CARHARTTKOWBOY
New Member
In Jan, 05 I took a position with a local telecom. My employer was not aware of my preference and or my health conditions. As I had been diagnosed in late 2000 with the HIV virus. I had maintained my health to a manageable level. In June,05 I caught my supervisor going through a metal folder I used for work. I had left the my metal file book in my box at work as I had done since I began to work with them. In the bottom of the file folder I had a invitation to a gay party. The invitation was in a sealed envelope and well out of sight. When I walked into my supervisors office I noticed that my book was laying on his desk and papers all sticking out of it. He lifted the folder lid and pitched something in it. I asked what he was doing going through my book. He replied oh I was just seeing who the book belonged too. I stated that the book clearly had my name on the lid. He replied well get your SH*T out of my office then. I took the book and said no more and walked out to the parking lot, where I inspected the book, to find that the invite to the gay party was on the top and the envelope had been torn open and the papers were scattered.
I kept quite about the events for the remainder of the day, but the next morning I came to work to find my boss had a different tone with me than his normal cheerful attitude. The day went on, my boss called me on the company Nextel and harassing me about little things like the amount of time I was taking to finish a job, then again calling me and asking me why I took lunch before I finished my 2nd job. Little things that didn't even matter on a normally. This harassment continued for the duration of the week.
The next week I informed my supervisor that I needed to go up to Human Resources to talk about some issues I was having. He informed me that I needed to take all issues I had with him first then, he would direct them to his boss, then I would be sent to HR if it couldn't be handled. I refused to have this talk with him about the issues and I decided to send a sealed letter through him to the Human Resource manager. I take it the letter never got to human resources. His temperament with me only hastened in the weeks ahead. I approached his manager to inform him that I thought that my supervisor was being harsh towards me and that he was treating me like I was incompetent. That there was no reason for him to treat me in this manner since I had ranked in the top 10 in the region for 2 quarters with excellent production. He informed me that he would have a talk with him to see what was going on. For the next few days things seemed to be on the up and up and days went by without a hitch. I was up for a promotion the next month and had several conversations with my peers in his presence about passing the test and how hard I had been studying. 2 days later I was written up for not answering my phone while I was on lunch, which knocked me out of being able to take the test. Every time I would come up for a promotion my supervisor would find a way to write me up. Later I had a ladder collapsed on me in a warehouse when I was at 28 foot. The fall hurt my back and leg, and was put on light duty by the doctor at the medical clinic. The doctor gave me a prescription for a muscle relaxer and I refused to take it till I couldn't stand the pain . Two days after the accident I took a pain killer at 3am because I was hurting so bad. I slept right through my alarm clock the next morning and awoke at 11:35am the next day and immediately called in to the system and left a message for the manager in-which I was reporting while on light duty and informed them I had over slept and was not feeling well and would not be in due to my drossiness. The next morning I returned to my post and was contacted via the phone by my supervisor the one that I had been having the issues with. He asked me where I was the day before, I told him that I had over slept because of the drugs I had taken and had called into the system and left a message for the reporting supervisor. He then stated that well you should have sucked it up and came to work like a man. It would be considered an NO Call NO SHOW. Went on to rave about some other things like I better watch my step and got very harsh with me. I spoke in a normal tone and informed him I had a job to do and that I was in no mood or shape to argue with him over the phone where all could here, and said good bye and hung up. The next morning I was called into his bosses office with him present and written up for NO CALL NO SHOW and was informed that my call to the system could not be found , and that I was also being wrote up for not arguing with my boss over the phone and hanging up on him before he was through talking to me. He later called it a verbal coaching in his write up.
