I'm a racist!

[DVS]

DVS, were they seriously offended by your "alleged" use of the word "bro"?

Almost all of the Kiwis and Aussies I know use that term. (Pronounced more like "brew", though). I've never thought of it as ghetto speak. I mean, maybe it would be too casual for a work situation, but racist?? Really?

People here in Oklahoma, well, guys mainly, use "bro" or even funnier "brosef" (pronounced like the name "Joseph") when referring to their friends, regardless of skin color. That's fucking RETARDED that they're trying to pin YOU with the title of racist because you said 'bro'.

If I was the judge, I'd laugh that case right outta court and tell them to pay you for pain and suffering.

During the interrogation...I mean investigation, I never heard anything about the word bro. This is the first I've heard of anyone even mentioning it as something offensive I was to have said.

My sister thought it might be that when called on the phone for a reason I was fired, she (the HR lady) didn't have the guts to say the N word or much else, because in her heart she knows I said none of it. So, I guess bro was the worst she could come up with.

I'm not accustomed to say it, but I do have friends that use it, and many of them are white. They are musicians. Some go as far as to say brother, but bro isn't that uncommon. And as for it being racist, you have to look at it from the offended party's point of view. You might not think something is racist, but if someone else does, then it is racist. So, just about anything someone says could be considered racist in the work place.

The ghetto language reference was in the investigation. I supposedly said my boss spoke in ghetto language, and I think that was suppose to mean I thought he was uneducated. He does have a problem with grammar and spelling when he's typing a report in MS Word, but he does quite well when he's talking.

As for the misspelling and grammar, who doesn't have a problem with that every now and then? I don't know why he doesn't use spell check. Shit, my sister has a problem with spelling. I guess maybe she talks in a form of ghetto language in her emails.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to this hearing Thursday morning.

 

[FurryFury]

DVS, were they seriously offended by your "alleged" use of the word "bro"?

Almost all of the Kiwis and Aussies I know use that term. (Pronounced more like "brew", though). I've never thought of it as ghetto speak. I mean, maybe it would be too casual for a work situation, but racist?? Really?

I was thinking that too. Bro is racist? Since when?

 

[FurryFury]

During the interrogation...I mean investigation, I never heard anything about the word bro. This is the first I've heard of anyone even mentioning it as something offensive I was to have said.

My sister thought it might be that when called on the phone for a reason I was fired, she (the HR lady) didn't have the guts to say the N word or much else, because in her heart she knows I said none of it. So, I guess bro was the worst she could come up with.

I'm not accustomed to say it, but I do have friends that use it, and many of them are white. They are musicians. Some go as far as to say brother, but bro isn't that uncommon. And as for it being racist, you have to look at it from the offended party's point of view. You might not think something is racist, but if someone else does, then it is racist. So, just about anything someone says could be considered racist in the work place.

The ghetto language reference was in the investigation. I supposedly said my boss spoke in ghetto language, and I think that was suppose to mean I thought he was uneducated. He does have a problem with grammar and spelling when he's typing a report in MS Word, but he does quite well when he's talking.

As for the misspelling and grammar, who doesn't have a problem with that every now and then? I don't know why he doesn't use spell check. Shit, my sister has a problem with spelling. I guess maybe she talks in a form of ghetto language in her emails.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to this hearing Thursday morning.

I'm hoping that everything turns out well for you, with this job and Thursday morning.

*hug*

 

[chy_girl]

Good luck tomorrow. Or today, depending on your time zone.

 

[kayte]

Good morning {{{{{{{DVS}}}}}}

Hope the hearing is going well.

 

[DVS]

Good morning {{{{{{{DVS}}}}}}

Hope the hearing is going well.

Well, I just finished with the hearing. I don't know if it went well or not. Of course, you never know about these things, but it just doesn't sit well in my gut, right now. I would have had the hearing be face to face, because I communicate better, that way. Over the phone, I tend to listen to my voice more than I should and I don't think about what I'm saying.

