Expert: Jason Barnette, Esq. - 9/13/2009

Question
Was an employee for 7 years, and never had a bad report. I reported sexual harassment from a probation officer, and the day I reported it, the retalliation began. I was assigned as courthouse liason 2 years prior to this, and when I reported this, I was told I could no longer go to the courthouse. At the time, it was said it was for my protection. A week later I had to go to the Sheriff's office about an unrelated matter, and he told me, "You are getting on my nerves about this courthouse crap. I'm the king, and it's good to be the king. If I want to move you to another shift, I can, if I wanted to send you to the moon to work, I could. There's nothing you can do about it either." We had the hearing about the harassment on a Tuesday. He was found guilty and dismissed from his job. That afternoon the sheriff's wife told me I did this to myself, and I should have handled it a different way. Wednesday, it was determined that criminalcharges may be filed against the probation officer because he was also harassing probationers. Friday I was called to the Administrator's office and given a letter from the sheriff saying I was to report to evening shift immediately because of inappropriate actions on my part. I just quit. The next day the sheriff's wife called me and said the reason for the move was because someone had filed a harassment claim against me, but noone told me. During the whole time this was going on, I had reported the retalliation to the ABI investigator that was investigating the case. I also tried to drop it bcause I saw this was going to cause major problems, but was told by the administrator I could not drop it. There was hostility constantly, and it became a very hostile working environment. The saying "Cops handle their own problems" was repeated several times to me. I couldn't take anymore so I had to quit. My question is, do you think I have a case against, well I don't know who exactly it would be against, so that is a 2 part question. Thank you for your time.

Answer
Becky:

Yes, you would have a viable case against your former employer under the EEOC regulations and your state Human Rights Commission regulations.

If you reside in Tennessee, please feel free to contact us at Barnette Law Offices insofar as we focus on employment discrimination litigation.  If you do not, contact a licensed attorney in your state.

Jason Barnette
Barnette Law Offices, LLC
1800 Hayes Street; Suite 122
Nashville, TN 37203
615-585-2245
http://www.barnettelawoffices.com