Newspaper Page Text
HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
On discrimination, emplopent
Dear Mr. Rockefeller, I am a white
male and my supervisor is now a black
female; until recently, I actually super
vised her and recom
mended that she be
fired. My employer
told me that we could
not fire her, because
she would sue, and I
was eventually demot
ed and placed under
her supervision. I feel
that I am being dis
criminated and retal
iated against. What
are my rights?
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v
J&A
Jim Rockefeller
The ‘Law’ man
Dear Reader, I had dealt with something
similar to your query in a series of columns
last year, but, to review, Georgia is an “at
will-state.”
This means that your employer can fire
you for any reason; even a stupid one. Is
it a ridiculous managerial decision to ran
domly fire a good employee? Absolutely!
A well-run business cannot afford to
make random job decisions or it will not be
able to maintain the good-will of its employ
ees, but it is not illegal to be stupid.
A part of the “at-will” analysis is that
employers can make “bad” decisions short
of actionable harassment or discrimina
tion. For instance, just like being fired, a
random demotion is generally not some
thing you can sue over.
Even if your current supervisor constant
ly reminds you that you could be fired on a
moment’s notice, you probably cannot sue.
The type of harassment you can sue over
goes to the heart of our anti-discrimina
tion laws, e.g., if she called you a “redneck”
while doing so, you may have a case.
If your employer has a sufficient number
of employees, it cannot discriminate based
on race, age, gender, disability, ethnicity,
and religion.
When it comes to race, we typically
think of “minority” races or ethnicities
suing over an adverse racially-motivated
job action; but there is also something
called “reverse discrimination,” where a
Caucasian person complains that his/her
race was used against them.
Hence, you may have a cause of action if
race was the reason you were demoted. If
your employer posits a non-discriminatory
EVANS
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"Proof of discrimination is,
however, verjn very fact
specific, with tricky
procedural hurdles."
basis for this decision, you would have to
prove this explanation was “pretextual.”
Proof of discrimination is, however,
very, very fact specific, with tricky pro
cedural hurdles. You must file a claim
with the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission within 180 days of an adverse
job action (this could, by' the way, include
your demotion).
Then, if the EEOC sends you a “right to
sue” letter (which happens in about 90 per
cent of cases), you will typically have only
90 days to file a lawsuit.
It is a fallacy that you cannot sue if you
resign (as opposed to be firing) or even if
you stay on the job.
In fact, you can make your EEOC com
plaint, even as you continue to work under
your current supervisor - this may make
for a pretty tense work environment, but
this is one of your rights. Proof of discrimi
nation can be direct, indirect, even inferred
from a statistical analysis of similar treat
ment of others in your “class” in other job
decisions.
Your question does not address some of
these factors, although on the surface it
appears that you may have a claim.
Still, these cases are difficult to prove.
The bottom line is that your right to your
job depends on the strength of your rela
tionship with your employer; you should
not count on the law to rescue you from a
bad situation; you might just need to look
for employment elsewhere.
Local attorney Jim Rockefeller owns
the Rockefeller Law Center and is a for
mer Houston County Chief Assistant
District Attorney, and, a former Miami
Prosecutor. E-mail confidential legal ques
tions to ajr@rockefellerlawcenter.com. Visit
www.rockefellerlawcenter.com for other
Frequently Asked Questions and his blog,
The Rockefeller Report
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There’s a little boy in you!
Maybe in you it’s
a little girl. The
point is, you may
have grown up, and you may
be intelligent and sophisti
cated and highly respected.
Still, that little 5-year old is
alive and well and makes her
or his presence known once
in awhile, sometimes when
you least expect it!
Is that good? Is that bad?
Let’s just say that sometimes
that little kid gets in the way,
and sometimes that youngster
is the key to your success!
Forty years ago, Thomas
Harris published a book
entitled I’m Okay, You’re
Okay. Three years prior
to that, his colleague Eric
Berne had published a book
entitled Games People Play.
These two books birthed
an approach in psychology
known as “Transactional
Analysis.” Their model iden
tifies three different “ego
states” in each of us. Any
“transaction” between two
people can be analyzed to
determine which ego state is
engaged in each person.
The ego states are des
ignated Child, Parent, and
Adult. We all know what
is characteristic of children.
We’ve all been a child, and
we’ve all been around them.
Children are wonderfully
curious, creative, impulsive,
hopeful, energetic, and play
ful. They often make choices
based on the amount of fun
they will likely enjoy!
Children are emotional,
and their emotions swing
unpredictably. Sometimes
they are filled with brava
do - they are willing to try
anything, even if it involves
great risk! But sometimes
children are filled with fear
over the craziest things.
(What were you afraid of as
a kid?)
Children can be unrealistic,
idealistic, unreasonable, irre
sponsible, dependent, and self-
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153686
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2007
Dennis Hooper
Leaders Building
Leaders
absorbed.
You may
think,
“Oh, no!
Not me!”
Don’t fool
yourself -
that little
kid is alive
and well in
you!
We all
display these qualities at
times. The question shouldn’t
be whether having childlike
characteristics is good or bad.
For most responsible indi
viduals (especially leaders),
the question is: “Am I effec
tive?” That is, do you influ
ence others to make choices
that productively accomplish
the desired outcomes of your
organization? I teach this
Parent/Adult/Child model to
leadership teams. We seek
ways to make the relationships
between people in the work
place healthier. As we explore
habitual routines, many lead
ers realize their controlling,
judging Parent is often domi
nant. They sometimes treat
employees as if they are irre
sponsible children. That’s a
hard habit to break, but well
worth the effort.
This Parent/Child “dance”
never occurs instantaneously.
It develops after many inter
actions where each party con
forms to their scripted roles.
The boss (Parent) demands
harshly, and the employee
(Child) retreats in fear and
disappointment. The next
time, the employee is less
willing to risk and the boss is
even more frustrated at the
lack of responsibility.
Typically, neither party
can improve this interactive
“dance” alone. An effective
Assessing Your
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153820,
moderator can intervene
appropriately, providing feed
back and offering options to
both individuals. A desirable
outcome is to move toward col
laboration between rational,
analytical, problem-solving,
problem-preventing Adults.
Your irresponsible Child
ego state is rarely a benefi
cial contributor to the health
of the workplace. Still, your
little boy or girl brings value
in terms of creativity, energy,
and persistence! Celebrate
that Child in you! Nurture
your Child, and learn when
and how to let him or her
flourish appropriately!
Your Child is the source of
your dreams! The tenacity of
your little one who’s willing
to do whatever it takes to be
successful can be a huge con
tributor to the success of your
workplace!
Hooper is a certified leader
ship development coach, help
ing leaders appreciate their
Child, reorient their Parent,
and link their Adult with other
Adults in their organizations.
For more fun and greater effec
tiveness, contact him at 478-
988-0237 or dhooper2@juno.
com.
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dhooper2@juno.com'