Steve worked for a large family-owned wholesale distribution company in San Antonio. A veteran of the U.S. Air Force, Steve was a dedicated employee at the business for twelve years, during which time he managed the operations of more than 40 stores, handled the purchasing for all the stores, and mediated conflicts between management and employees.
After taking a brief leave of absence Steve was placed in a new position where he was responsible for overseeing operations of one of the company’s largest stores.
During the course of this new position, Steve discovered that the store’s manager was being accused of sexual harassment in the workplace. He further discovered that this store manager fired a female employee who had previously vocalized her concern about such harassment. The female employee was told that she was terminated because she had not given notice that she would be missing three days of work to recover from cancer treatments.
Upon learning this, Steve immediately approached the company’s management, describing all that he knew, and asked the company to rehire the female employee. The company was not interested in doing so, and after more than a decade of service to the company, Steve was let go for standing up for this employees’ rights.
Steve approached Texas RioGrande Legal Aid seeking representation for wrongful termination in May 2009. The case was strongly contested and went on until its recent conclusion in September 2011. TRLA staff spent more than 800 hours working on Steve’s case. On the eve of the trial, Steve’s former employer settled the suit after participating in a Court mandated mediation. The outcome for Steve was a positive end to a trying and difficult situation with his prior employer.
It is estimated that 3 out of 4 employer violations go unreported due to employer intimidation or lack of employee knowledge regarding their rights.
