Quit because of discrimination and I have no legal recourse

[vetobob9]

I was forced to quite my job in August because of workplace harrassment due to my transgender status. The employer did nothing about it when I complained to him.
Recently I applied for unemployment (actually at the beginning of October was when I filed.

I just received a document saying my claim was denied because "you quit job to move." This tells me they lied to the state's labor board about the reasons I quit.
I can appeal but that involves a three way hearing and I am waiting to see if one of my former coworkers would be willing to testify for me.

Meantime, I checked the state's (Texas) discrimination complaint site, they have a 45 statute of limitations after which you are not even allowed to file a lawsuit. I went to the federal EEOC site and they said because the event happened in Texas I am outside the statute of limitations which means I am up shit creek.

The business is City Cafe and it is located in Elgin Texas. It owned by the Austin Diner which is located in Austin Texas.

[Tracee-Anderson]

I feel so bad for you. What is your next move?

[sometimes_miss]

1. How were you 'forced' to quit.
2. Did you give them a letter of resignation? If you did, and it did not mention anything about being harrassed about your transgenderism, you're screwed. If it did, and they lied about why you left, you have grounds for legal recourse. But you're going to have to pay a lawyer up front to take your case, or perhaps there's a LGBT group around that can help direct you to a lawyer who will take your case pro bono until it's resolved.
3. If the 45 day statute of limitations is over, you will have to file a wrongful termination lawsuit (which you may not win, if they didn't actually fire you).
4. Welcome to the wonderful world of being 'out'. As you're learning, outside of the world of the pink fog, the world does not generally love us. If you decided to be 'out', you have to roll with the punches, and sometimes it's really going to suck.
I really wish you the best, but it's going to be a tough road ahead.

[sandra-leigh]

My understanding is that "wrongful termination" lawsuits can sometimes be won even when the person resigned, in some circumstances.

One of the circumstances... I do not recall the term right at the moment, but if they make it clear that you are unwelcome by giving you tasks that are meaningless or far below the norm of your position, tantamount to dismissal. Ah, "Constructive Dismissal".

Another of the circumstances is if they single you out for abuse, making the job hell for you particularly. A "hostile workplace environment" aimed at you.

A third circumstance is if there was unlawful discrimination happening that you were a victim of. In a lot of parts of Texas, discrimination against trans people is not unlawful. Although Texas is 5th Circuit, you might be able to cite the 6th Circuit anti-discrimination decision earlier this year (http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/1-17-13.cfm), along with the 14th Amendment; it was a discrimination against women case, and I have seen trans people say specifically that in 6th Circuit the decision had, amongst other things, the effect of prohibiting discrimination against trans people; even if it was only against trans women you could potentially use it. You might have to establish to evidence level that they knew you were trans.

[MonctonGirl]

At this point, anyone telling you to fight, unless they'll finance it, is leading you astray.
Focus on getting a new job - wasting time on this will simply drain you of all resources and your very soul.

[linda allen]

1) You quit, you were not fired. You are not entitled to unemployment compensation.

2) Naming the employer is not going to get you any further help. It could get you sued. You should edit your post and remove the name of the employer.

And as suggested above just give it up and find a new job.

[Rogina B]

Chock it up to experience and you should have been seeking work right away that suits you...It is past tense...One door closes,another opens...if you reach out and grab it's handle....

[NicoleScott]

I have been on both sides of the quit/fired/unemployment hearings, and in the absence of documentation, the system leans in favor of the employer. Ties (he said/she said) goes to the employer, in my experience. "Forced to quit" is wildly subjective, and a real uphill battle to win. Lessons learned: get it together before cutting ties to the paycheck.
As for getting a current employee to testify for you - which means against the company - bad idea. Don't ask that of a friend.

[Tina B.]

Sorry, but in a right to work state, employees are at the mercy of the employer. You can be let go with reason, and if you quit you have little recourse when you get denied benefits.
It's never a good idea to come out to fellow workers for just this reason, when the work place turns hostile, you are left with no where to turn, especially in a state like Texas.

[Lynn Marie]

In tough economic times like these, you can feel assured that denial of benefits is the order of the day. They follow the letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law. In your next job, be cautious about exposing your TG status.

[darla_g]

I was not surprised to hear this was in Texas, a state that refuses to have its National Guard recognize legally married same sex couples. Somehow i doubt even if you had gotten a hearing that the board would have been too sympathetic to your case. Sad to say.

[Barbra P]

Many years ago, more than I care to think about, I was called into the office and asked to sign a letter resignation. When I protested the owner’s wife explained that if I didn’t sign they would do everything they could to see that I never worked in that line of business again – basically they would black-ball me. I signed and was subsequently denied unemployment. I appealed and at the hearing I explained that I had signed the letter of resignation under duress. The panel apparently believed me more than they did the company because I received a letter saying I was eligible for unemployment. This did not happen in Texas and I have no clue how your hearing would go, but what have you got to lose? I think the EDD hearing is your only recourse at this time. I’d suggest that you concentrate more on finding another job and less on the job you lost. The lost job is water under the bridge and it isn’t very often we can change history; the exception being the very rich and crooked politicians in high offices.

Wrongful termination lawsuits are seldom won by the plaintiff because the charges are very difficult to prove in court. When the plaintiff wins it is usually because the company wants to avoid any notoriety and settles out of court – a small business like a café isn’t likely to do that. The café’s attorney is more likely to ask for one continuance after another in hopes that you don’t have the willingness or the money to pursue the suit indefinitely. Attorneys charge hundreds of dollars an hour every time they have to go to court and that includes appearing when the opposition requests a continuance. I doubt that any attorney would represent you on a contingency basis unless you were suing a very large company and you had outstanding proof that you were wrongfully terminated.

[Beverley Sims]

Mark this down to experience and look for further employment.
I think resolution is in the too hard basket now.

[cdxmatty]

Problem 1 you live in Texas. . . they say everything is bigger in Texas. . . that includes bigotry.

[linda allen]

This has nothing to do with Texas. She quit her job. You can't quit a job and get unemployment.

As for "discrimination", she has given us no information on how she was discriminated against so there's no point in discussing it.

[sandra-leigh]

Linda, as I hinted earlier, sometimes you can quit a job and get unemployment, if the job conditions were markedly unreasonable (or unsafe.)

[scarlett]

This has nothing to do with Texas. She quit her job. You can't quit a job and get unemployment.

As for "discrimination", she has given us no information on how she was discriminated against so there's no point in discussing it.

You need to search "constructive discharge". It may not help in this instance but you certainly can quit and get unemployment.

[Nicole Erin]

The only way to get unemployment is if you were laid off from an employer. Quitting, getting fired, losing your business, etc do not make the cut. I got UI once when the place i worked for downsized about 40% of it's workers.

I used to have a firend who quit, just quit her job and tried to get UI and was denied cause of just quitting. She was not TG.

[Stephanie47]

Although Wikipedia should not take the place of an attorney, Wikipedia indicates there is absolutely no protection for employees who suffer gender identity and expression on the job.

Frankly, you should move on with your employment plans. I strongly recommend moving to a more favorable environment, like Washington State. Every person with transgender or sexual identity issues should check out their state and local laws. It many states there is more protection for transsexuals than other forms of sexual expression.

[sandra-leigh]

Parts of Texas do have protections, Stephanie. As well, if a company does enough business with state or federal government, the company may be required to adhere to the state or fed rights policies.