Then in December I was getting sick from all the stress that this supervisor was putting on me. In early January I was feeling the effects of my illness and was dizzy and had a sinus infection, no energy, temperature ,and bad cough. It was obvious to me that my blood counts and the virus had a hold on me. I informed my employer that something wasn't right and that I would more than likely be taking some medical leave as soon as I could get to the doctor and get check out. On January 22nd I was issued a job to go fix an issue at a commercial building. I diagnosed the issue and to fix it I would have to get up on a narrow 3rd story roof and hang over the edge to get a new line brought in. I attempted the job and felt really dizzy and unsafe doing it so I called in to get a maintenance technician with a bucket truck to out to run the new line. I tried calling my supervisor to inform him that I was headed to the doctor, and I had asked for a bucket truck to do the job since I didn't feel safe doing it. He never answered the phone so I informed my dispatcher of what I was doing and to relay it to my supervisor when she talked to him. I left the job and was headed to the doctors office when I got about 20 minutes out , my supervisor called me and said you need to get your As* back to the job and finish it. I told him I was sick and that I was headed to the doctors office to get checkout. And that I felt the job was too unsafe to complete in my state and condition. He said ok. Well go get what ever it is wrong with you fixed. I went to the doctor and couldn't get in because of the amount of patients waiting.
I went home and called in the next day to my supervisor to take a sick day and get to the doctors early. Told him I could probably come in after the visit to the doctor. The supervisor stated no, just go home and get some rest and get back to work the next day. The doctor informed me that I was not to return to work for at least 3 days and wrote me a note. As I had plenty of sick days and vacation days to use I informed the supervisors of the doctors required 3 day off notice and he said he wasn't going to take it, and I better be back at work. Each morning I called in to my supervisor as company policy requires. Each morning I informed him of how I was feeling and that I was making an appointment to see a better doctor in Dallas. Never letting him know my medical condition. The night of the 25th I filled out the Family Medical Leave paperwork. On the morning of the 26th of January I went to work as scheduled and turned in the FMLA paperwork to my supervisor boss with my supervisor present as well as my 3 day off work notice from their doctors office. I told them I would work until they got my FMLA approved. My supervisors boss said well no you go home and get better and I will call you when I get your authorization complete, as you have plenty of vacation and sick days you can use. I was contacted by the HR department the 29th of January ,to say that I would need to come and get my medical certification paper work at her office. I went by to get the paperwork. My appointment was a couple days later and my doctor saw that I was in pretty bad shape and filled out the paperwork and took me out of work for 4 to 6 weeks. I returned it to the HR department. The HR manager opened the envelope and went down the list reading the info. She stopped at question 4, which says to the order of" illness related facts to support my claim. She stated well I will tell you our short term disability company will deny you and you wont get paid while your off because this isn't filled out completely. I said why it says dizziness,nausea,lack of energy, acute sinus infection, related to his illness. She said well this company is very picky when it comes to short term claims. Have your doctor go into detail on the illness and if it's cancer then have him put what kind, if it's diabetes then have him elaborate on your illness ect. I went back had the doctor had him include the HIV infection on the form. I returned it back to the HR lady. She again tore open the sealed envelope and read #4 again. She sighed" and said well I am sorry to hear your that sick. How did you get it. I told her it was none of her business and that I didn't think she should be asking me questions, or even looking at the file. But being stupid of my legal rights I didn't say anything as this stood between me and my financial well being. I told her I didn't want anyone in the company to know of my illness. She stated no. I wouldn't do that this is my job and I am won't release any of this information.
Id say 2 days later I got a call on my cell phone from my supervisors boss saying how sad he was to learn of my illness and to get better soon.
On the 7th of February I got a phone call from the lady in the HR department that I turned the FMLA paper work into, she asked how I was doing then said, well I hate to inform you of this but that they had decided to terminate my employment because, I didn't go back to the job site that I was on, January 22nd as my supervisor had requested. How convenient of a reason huh?
I also believe that my supervisors boss informed my supervisor of my illness, and that my supervisor yet informed my best friend of my illness, and my sexual preferences. My best friend refuses to even talk to me, and he and my supervisor are cousins.
