To Beloit School District Paras and Molly Wells of the DWD,
For those of you CCed in this email, I am stepping up under the Whistleblower protection act Employee Protection, Wis. Stat. § 230.80-88, as the DWD and my supervisor, are aware of my complaint. I encourage you to do the same as this is a response to the person who is investigating my claim. If a para, past or present, was forgotten who may also have been shorted lunch breaks, been given responsibilities outside of their job scope, had to reduce or move around their hours, please allow them a voice where we would otherwise not have one. Under Whistleblower protections for labor laws Workers in the U.S. generally bear the burden of enforcing their own labor protections—it is up to them (you employees past and present reading this) to come forward to report violations. Under our current system, workers bear the entire risk of retaliation from their employer when they report violations.
Employers may retaliate in a number of ways, including:
Firing or laying off the whistleblower(s)
Blacklisting
Demoting
Denying overtime or promotions
Disciplining
Denying benefits
Failing to hire or rehire
Intimidation
Reassignments affecting promotions
Reducing pay or hours
Making threats
These actions are happening to me and others. Many of you have witnessed this by telling me and others that if we speak up, we will not be welcomed back because they simply no longer require us. Some of you are already aware that by speaking out this year, you will not be able to return. We are told we won't be employed long if we talk about what happens at school. We are reminded there is no longer a union to represent paras in Wisconsin. We are reminded how lucky we are to even have had a job during covid. I’m sick of it. I'm tired of having my breaks cut short so that neither I nor you can get our full consistent 30 minutes of duty-free rest, as it's autogenerated, preventing us from being honestly paid and taxed for the time we worked or not. Because it’s autogenerated, they don’t align with our schedules, nor can we change if something happens. I know I told my direct supervisors and was told to just continue the remaining minutes at some point later that day. Breaks in which an employee is not completely relieved of duties must be compensated, regardless of length. We can't clock out for lunch because we've been told not to, we can't prove anything because the system is built against employee-led documentation, they would rather talk with us face-to-face than the risk of it being in writing to prove our case right. We have no control over when or how it is documented, and speaking up only leads to more problems because it’s easier for The District to ask for dismissal with prejudice than it is to recognize the toxic culture perpetuated over-and-over as acknowledged by Joann Armstrong in reference to Hector Gonzalas. As repeatedly acknowledged by Jane Smith.
When we speak up, if it isn't in writing, they deny it and blame the employee for making the decision. We are punished for advocating for ourselves and our rights. That’s what's happening to me right now, and it's a district-wide pattern. Everything has been denied. I requested accommodation and they treated it informally. I requested accommodation and they denied it. I requested accommodation and it was not followed up on, leaving me defenseless against a principal who outright stated, “if you can’t handle it [my trigger], maybe this isn’t the job for you.” While trying to convince me during a crisis my beliefs about my trigger were wrong. I raised a complaint about potential retaliation, it wasn’t responded to until it was too late, and because of it I was mocked for my PTSD accommodation request and told they wouldn’t follow my ADA request in September of 2021. Here are some other direct quotes regarding my disability that were also stated:
“I can't stop a [trigger] from coming in just because you need a heads up, and I'm not going to stand at the door and stop [trigger] from coming into the building and say “hold up you can't come in because I have to alert Mr. Marc that you're here.”
“Your personal life does not affect anything here.”
“You are not to discuss to anyone about anything on campus.”
Equally as confusing, they then said it was always a valid accommodation in December of 2021. I was significantly affected as a result of it all, and my disability has worsened as a consequence. I couldn't find the labor posters I needed, so I had to go online to find them because every time I spoke up, I got in trouble for something else. I'd get in trouble if I tried to advocate for myself in any way. That allowed me to discover that it is not acceptable for your employer to do half of this for a disability, or the breaks, time clock issues, and so on. That is why this information is necessary to the FLSA complaint – it would have never happened had my rights not been taken from me, had I not been mocked, had my requests been handled correctly when they became aware of any issues.
As Paraprofessionals, we cannot simply walk away from students in need because they are our responsibility, nor can we simply tell them we are off the clock because many of our children (like those with disabilities) do not know what that means. I would hate to have to explain to someone why their child was hurt because doing something to prevent it would mean having to start a lunch break over. We have to be responsible for a child when we know there is an issue. We are expected to do what is best for the children. When teachers are talking with us and using our recommendations for their lessons, we can't just change the subject. While the district attorneys claim it is not permitted, we are frequently referred to and used as the best advocates for our students because it is encouraged and exactly what we are asked to do. We’ve changed entire lesson plans, assignments, classroom lectures – regularly. We can't just say no when a teacher has to leave and we're left alone with our classroom plans and routines. We’re the ones who know it the best. All of those responsibilities have happened to each of us. The District is requesting that the case be dismissed with prejudice in order to silence me. I will not be silenced. And I hope the voices of those who read this will also speak up. Especially after Joann Armstrong, Director of HR, admitted on tape that she is aware of and acknowledges FLSA violations. That recording has been given to the DWD.
If you saw your labor standards posters being removed from employee view, please confirm it with Molly Wells at the DWD because it happened at Gaston and they were not put back up until recently—despite claims they were never removed and additional acknowledgments of their removal by district lawyers (a very conflicting story on their part).
Other paras CCed in this email are aware and have informed me that it was removed at the beginning of the 2021 school year and was not replaced until February. It was removed shortly after I requested ADA accommodation and then mocked my request because of my disability.
For those of you who were instructed to set up your work email on your phone, so you can be reached at all times no matter the level of student or staff confidentiality or how secure your device is, as your responses will highlight, please know it is not your fault your employer has these unwritten expectations. You have a right to not work off the clock and to clock in and out for your breaks to protect and take care of yourselves.
It is an honor to work with each of you and with our students. There’s no way the education process can continue without paraprofessionals. They need us. They need each of us. Teachers can’t do their jobs alone. I hope you all understand just how important we all are, together. When one of us is bullied, threatened, mocked, and denied our rights – it’s all of us who are affected.
Please let Molly know these issues are consistent.
Marc