I did get to say some things I wanted to, but it's just me against the world, because I know I'm being seen as a racist first, and I have to convince someone that I'm not. It shouldn't be that way, but it is. From the get go, I was denied benefits because I was discharged for making racist comments at work. That means the employer was believed and it was assumed that I did what they said I did.

Then, in the hearing, they asked the employer what I did and they said I made inappropriate comments to various workers. The employer said I admitted to saying the word bitch, but she then tried to clarify that she meant biatch (is that how it's spelled?) and she said "excuse my language" when she said it.

I tried to clarify that the employer was mistaken and that there were no women involved, but I wasn't allowed to talk. I was only allowed to answer yes or no. She kept asking if I called some female employee bitch and I said no. Then she asked the same question in a different way, and I still said no. She kept thinking a woman was involved and I called her bitch or biatch. Then, the employer tried to clarify, but she didn't do very good, the second time around. I'm just concerned that that confusion wasn't addressed correctly. But, I was limited in what I could say and when I could say it.

There was a time when I could ask the employer questions, but when I did, I tried to ask two questions at once and the unemployment lady said I needed to split them up. I also wanted to make a point that nobody's honesty was even questioned but by doing that, I guess I was making more of a statement before the question and the unemployment lady stopped me, saying I would have time for a statement later.

I did get my time to speak, but because it was on the phone, I was bothered by hearing my voice in my ear and that kept me from saying what I wanted to say. We weren't allowed to speak from any prepared text. I got most of what I wanted to say out, but I wonder if that biatch issue will be enough to make the unemployment lady think I did actually say racist things, because I admitted to saying that word. Sometimes, that's all it takes for someone to assume...if he said it once, he wouldn't have an issue with saying it again.

And the context was difficult for me to explain because it was a big joke and everybody was laughing. I was making fun of myself, joking and dancing, and I don't dance very well at all. I knew that, and I was trying to make a joke of my poor dancing and it worked, because everybody was laughing at my dancing. Everybody was having fun at my expense. That's what I had intended. It wasn't a serious moment when I was trying to demean the black race by saying the word biatch, but I wonder if that was how the lady took it.

I said I stood by my 5 page letter explaining what I think might have happened. I said I didn't see how working for the company nearly 9 years, and in that time nobody ever mentioned to me or to a supervisor that I was making racist comments.

I just felt like I was guilty until proven innocent and I didn't like that feeling. That's what sticks in my gut right now and it pisses me off. I guess in a week or so, I'll find out what that lady thought. But if she finds in the company's behalf, I will appeal again. I'm not going to let this stand, if I have anything to say about it.

 

[Velvet Bubbles]

My jaw dropped when I saw/started reading this thread. What a screwed up situation! I wish you the best of luck, hon. ((hugs))

 

[DVS]

I looked at the unemployment web site last night and noticed my benefits have changed...for the better. Before, when it said how much I'd received in total benefits it said $0.00. Now, it has each week listed out and the total benefits I've received is $2, 240.00. Yes, quite a difference.

I haven't yet received a letter stating this as fact, and I know better than to trust that web site. I've done that in the past and had it bite me. But, at least it shows a change in my favor and that's a plus.

Just like I would have had appeal rights, the employer also has appeal rights if they still feel I should be denied benefits. I know I was going to appeal if the decision wasn't in my favor. They have that right too, but something tells me they don't have the guts.

There's nothing they can say that hasn't already been said. I could at least mention the inconsistencies in their statements and the incorrect assumptions in the hearing, if I were to appeal, but the employer didn't say much at all in the hearing.

So, maybe another hurdle has been jumped, here. If that's true, I'm back on my feet again. it's not a lot, and I don't really think it takes the place of the stress and uncertainty that I went through, but at least this time around, my luck hasn't been as bad as it usually is.

The money isn't in my bank account yet, although with automatic deposit, I'd think it should go in pretty soon. And as I said, I don't yet have the official letter stating the decision of the deputy. But it looks good enough that I thought I'd share. If nothing else, it's a mistake and I appeal, again. I'll appeal until I can't appeal any more. But maybe I won't have to.

