Chelsea Mandeville
New Member
- Jurisdiction
- Alabama
Everyone says no. Noone says why. Id rather have legal backing if only for the assurance Im not messing things up, so I'm throwing this beast of a case out there one last time for someone to jump in on before I take my chances Pro Se.
Or even maybe explain why, even chopped up and simplified, no attorney will help us.
I want to sue my employer. I can't find an attorney due to the ridiculously confusing web of violations my employer has woven. There are so many violations, that span over so many Divisions of the DOL, IRS, SBA, ACA, etc. that I don't know what to do, because I've contacted nearly every attorney my fingers can summon from ye ol' Google (and the Bar Referral, Attorney Referrals, Every single division of the DOL, The IRS, Advocacy Groups, Pro Bono, and Law Schools, even tried the Unions!) and every single one just ghosts me. High and dry in the midst of so many violations that Im genuinely concerned of far reaching fingers due to the identity of partnering businesses and local involvement. Theres no reason this shouldn't be a slam dunk....right?
I've approached every single division of the DOL (both at federal and state level )and due to "Jurisdictional Issues" (no physical address for the business in AL where I live and work) the only cases I've been able to have opened are an OSHA ACA whistleblowing retaliation and Federal FLSA Investigation. Itd be great to have representation there as well.
The EEOC canceled my appointment after I didnt confirm an email within 48hrs due to a Lupus Flare, after waiting 4 months, and won't call me back. Don't know what to do about that. I just keep calling and they just keep not answering.The website says no availability to reschedule. EBSA is stonewalling us, won't pass our case along to an investigator despite the employer engaging in violations that even the Sr. Benefits Advisor witnessed when they failed to provide an SPD (still haven't almost 8 months later), witnessed breach of fiduciary duty (long story) and we reported suspected benefits fraud (with proof!). He apparently didn't log any evidence we sent either, so that's fun. Have called the other Divisions that may have authority, even emailed the Secretary of Labor....of course, no response.
Wage & Hour (Federal, Wisconsin, Alabama) won't touch the misclassification (recorded admission of this fact by the CEO is even available) along with the company concealing the handbook in an attempt to cover this. We're owed 6+yrs of paid holidays, vacation pay, healthcare, fringe benefits like ST Disability, Vision, dental, etc.
Noone will touch the fact that we have never been offered Healthcare each year within 90 days of rehire each season nor Cobra each layoff. No, we're not considered seasonal when in reference to these topics We are FT/FTE according to our Handbook, ACA, IRS and Wage & Hour standards. We average over 8 months of full time work and over 1300 hours worked each year.
Noone will touch the fact that this employer is obtaining a SHOP plan as a large employer, according to his PPP Loan App in 2020 that stated he had 63 full time jobs to save. So the forgiven loan was either frauded with padded employee count, or he's defrauding the govmt. By lessening his numbers. According to his employee count that the ceo gave me, he had less than 50 in 2019/2020 but his family owns SEVERAL other businesses that qualify to be counted as a single entity, so I'm not sure why this hasn't been linked.
Workers comp....yeah, cut myself with a chainsaw on my knuckle due to lack of PPE (its on video, absolutely amazing luck) and after agreeing to an alternative wage arrangement due to my anxiety and the already happening retaliation and inability to afford the pay cut, he went back on his word and tried to stop the proceedings by refusing to answer my inquiries about which doctors would be covered if I went for treatment. He then lied on the first report of injury stating it didn't occur on the employer's premises. He is currently unaware of the presence of this video. I never got care and refused the filing at this point due to the extreme stress I was facing.
I should also note there'd ample proof of all of this. All phone calls have been recorded, and all other communications have been saved via email. The audio contains meetings of discussing these issues with the CEO who at one point tries to ask us how much we'd want for compensation. He started with 5k, we said for which violation. He then threw out 50k, to which we said for which violation. He never did answer. We never accepted or confirmed we were looking for money and rather insisted that we wanted to work with him internally to resolve these matters, and asked to share our experience and what we'd lost due to the circumstances with him.
Issues with VERY ample proof that you can choose from: PPP Loan Fraud, ACA Fraud, Payroll Fraud, Workers Compensation Fraud and failure to inform, Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Negligence, Failure to Inform, Various ERISA violations ebsa is refusing to look into, discrimination related to sex and disability, Discriminatory Practices surrounding benefits, retaliation for reporting these issues etc.
Honestly I'm exhausted, they have an attorney who's hostile and threatening my job and my husbands, as well as misrepresenting the law and behaving so unethically I've issued a a cease and desist letter. I'll be reporting her to the appropriate authorities as well. I want to hit these guys as hard as they've hit us and the damages include medical bills over $10k, inability to obtain treatment that cost over $16k per month that would have been covered, witholding of benefits for over 8 yrs totaling an ungodly value, emotional and physical harm, reputational damage, worsening of quality of life due to medical conditions that we could have treated with the insurance, etc. I'm taking them to court regardless, and I've contacted almost every firm that pops up in an attempt to gain legal representation.
Take your cut out of the winnings, I just don't have a retainer. This is a huge, complex set of of issued that have resulted due to the employer's Fraudulent Practiced, and will require some time and a lot of explaining to comprehend. We know our rights, we know we have a slam dunk case for negligence, Breach of Fiduciary duty, Etc. And can gladly provide you with the proof for the elements of each case. This isn't for the feint of heart, and I'm searching for an attorney who has ( for lack of a better term) a vendetta against employers who specialize in using grey areas of the law. He's blatantly breaking it now, but it wasn't always the case. This may have the potential of involving several other large companies for liability reasons (Payroll company, Healthcare Provider, and honestly several Divisions of the DOL)
Or even maybe explain why, even chopped up and simplified, no attorney will help us.
