, Girl!" and "You are soo brave for not being afraid to be who you are!" And yes I had people coming up and giving me hugs,handshakes and wanted to take my picture on their cellphones. But I'm used to that and never allowed such things to disrupt my work.

[dawnmarrie1961]

The protected class is over 40 years old.

Still, any company can fire an employee and can call it "trimming the fat" or "restructuring" or "downsizing." The obligation on the employee is proving that the firing was done for the specific reason of age, sex, race, etc. THAT is nearly impossible to prove unless the company is so stupid as to just fire everyone over 40, or every black person, for example.

Move on unless you can PROVE beyond a doubt that your firing was malicious and targeted.

Yup, Jennifer. This particular store was "stupid". ( I can't go into details at this time.) And "Yes" I can prove, beyond a doubt, that the reason for my being "Let go" was not the reason that the company stated at my exit interview. I don't need to prove what the real reason was. I only need to prove that it wasn't for the reason that was given. In any civil suit it is important to be able to have a prima facie case. This shifts the burden of proof.