 

[DVS]

My jaw dropped when I saw/started reading this thread. What a screwed up situation! I wish you the best of luck, hon. ((hugs))

Thanks, Velvet. My jaw has been dragging for the last couple of months, but maybe things are starting to turn my way.

 

[FloggingMolly]

Yay! fingers tightly crossed for you, but it looks good

 

[seela]

I've been skimming this thread and the whole situation is just unbelieveable! No one should ever have to go through that. But I'm glad to see you got a new job and things are getting better for you!

Just like I would have had appeal rights, the employer also has appeal rights if they still feel I should be denied benefits.

This left me puzzled. Why would the employer care if you get unemployment benefits or not? Does the employer have to pay them?

 

[FurryFury]

Glad you will finally get your benefits!

 

[DVS]

I've been skimming this thread and the whole situation is just unbelieveable! No one should ever have to go through that. But I'm glad to see you got a new job and things are getting better for you!



This left me puzzled. Why would the employer care if you get unemployment benefits or not? Does the employer have to pay them?

Yes, the employer pays into a fund and are required to keep a minimum balance in that fund. If someone claims benefits, it depletes from that fund and the employer has to replenish it. So, ultimately, they do pay for my unemployment.



Well everybody, I just noticed that my bank account is now $2,415 richer as of about an hour ago. And, today I got the letter addressing the hearing that says they reversed their earlier decision of 4 months ago denying benefits because the employer hadn't proved that I had said anything wrong.

I did admit to saying biotch (the state spelled it ==> be at ch) and they said that although it might have been bad judgment on my part to say that (hind sight is 20-20), the employer didn't prove it was against company policy. In fact, they didn't even enter the policy against racial discrimination into the record. All they said was I had said it, which I didn't deny. The state required proof that there was such a policy and they didn't provide that proof.

The state also said the employer had the opportunity to have one of the individuals that had claimed I had said offending comments testify for them, and they didn't do that. When asked, the employer also didn't know if I had been told by the offended party that what I supposedly said in their presence was offensive, and that was damaging to their case. I guess, as far as the state is concerned, the offended party should have told me that they are in fact offended.

My employer's HR people had told me it wasn't necessary for the offended party to say they were offended. I said I was never told I had said anything offensive by anyone. What I meant by that was I didn't say anything offensive, so they didn't have a position to tell me something was offensive. I guess the state found that I had never been told anything was offensive as very telling.

The burden was on the employer to prove that I had said racist comments and they didn't do that. They could have done a better job than they did, but they just didn't provide the evidence nor the witnesses to back their claims. So, although they did have the right to fire me because Missouri is an employment at will state, they didn't have the right to deny my unemployment benefits. It took the state four pages of legal mumbo-jumbo to say I was entitled to the $2,415. Woo Hoo!

 

[FloggingMolly]

Brillant, well done hon

 

[seela]

Yes, the employer pays into a fund and are required to keep a minimum balance in that fund. If someone claims benefits, it depletes from that fund and the employer has to replenish it. So, ultimately, they do pay for my unemployment.



Well everybody, I just noticed that my bank account is now $2,415 richer as of about an hour ago.

-snip-

It took the state four pages of legal mumbo-jumbo to say I was entitled to the $2,415. Woo Hoo!

Thanks for the clarification. The system is a lot different than the one in Finland, so I didn't understand why all the hussle with courts and all. In Finland it's typically just a lot of red tape, but the employer doesn't interfere.

And congrats on the latter part!

 

[Ravenwind]

Grats on seeing justice done, DVS. Employers seem to scrape the bottom of the barrel when looking for reasons to fire a good worker... my Husband once got fired for "hacking their computers" (read as: changing his workstation's wallpaper). Ain't fun in the least, but I'm glad to see the state came through for you.

 

[kayte]

{{{{{{DVS}}}}}}

It is good to read you got some recompense but the entire situation was just so wrong. I am sorry you had to go through that and I hope things are working out with your new job.