Blind Justice
I would like to share some information from my own personal experience that has recently came to light. On January 10th, 2022 I was hired by a small family owned trucking company to haul containers out of the Los Angeles ports. I was a new driver and I only had my CDL for three months. The pay was pretty decent, benefits were terrible but I was working inside the ports which was my ultimate goal. They had some shady business practices such as making me falsify my drivers log, not allowing me to take lunches, shaving time off my days that I worked, and a lot of other employment violations. I’m very aware of labor laws so I was documenting everything as the days passed. I had my eyes set out on the company I work for now, so my plan was gain the nine months experience I needed to work where I’m at so I can officially submit my application.
Finally the time came, I spoke with a recruiter and submitted my application and fulfilled all the DOT requirements such as taking a drug test and passing the physical exam. The last step was for my employer to verify my employment with the company I wanted to work for. My employer did not want to verify my employment which is a DOT violation and so I reported them to the DOT for all the violations they subjected me to. I let them know I reported them so they retaliated against me by “Ghost Terminating” me which is basically not calling me for work and not saying anything. Luckily for me I was able to provide my check stubs as a form of employment verification.
Although I got hired by my new employer, I’m very vindictive and I decided to contact an employment attorney in August of 2022. I spoke with intake and provided the information and evidence I had been gathering. Six months had passed, so I decided to follow up with my potential claim last week. They reviewed my case and I was able to speak with an attorney on Thursday and received some very good news. Not only are they taking my case, we are filling for a “Class Action” which I get to represent. This is great news because I get to bring Justice for any new driver that was taken advantage of by this employer. This may financially cripple this company, but they should of thought of their actions and the families drivers are trying to provide for. I don’t think it’s fair drivers can’t move on to better opportunities and get held back because a smaller company cannot financially compete with larger companies. Those are shady business practices I do not condone. A little tip to everyone, no matter what industry you are in always document any incidents you have with management. My attorney said my incidents were well documented and she never seen anything like it in her 30 years in employment law. She also said she would have taken the case even if she was working by herself. ⚖️
It is a company I started. What I put in to is what I get out of it.
I am guessing Jobcasers all are as sickened by the violence in Virginia this weekend as my family has been. My heart goes out to the victims, while my head is stuck pondering what more I might do to try and address the places where ignorance and hate still ferment & cause so much pain in our country. The mother of Heather Heyer (the caring young lady who was struck and killed while protesting against the white supremacists) amazingly seems to have it figured out already. She stated: "I want (Heather's) death to be a rallying cry for justice and equality and fairness and compassion."
So I will hope and trust that the officials in VA and DC prosecute offenders to the fullest extent of the law. And I will turn my attention to how I might be even more proactive in sewing seeds of hope, light and love to stomp out ignorance and hate.
In considering this, I do want to thank this Jobcase community. We who work on building Jobcase are so humbled and grateful that this community doesn't let color or age or religion or gender or orientation bias them when helping one another with advice, support, connections or leads. We are simply a community of people helping one another find success, meaning and happiness in our worklife; a community of people who know that though it is difficult to achieve in 2017 - its a lot easier with help from a big caring community. We don't see differences, we see similarities. I truly find it inspiring. Disagreements with respect. Help without bias. Inspiring.
Our workplaces, for most of us, are the most integrated places we spend our lives - in every dimension: race, religion, age, income, etc. So at the least, let's all try to be cognizant of being a bit kinder this week to all we meet. There is so much more light in the world than dark. While we all figure out how to address the ignorance that still remains in pockets of our culture, lets start by magnifying the compassion that can be all around us.
Last note - I am still figuring this out. I welcome positive constructive thoughts about how each individual one of us might make a positive difference this week. Whadayathink?
Definitely the back to school shopping time was the most stressful at Justice, but even so I had lots of fun helping customers out.