I want to sue my employer. I can't find an attorney due to the ridiculously confusing web of violations my employer has woven. There are so many violations, that span over so many Divisions of the DOL, IRS, SBA, ACA, etc. that I don't know what to do, because I've contacted nearly every attorney my fingers can summon from ye ol' Google (and the Bar Referral, Attorney Referrals, Every single division of the DOL, The IRS, Advocacy Groups, Pro Bono, and Law Schools, even tried the Unions!) and every single one just ghosts me. High and dry in the midst of so many violations that Im genuinely concerned of far reaching fingers due to the identity of partnering businesses and local involvement. Theres no reason this shouldn't be a slam dunk....right?
I've approached every single division of the DOL (both at federal and state level )and due to "Jurisdictional Issues" (no physical address for the business in AL where I live and work) the only cases I've been able to have opened are an OSHA ACA whistleblowing retaliation and Federal FLSA Investigation. Itd be great to have representation there as well.
The EEOC canceled my appointment after I didnt confirm an email within 48hrs due to a Lupus Flare, after waiting 4 months, and won't call me back. Don't know what to do about that. I just keep calling and they just keep not answering.The website says no availability to reschedule. EBSA is stonewalling us, won't pass our case along to an investigator despite the employer engaging in violations that even the Sr. Benefits Advisor witnessed when they failed to provide an SPD (still haven't almost 8 months later), witnessed breach of fiduciary duty (long story) and we reported suspected benefits fraud (with proof!). He apparently didn't log any evidence we sent either, so that's fun. Have called the other Divisions that may have authority, even emailed the Secretary of Labor....of course, no response.
Wage & Hour (Federal, Wisconsin, Alabama) won't touch the misclassification (recorded admission of this fact by the CEO is even available) along with the company concealing the handbook in an attempt to cover this. We're owed 6+yrs of paid holidays, vacation pay, healthcare, fringe benefits like ST Disability, Vision, dental, etc.
Noone will touch the fact that we have never been offered Healthcare each year within 90 days of rehire each season nor Cobra each layoff. No, we're not considered seasonal when in reference to these topics We are FT/FTE according to our Handbook, ACA, IRS and Wage & Hour standards. We average over 8 months of full time work and over 1300 hours worked each year.
Noone will touch the fact that this employer is obtaining a SHOP plan as a large employer, according to his PPP Loan App in 2020 that stated he had 63 full time jobs to save. So the forgiven loan was either frauded with padded employee count, or he's defrauding the govmt. By lessening his numbers. According to his employee count that the ceo gave me, he had less than 50 in 2019/2020 but his family owns SEVERAL other businesses that qualify to be counted as a single entity, so I'm not sure why this hasn't been linked.
Workers comp....yeah, cut myself with a chainsaw on my knuckle due to lack of PPE (its on video, absolutely amazing luck) and after agreeing to an alternative wage arrangement due to my anxiety and the already happening retaliation and inability to afford the pay cut, he went back on his word and tried to stop the proceedings by refusing to answer my inquiries about which doctors would be covered if I went for treatment. He then lied on the first report of injury stating it didn't occur on the employer's premises. He is currently unaware of the presence of this video. I never got care and refused the filing at this point due to the extreme stress I was facing.
I should also note there'd ample proof of all of this. All phone calls have been recorded, and all other communications have been saved via email. The audio contains meetings of discussing these issues with the CEO who at one point tries to ask us how much we'd want for compensation. He started with 5k, we said for which violation. He then threw out 50k, to which we said for which violation. He never did answer. We never accepted or confirmed we were looking for money and rather insisted that we wanted to work with him internally to resolve these matters, and asked to share our experience and what we'd lost due to the circumstances with him.
Issues with VERY ample proof that you can choose from: PPP Loan Fraud, ACA Fraud, Payroll Fraud, Workers Compensation Fraud and failure to inform, Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Negligence, Failure to Inform, Various ERISA violations ebsa is refusing to look into, discrimination related to sex and disability, Discriminatory Practices surrounding benefits, retaliation for reporting these issues etc.
Honestly I'm exhausted, they have an attorney who's hostile and threatening my job and my husbands, as well as misrepresenting the law and behaving so unethically I've issued a a cease and desist letter. I'll be reporting her to the appropriate authorities as well. I want to hit these guys as hard as they've hit us and the damages include medical bills over $10k, inability to obtain treatment that cost over $16k per month that would have been covered, witholding of benefits for over 8 yrs totaling an ungodly value, emotional and physical harm, reputational damage, worsening of quality of life due to medical conditions that we could have treated with the insurance, etc. I'm taking them to court regardless, and I've contacted almost every firm that pops up in an attempt to gain legal representation.
Take your cut out of the winnings, I just don't have a retainer. This is a huge, complex set of of issued that have resulted due to the employer's Fraudulent Practiced, and will require some time and a lot of explaining to comprehend. We know our rights, we know we have a slam dunk case for negligence, Breach of Fiduciary duty, Etc. And can gladly provide you with the proof for the elements of each case. This isn't for the feint of heart, and I'm searching for an attorney who has ( for lack of a better term) a vendetta against employers who specialize in using grey areas of the law. He's blatantly breaking it now, but it wasn't always the case. This may have the potential of involving several other large companies for liability reasons (Payroll company, Healthcare Provider, and honestly several Divisions of the DOL)