Louis Smith VS Stein Mart
Intro: Statement 11/16/2008
Louis J Smith, a 46 year old white male started working for Stein Mart Store #89 in Hattiesburg, MS On October 15, 2007. Jacquie Forrester Store Manager of Stein Mart Store #89 hired Louis Smith Full time in the store’s Visual Department. When Louis started his job for the first day he never watch the Employment Orientation Video or was given an Employee Handbook for Stein Mart.
The store was under going changes in their upper management staff in October of 2007 with Veronica hired for Asst Manager and Debbie Collins was hired as Operations Manager. Devera was also the new Women’s Manager for Stein Mart Store #89 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Louis had worked with Debbie Collins back in 1993 until 1995 at
JCPenny’s Cloverleaf Mall in Hattiesburg, MS. Louis was in the Visual
Department at JCPenny back in 1993. The day after Louis started at
Stein Mart he discovered that Debbie Collins would take on Asst Manager
for Stein Mart. Debbie was shocked to find out that Louis would be
working in visual at Stein Mart. An Ex Employee told Louis the
management started on him from day one with Debbie Collins feeding
personal information that happen to Louis while employed with JCPenny
back in the mid 90s. Louis was hospitalized due to his depression while
employed with JCPenny. After Louis returned to work at JCpenny he was
demoted from Visual to the Home department. Louis was forced to leave
JCpenny because they had reduced his hours from 40 a week to 16 a week.
Debbie Collins was feeding Jacquie Forrester Store Manager of Stein
Mart in Store #89 with personal information on Louis Smith. Louis
performed his work in visual with high standards and quality. When
Stein Mart’s District Manager made his first visit in Aug 2008 he was
imprest with Louis’s work that he had the manager do a increase in pay.
Also Louis’s weekly hours were increased from 30 to 35. Louis Smith
however never had a yearly evolution up to the day of his discharge on
11/12/08.
Louis Smith has a disability and is diagnosed of having a personality
disorder. Personality disorder, formerly referred to as a Character
Disorder, is a class of mental disorders characterized by rigid and
on-going patterns of feeling, thinking, and behavior. The underlying
belief systems informing these patterns are referred to as fixed
fantasies or “dysfunctional schemata” (Cognitive modules). The
inflexibility and pervasiveness of these behavioral patterns often
cause serious personal and social difficulties, as well as a general
functional impairment. Louis even made both Jacquie Forrester and
Debbie Collins aware of his personality disorder disability.
On November 12, 2007 I was fired unjustly by the store manager.
Unable to go over the full details because I’m in a employment lawsuit with them.
Facts in the case to continue…….
Store #89’s Manager Does NOT follow Stein Mart’s Handbook..
Full of Crack Heads and employees with Rap Sheets. Manager’s with their Blood Kin working under them. Stealing and going out the back door!!
Store #89 Manager J.F. found out I was blowing the Whistle to Corp and she fired me on 11/12/08.
(Tune in for full details)
HERE IS MORE DETAILS...
Louis Smith Says:
January 6th, 2009 at 9:10 am
Statement for the Record
On October 13, 2008 I reported to work at Stein Mart around 9 a.m. and walk through the receiving department to the time clock. The only person I came in contact with that morning was Ron the receiving Manager for Stein Mart. I never saw any of the employees who work in the receiving department.
My agenda for the day was to work on visuals in the Boutique Department. I spend most of the morning working with Barbra Alexandria in Boutique. I stayed around the women side of the store up until 1 p.m. that afternoon.
Sandra Fairley (Gift Dept Manager) and I were planning a pizza party for a new employee in our department. I ordered the pizza at Ci Ci’s and then went and picked it up. When I got back to the store I put the pizza and the break room and went to the receiving to blow up a few balloons for her. I never had any interaction with any other employee during that time.
When we started the pizza party for Whitney their were other emloyees in the break room but I never notice who they were and I never had any interaction with them. The only person I talked with was Sandra and Whitney.
Sandra later on via telephone told me that when I went out of the Break Room that Britney (Who is Related to Ron the Receiving manager) was telling everyone in the break room that she had broke someone’s windown out. Sandra said their were still alot of other employees still in the break room when I went back to work on my visuals. When I went back to the Boutique Department I saw Barbra and told her to go up and help herself to some pizza.
Around 5 p.m. I stated getting my tools together and putting them back into the Visual Room. I never from the time of getting back from lunch to clocking out for the day talked with any employee from the Receiving Department. When I started walking towards the the front of the store I notice Britney standing at the custermer service desk alone with five other employees. As I walked out the glass doors Britney came behind me and grab my arm and told me that she had something to talk to me about. Britney told me that her name better never come out of my mouth again if I knew what was good for me. She said that Debbie (Employee in the Receiving) told her that I was telling everyone that she had broke out someone’s window. I told Britney I did not have a clue what she was talking about. I told Britney not to believe what comes from Debbie because she is good about making things up. Britney then walked away and I went to my car. After I got into my car something told me that I should go back in the store and tell Debbie Collins the Asst Manger. When I told Debbie she just said I’ll tell Jackie and I let her deal with it in the morning. I walk toward the back of the store and Debbie said “Louis do not go back to the back now and tell Sandra, I deal with it”.
