With unemployment rates exceeding 10% nationwide in most states, these have clearly been rough economic times, and many have lost their jobs. Let’s say you happen to be one of the workers who gets called to human resources, and to your dismay, you learn that you are going to be laid-off. If you have ever heard of the term “severance package,” now would be a good time to negotiate one.
This summer, 17 year-old Zikkeria Bellamy applied online to a Florida McDonald’s and was granted an interview. Initially, she chose not to disclose her gender – the box was optional. When the hiring manager asked her to fill it out, she checked male. At that point, he told her to leave. Bellamy soon received a particularly nasty phone call from the manager in which he explained to her why she would not be hired. Now, the manager has been fired and McDonald’s has been served with a formal discrimination complaint. What’s going on here?
From BusinessWeek.com
Zikkeria Bellamy was born male. Anatomically, she is technically a he. Something in her told her otherwise, and at age 11 she began to live as a female. This puts her in a kind of tricky position when it comes to gender. Sexually, Zikkeria is still a male, which means she still has to check “Male” when required – hypothetically, this would only happen if the box is labeled “Sex” and not “Gender”.
You know, sometimes it REALLY is them and not you.
As in, maybe your employer really IS trying to make your working environment so intolerable, in an attempt to force you to resign. No, making 100 copies of a 25 page Powerpoint or going on a coffee run does not constitute intolerable working conditions. We’re talking substantially increasing/decreasing your workload without cause, demoting your responsibilities or just acting with an unprovoked level of hostility towards you. Sounds like this applies to you? Well, be aware that this type of behavior is what is referred to as “constructive discharge”.
Here’s the scenario:
In 2004, an employee at a discount department store reached out about the possibility of suing his employer due to religious persecution. As an employee for over eight years at the department store, he requested Friday nights off for religious reasons. The store denied the time off request, and his hours were then cut to below 20 hours a week.
