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I worked at a startup where I was frequently harassed for being black by the VP, who ran operations in the office. He would make disparaging remarks in meetings, in front of other employees, and in passing, all under the guise of innocent joking.
I quit and applied for unemployment. Do I have a case?
However, as the quiter, you have the burden of proof. The people making the decision won't care about your allegations. Do you have emails, memos, recordings, video, or testimony from coworkers that heard these desparaging remarks? If not, the best time to gather it was before you quit. Now, that you're not there, I hope you can get the support of a current or former employee to testify for you or get you evidence from the inside.
There were MANY employees who witnessed the harrassment, among them a couple who still work there. Although it may be difficult getting these people to testify on my behalf.
I would say file the complaint now. Before the interview on eligibility. They want to find a reason to deny you, and in a "quit" they want to find that a reasonable person in the same or similar circumstances (including your mental and emotional state) would have also quit. Filing with the EEOC very likely may tell the interviewer that you were in fact pushed to the point that it was intolerable, as most people don't go all the way to the EEOC.
You have my deepest sympathy I was in such a situation myself. I'm not black but jewish and was raised to treat all people as I would like to be treated. The company was an international company and I was located in a small room with two of the biggest bigots I have had the great displeasure to have worked with. If I didn't have such a typical Jewish last name I would have thought just a tad differently however being my name was typical I can only say they were truly the stupidest people I have ever worked with. But I will give them credit where credit is due they did hate everyone fairly equally, blacks, jews, and hispanics. I went to Human Resources to put in for a transfer to another department that had an opening but they declined my request, so shortly there after I quit. I didn't apply for unemployment but I realize that was a mistake as one of my best friends years later worked with a gal from that company and the story of my leaving was told incorrectly. I believe if I had filed for unempoyment it would have accomplished two things one of which is being better off financially and two the truth of why I left the company would be a matter of record.
I wish you well in finding a decent company to work for with decent people. Good luck.
I worked at a startup where I was frequently harassed for being black by the VP, who ran operations in the office. He would make disparaging remarks in meetings, in front of other employees, and in passing, all under the guise of innocent joking.
I quit and applied for unemployment. Do I have a case?
You should go to the Dept of Labor website and file a complaint. he created a hostile environment. In my experience unemployment will deny you benefits because you quit. You need the big guns...DOL Search the page and submitt your complaint to your states office. Good luck to you!!
in this day and age of endless EEOC law suits and grievance action, hard to believe that someone would go KKK crazy at the job site, but i guess it can still happen. the vast majority of racial accusations launched with EEOC and NAACP are determined unfounded. too often, its a nice tool to slap around those who did not see it your way. too often like accusation of child molestation made against the father in divorce court, its a tool to achieve an objective, not a legitimate grievance.
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