Dose this qualify for HIPPA,and decrimination. I have the EEOC involved right now, and a charge has been filed against them for Violation of Americans with Disabilities Act. But I have no ideal how to file the HIPAA charge. Any suggestions? I am also looking for an attorney to take this case. I want this employer to be stopped from ever doing this to another person. I really don't care about the money, other than my back pay and my job.
Any suggestions for a good HIPAA,Discrimination attorney in the Dallas Fort Worth Texas area that can take charge and right the wrong this monster of a company has done?
Thanks
carharttkowboy@charter.net
I kept quite about the events for the remainder of the day, but the next morning I came to work to find my boss had a different tone with me than his normal cheerful attitude. The day went on, my boss called me on the company Nextel and harassing me about little things like the amount of time I was taking to finish a job, then again calling me and asking me why I took lunch before I finished my 2nd job. Little things that didn't even matter on a normally. This harassment continued for the duration of the week.
The next week I informed my supervisor that I needed to go up to Human Resources to talk about some issues I was having. He informed me that I needed to take all issues I had with him first then, he would direct them to his boss, then I would be sent to HR if it couldn't be handled. I refused to have this talk with him about the issues and I decided to send a sealed letter through him to the Human Resource manager. I take it the letter never got to human resources. His temperament with me only hastened in the weeks ahead. I approached his manager to inform him that I thought that my supervisor was being harsh towards me and that he was treating me like I was incompetent. That there was no reason for him to treat me in this manner since I had ranked in the top 10 in the region for 2 quarters with excellent production. He informed me that he would have a talk with him to see what was going on. For the next few days things seemed to be on the up and up and days went by without a hitch. I was up for a promotion the next month and had several conversations with my peers in his presence about passing the test and how hard I had been studying. 2 days later I was written up for not answering my phone while I was on lunch, which knocked me out of being able to take the test. Every time I would come up for a promotion my supervisor would find a way to write me up. Later I had a ladder collapsed on me in a warehouse when I was at 28 foot. The fall hurt my back and leg, and was put on light duty by the doctor at the medical clinic. The doctor gave me a prescription for a muscle relaxer and I refused to take it till I couldn't stand the pain . Two days after the accident I took a pain killer at 3am because I was hurting so bad. I slept right through my alarm clock the next morning and awoke at 11:35am the next day and immediately called in to the system and left a message for the manager in-which I was reporting while on light duty and informed them I had over slept and was not feeling well and would not be in due to my drossiness. The next morning I returned to my post and was contacted via the phone by my supervisor the one that I had been having the issues with. He asked me where I was the day before, I told him that I had over slept because of the drugs I had taken and had called into the system and left a message for the reporting supervisor. He then stated that well you should have sucked it up and came to work like a man. It would be considered an NO Call NO SHOW. Went on to rave about some other things like I better watch my step and got very harsh with me. I spoke in a normal tone and informed him I had a job to do and that I was in no mood or shape to argue with him over the phone where all could here, and said good bye and hung up. The next morning I was called into his bosses office with him present and written up for NO CALL NO SHOW and was informed that my call to the system could not be found , and that I was also being wrote up for not arguing with my boss over the phone and hanging up on him before he was through talking to me. He later called it a verbal coaching in his write up.
Then in December I was getting sick from all the stress that this supervisor was putting on me. In early January I was feeling the effects of my illness and was dizzy and had a sinus infection, no energy, temperature ,and bad cough. It was obvious to me that my blood counts and the virus had a hold on me. I informed my employer that something wasn't right and that I would more than likely be taking some medical leave as soon as I could get to the doctor and get check out. On January 22nd I was issued a job to go fix an issue at a commercial building. I diagnosed the issue and to fix it I would have to get up on a narrow 3rd story roof and hang over the edge to get a new line brought in. I attempted the job and felt really dizzy and unsafe doing it so I called in to get a maintenance technician with a bucket truck to out to run the new line. I tried calling my supervisor to inform him that I was headed to the doctor, and I had asked for a bucket truck to do the job since I didn't feel safe doing it. He never answered the phone so I informed my dispatcher of what I was doing and to relay it to my supervisor when she talked to him. I left the job and was headed to the doctors office when I got about 20 minutes out , my supervisor called me and said you need to get your As* back to the job and finish it. I told him I was sick and that I was headed to the doctors office to get checkout. And that I felt the job was too unsafe to complete in my state and condition. He said ok. Well go get what ever it is wrong with you fixed. I went to the doctor and couldn't get in because of the amount of patients waiting.
