I worked for a well-known company for only a few months, and it was a nightmare. It was okay for about a week, then everything switched. I faced racism, serious discrimination, and heavy emotional abuse/gaslighting every single day. I don't want to get into details here…but I'll say a little bit.
My boss has been with the company for over a decade. They would often refuse to call me by my name because it's foreign and just refer to me as an initial.
[I.E. “We need S to complete this form, so that S can show Emma how to bring Carl and Jacob into the event with Jennifer.”] As if my name is such an issue that I have to be reduced to a single letter.
It was uncomfortable, because my boss is copying a good 15 people in these interactions and calling everyone else by their name except for me. One time my boss literally phrased a request at the end of an email “Can everyone send S what is needed for review?”
Some people in the department also began following my boss, by contacting me in emails greeting me like “Hi, S ____” or “Thank you, S!” … …excuse me? The first time it happened, I told the person “I prefer to be addressed by my name.” And they apologized, then never did it again. Then it started to become too many of them, and it all started from my boss doing it.
Also, I was told to do things that were not in my job description. For instance, I would get approached with money folded in their hand and my boss would say to me “I'm in the mood for something fattening.”
I would get sent to go pick up my boss' lunch on a daily basis. I had to leave the office, in the middle of my tasks, to walk outside for blocks & get them food. Sometimes I'm elsewhere in the building working and not in my cubicle (like in the copyroom handling contracts), and I would get an email from my boss with a subject line of “I left money on your chair.” I would see the email on my phone. The email would have a list of what food to get them, or how to order their coffee. I would almost never get a “thank you” or “please.” No sign of appreciation. It was ridiculous. Just commands.
Sometimes it would happen three times a day of my boss sending me out to get them food and coffees, 10am, 12pm, 2pm. And I'm busy working everytime, yet I have to stop. I never left the office on my own for lunch. It was only for my boss. It felt degrading, like modern-day slavery tbh.
I don't even understand why any caucasian person would feel comfortable doing that to a POC in today's climate. No one else was doing these tasks in the department, just me. This boss is abusing their power.
I was hired as a full-time employee. I was not an unpaid intern (even that, I don't support anyone being mistreated). The majority of the company is white.
I looked at places like Glassdoor and Indeed, and there are multiple reviews saying that this company is racist. Reviews are saying that if you're a person of color you shouldn't apply here. That minorities are not supported and are cleaned out easily. To not bother going to HR because they'll just boot you. That POC are not typically hired. That executives use their power to talk down to minorities. I did not see these reviews prior to me applying for the job. It was only when I was wrongfully terminated that I read these reviews. There are SO many.
This boss eventually became abusive and kept trying to be manipulative towards me, so I had to continuously use the grey-rock method in our interactions. I kept my replies short and direct. I think me not kissing ass and not being submissive was a burn to their ego. But why do I need to do that to keep a job? The f*ck. I began recording voicenotes of in-person conversations and forwarding emails to my personal email to keep a paper trail of everything happening.
Anyway – after being fired with a completely made up lie by that boss (at-will state, so you know the game), I sent a detailed complaint to HR with supporting documents attached. They said they're looking into it and will follow up. I wrote them multiple times in the initial week of being fired with supporting documents. All of those times, they said they're looking into it. It's been a month and I've received no updates. I think they're ghosting and hoping I will just drop it. I know HR is there to protect the company, but I would've expected at least a response addressing the concerns. They did not.
Should I bother with going to EEOC? Despite me not working there for long? I don't know if it's a waste of time and going to take forever. I also don't want a whole serious lawsuit.
I have job offers, so I'm not looking to work at this shitty company, but I don't believe what I experienced should be “let go.” Especially when there's so many reviews supporting my experience and is stating that racism is a thing with this company. They need to be held accountable.
A friend of mine who knows the full details, heard voicenotes, saw the supporting documents, told me that I should not drop this, regardless of only working there a short amount of time.
Any feedback would be great. Thanks.