Possible Case Of Illegal Discrimination

[mermaid]

For now, I will not name the temporary agency involved, but it is a nationally-recognized temporary agency.

My office, in Allentown, Pennsylvania, placed me with a job. The job was horrible, but, nevertheless, it was a job.

After two months, for no stated reason, I was let go. Several others were let go at the same time. No adequate reason was given.

Ever since then, the office has refused to look for additional assignments for me, until the reason for my termination from the one company can be determined. That client company seems in no hurry to answer the question, and, so, meanehile, here I sit, looking for work, with an avenue of potential work cut off to me.

Numerous phone calls to the office have gone unreturned. Even today, I called...the person who took my call assured me she had placed the message right in front of the intended party, and that the intended party had even nodded acknowledgement of the phone message.

Yet, for over two weeks...no phone call has ever been returned.

I'm beginning to believe I am a victim of illegal discrimination, as a transgender person. It is, and has been since 2002, illegal to discriminate based on gender identity in Allentown.

I finally decided to voice my beliefs, and was referred to the Corporate Home Office for this agency, where I could make a formal complaint and request an investigation. I called, and had to leave a message. No one could be bothered to talk to me at the time I called, apparently.

Meanwhile I am more and more pissed off by the day.

I truly believe I am being discriminated against by this agency, and that they are refusing to look for work for me for no better reason than my being transgender. No one has ever offered up any explanation of why I was let go...and you'd think if I was let go for CAUSE then someone would have had the courtesy to tell me why.

I want to know, quite frankly, what can be actually done to remedy this situation. I have actually sued a different temp agency and won a discrimination case there, but this was years ago...and in a different state. and that was an open-and-shut case (neither party in that case had been in dispute over the reason for my termination, just the legality of it)

In this case, I've not been given any adequate reason.

I feel it is, at the very least, common professional business courtesy to give an adequate reason, and to return telephone calls.

[northernsoul]

1. contact your local EEOC or state / local Human Rights office

They have investigatory powers, and making such an effort will be a necessary first step if you need to pursue this legally. If the law that protects you is for Allentown only, there is probably some city agency with enforcement power - talk to them.

Good luck. Discrimination sucks.

[doodadem]

2. Employment at will?

Is PA an "employment at will" state? If it is, I don't know what you can do. That law says, a company can let you go whenever they want for whatever reason, or NO reason at all.

And yeah--it sucks.

[mermaid]

3. Yep. "At-will" State. Pure Garbage.

if someone wants to fire you, they damn well ought to HAVE to give you a reason!

And if they aren't gonna give a bona-fide reason, then there should not be any reason why the temp agency is refusing to look for more work for me...or to even return my phone calls.

There ought to be something in the law about obstructing a person from getting another job.

future employers often want to know why you were let go from the last job, and do you know how stupid you sound when you have to tell them, "They didn't give me a reason."

[doodadem]

4. The only thing you have to tell future prospective employers

Is that it was a temp job. End of story. Same thing you should put on any application. Do you have good references from other employers?

Put this episode behind you, and go to a different agency. The worst thing you can do is have bitterness about a former employer come out in an interview.