I went home and called in the next day to my supervisor to take a sick day and get to the doctors early. Told him I could probably come in after the visit to the doctor. The supervisor stated no, just go home and get some rest and get back to work the next day. The doctor informed me that I was not to return to work for at least 3 days and wrote me a note. As I had plenty of sick days and vacation days to use I informed the supervisors of the doctors required 3 day off notice and he said he wasn't going to take it, and I better be back at work. Each morning I called in to my supervisor as company policy requires. Each morning I informed him of how I was feeling and that I was making an appointment to see a better doctor in Dallas. Never letting him know my medical condition. The night of the 25th I filled out the Family Medical Leave paperwork. On the morning of the 26th of January I went to work as scheduled and turned in the FMLA paperwork to my supervisor boss with my supervisor present as well as my 3 day off work notice from their doctors office. I told them I would work until they got my FMLA approved. My supervisors boss said well no you go home and get better and I will call you when I get your authorization complete, as you have plenty of vacation and sick days you can use. I was contacted by the HR department the 29th of January ,to say that I would need to come and get my medical certification paper work at her office. I went by to get the paperwork. My appointment was a couple days later and my doctor saw that I was in pretty bad shape and filled out the paperwork and took me out of work for 4 to 6 weeks. I returned it to the HR department. The HR manager opened the envelope and went down the list reading the info. She stopped at question 4, which says to the order of" illness related facts to support my claim. She stated well I will tell you our short term disability company will deny you and you wont get paid while your off because this isn't filled out completely. I said why it says dizziness,nausea,lack of energy, acute sinus infection, related to his illness. She said well this company is very picky when it comes to short term claims. Have your doctor go into detail on the illness and if it's cancer then have him put what kind, if it's diabetes then have him elaborate on your illness ect. I went back had the doctor had him include the HIV infection on the form. I returned it back to the HR lady. She again tore open the sealed envelope and read #4 again. She sighed" and said well I am sorry to hear your that sick. How did you get it. I told her it was none of her business and that I didn't think she should be asking me questions, or even looking at the file. But being stupid of my legal rights I didn't say anything as this stood between me and my financial well being. I told her I didn't want anyone in the company to know of my illness. She stated no. I wouldn't do that this is my job and I am won't release any of this information.
Id say 2 days later I got a call on my cell phone from my supervisors boss saying how sad he was to learn of my illness and to get better soon.
On the 7th of February I got a phone call from the lady in the HR department that I turned the FMLA paper work into, she asked how I was doing then said, well I hate to inform you of this but that they had decided to terminate my employment because, I didn't go back to the job site that I was on, January 22nd as my supervisor had requested. How convenient of a reason huh?
I also believe that my supervisors boss informed my supervisor of my illness, and that my supervisor yet informed my best friend of my illness, and my sexual preferences. My best friend refuses to even talk to me, and he and my supervisor are cousins.
Dose this qualify for HIPPA,and decrimination. I have the EEOC involved right now, and a charge has been filed against them for Violation of Americans with Disabilities Act. But I have no ideal how to file the HIPAA charge. Any suggestions? I am also looking for an attorney to take this case. I want this employer to be stopped from ever doing this to another person. I really don't care about the money, other than my back pay and my job.
Any suggestions for a good HIPAA,Discrimination attorney in the Dallas Fort Worth Texas area that can take charge and right the wrong this monster of a company has done?
Thanks
carharttkowboy@charter.net
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