Wrongful Termination Becuase of My AS--Please Help!

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Hello, all. Some of you might know that I met my husband (JayShaw--a former moderator) here, though I seldom post. Anyway, I need help very badly with the following situation: I was wrongfully terminated from my position with the U.S. federal government (National Archives and Records Administration) on October 13th for two reasons, both which are *directly* associated with my AS (which was known to my supervisor):

(1.) my "emotional outbursts" (in truth, my occasional crying in the office [alone in my cubicle, sometimes on the phone with my family])
(2.) my "seeming to have difficulty in working as a team player" (yes, her words)

I've already started the EEO complaint (Equal Employment Opportunity) discrimination complaint process, but I need legal representation very badly and cannot afford it.

Most disturbing of all is that just an hour or so after I was fired (when I was in the National Archives' EEO office telling them about what had happened), a fraudulent phone call was made to my former supervisor's voice mail, leaving a message with my voice saying just the word "b***h." I most certainly did not make this call and suspect very strongly that my former supervisor was responsible (this is also disability-related, because she obviously felt I was vulnerable enough not to fight back to this sort of thing, and that no one would believe that I didn't due it, since I have a "mental disorder"). I have heard the message (EEO received a copy of it and emailed it to me, in .wav format), and it is certainly my voice, but even to a non-expert (in digital audio matters) like myself, it was clear the word (which could have even been "pitch" or another "-itch" word) was lifted from another context. It was most likely played into the phone from a small tape recorder or something of that sort. (A friend of mine, who is interested in digital audio matters, has listened to and looked at a digital stream image of the sample [which is only 2 seconds long!], and says there are strong indications that it was edited.)

If anyone has any advice whatsoever, specifically about legal representation, please respond. You can email me at [email protected], too, or private message me here, as well.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Jennifer Beckman

seethaki, I don't have any experience with the legal world, but I've posted a link to this over on my forum asking if anyone has any advice to come and post. I hope somebody does.

oh how terrible, i didn't think it was that hard to lose your job especially if you have a government job. my mom works for the state of arizona, apart of des and it takes an act of god to get fired from there like you really have to be caught doing something red handed, and even then you might not get fired. some lawyers will take up your case and i don't think you need to pay them unless they win your case for you, i also think there's free lawyers available that either the state provides or they come from somewhere else. i hope everything works out for you

First off, I am not a lawyer, these are just some thoughts....

The INTERESTING thing is that MANY create disturbances.

Not a team player????? THAT'S a LAUGH!! !! If they don't like it, they should get out of government service. The government is supposed to be on a team to help the country. In many cases, including the US, they are out for themselves!

Still, what is the TEAM trying to do? If it doesn't have to do with getting a reasonable job done, you DON'T want a team player.

Anyway, I guess I am saying that this probably has nothing to do with AS. As for the phone call, have you been known to ever use the word? Have you been known to swear? If you haven't been, then that is a valid defense. If you have been, analyze the tape, and compare times. If she is lying, she should be fired and you might be due for a big settlement for (in the US) discrimination, ADA violations, defamation, wrongfull termination, lost pay, pain and suffering, etc.... AS IS a valid ADA problem as of about 1996!

Steve

doesn't the civil service have a special process you can use for filing this type of complaint with the government?

http://www.eeoc.gov/charge/index.html

This might help for starters?

Are you part of a union? They're great for such things like this, especially in cases of wrongful termination and discrimination as they understand the ADA. If you're not in a union, then the ACLU should be able to help, as they deal with violations of rights, including ADA violations. I'm not a lawyer, but I know that labor unions and the ACLU are great when it comes to discrimination cases.

Have you considered asking the ACLU for help, Jennifer? If they take your case, it would be at no cost to you and they would provide excellent representation.

You can't be fired because of a disability. If you were in a wheel chair they'd have to build you a ramp. American's with Disabilities act passed in the 70's. They have to accomodate you like they'd have to accomodate someone with a physical disability.

Yes, the ACLU sounds like something to try.

Thank you very much, Sophist and everyone. I am going to start my search for legal representation tomorrow (when business/law offices are open are open)--I'm going to start online by making a list of suggestions of possible sources of legal representation, and then begin calling people.

This is a very stressful position to be in--Jay has agreed to move away from here (D.C.) once this is all over with. He's from San Antonio, TX, so we might go there. (I'm from Missouri.)

I'll let everyone know how my search proceeds...

Keep us up to date on how it's going, seethaki, and let us know if there's anything else we can do.

seethaki, I don't know if this webpage might help a bit as well:

http://www.findlaw.com/14firms/legalaid.html

Jennifer, did you work in this job for more than a year or less than a year?

The first year is usually probationary in a Federal government job and you can be let go for practically any reason, but after a year, it is much more difficult to let someone go.

You should contact a Labor Law attorney that specializes in these cases. They can advice you on your legal rights and take you case and get paid only if you win your case.
[email protected] This is a group on Yahoo that is about workplace bullying and they are very knowledgeable about this sort of situation and they have gone through it themselves so they know where you are coming from.

Thanks again, everyone, for your suggestions. I did a *lot* of calling to attorneys over the past week but couldn't locate anyone who would take my case on a contingency basis (i.e., I wouldn't pay them unless we won). I'm just going to see how much EEO complaint proceeds without the aid of an attorney and take it from there...

Based on some people's suggestions, I'm thinking I might not want to work in an office setting again, anyway. I'm considering applying for SSDI and working for myself as a freelance researcher (from home) part-time. Let me know if anything new comes up on the attorney front...

(BTW, I had the position for about nine months before I was terminated.)