When I got back home I called Sandra and talked with her. She said Louis do not worry about a thing Jackie already knows how Debbie in the Receiving is, she just likes making up things. Sandra and I also recalled the time that Britney walk into the break room and heard us talking about the election. Sandra asked Britney who she was voting for but I got called into the office about that. The conversation on the election was between Sandrea and I and Britney brought herself into it. Britney has just been digging to find fault with me. I cannot understand why we just all cannot get alone. I’ve been to Jackie with this and she will NOT even listen to me. Since Jackie was going to be out for a week I had no other choice but to call the employee hotline.
End of this statement:
I will be sending more email on problems I’ve seen go on in this store. Such as closing the store early and taking a few close employees to the night club. Leaving the back door open and not setting the Alarm. I’ve seen jackie take items from the store and place them into a bag without buying them and putting it by the back door. I also have seen item that were MOS that where taken home. I’ve seen employees in the receiving department open and eat food that came in off the UPS truck. The main reason that this store bad Inventory is because it going out the back door and lots of MOS that should not be. If you would just take a look into the over stock room you will find lots of items that has been MOS and that would be taken home by managers. Jickie told me not to trow away that Nina Set in the Furniture room because she wanted it to take home and fix it. I’ve seen Jackie, Sandra and other employees take items that they wanted and put them up in the stock room so they could get them when they went into hard mark.
Most of the Visual displays you see in the store I’ve work on the last two week’s with no help from Jackie. She had family problems with her husband and took off a week to be with him. During the summer Jackie did not spend 25 hours a week in the store. The only time Jackie was seen on the floor working was just before a visit. Jackie does not have very good management skills to run stien mart store 89. I’ve asked for a transfer to anohter store and Jackie told me that she would not put in a transfer because of the the stuff that was going on with me. I seen Jackie bring her 6 mo old baby to the store and left it up in her office. Most of the employees in the receiving department are related to RON the receiving Manger. Jackie also has one of her close friends working in the receiving dept as well. Heather has her husband working in receiving Nov 12 and Nov 13 and he is not even on payroll.
Sandra the Gift Dept Manager has been convicted of 10 pounds of pot back in the 80s and I know for a fact that she takes thing out of the back door. I’ve even seen her smoke pot on the back loading dock.
A picture of me dressed in drag was taken from my visual tool box this pass summer and showed to other employees in the store. A employee told me that Heather was the one that made a copy of it and passed it around the store. There were two new store managers at the time and both of them have brought it to my attention. Both of these manager no longer work with Steinmart. I am a gay male and I’m open about my sexual orientation. I did not give anyone permission to go into my visual tool box and take my personal pictures and copy and show to other employees.
The other problem I have with this store is the unethical things I’ve seen going on in this store by managers. Retaliation is the main reason that I’ve not reported it Stien Mart Corp Offices. I also feel that’s the main reason that my store manager as NOT approved a transfer for me. I even talk with Nick from the New Orleans store and he asked me to come and work with them. Jackie told me that she would NOT transfer me to another store because all the stuff that’s been going on with me. My question to you is what STUFF is she talking about that keeping me from being transferd. I was given a called by Tony a Dist Manager in FL and offered a job in visual back in the Summer of 2008. My store Manager Jackie would NEVER follow up on the trainsfer. I have asked her many time and email the HR at the Corp Office Many times. I would like some answer on why I’m NOT able to trainsfer. I know of three employer here that had trainser to other store with no problem. On of the employee named Sammual who also babysits the managers kids got two raises in a year and a trainsfer to a Jackson, MS store for the Summer and she is now working here at Store 89. That’s just a few examples. I will be sending you proof of such comments made by Jackie other managers which no longer work with your company. This information will also be sent on Tuesday of next week.
I have already looked into the Retaliation law that’s enforced by the EEOC. I’ve attached that with this email below.
Retaliation
An employer may not fire, demote, harass or otherwise “retaliate”
against an individual for filing a charge of discrimination,
participating in a discrimination proceeding, or otherwise opposing
discrimination. The same laws that prohibit discrimination based on
race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, and disability, as
well as wage differences between men and women performing substantially
equal work, also prohibit retaliation against individuals who oppose
unlawful discrimination or participate in an employment discrimination
proceeding.
In addition to the protections against retaliation that are included in
all of the laws enforced by EEOC, the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) also protects individuals from coercion, intimidation, threat,
harassment, or interference in their exercise of their own rights or
their encouragement of someone else’s exercise of rights granted by the
ADA.
There are three main terms that are used to describe retaliation. Retaliation occurs when an employer, employment agency, or labor organization takes an adverse action against a covered individual because he or she engaged in a protected activity. These three terms are described below.
Adverse Action
An adverse action is an action taken to try to
keep someone from opposing a discriminatory practice, or from
participating in an employment discrimination proceeding. Examples of
adverse actions include:
* employment actions such as termination, refusal to hire, and denial of promotion,
* other actions affecting employment such as threats, unjustified negative evaluations, unjustified negative references, or increased surveillance, and
* any other action such as an assault or unfounded civil or criminal charges that are likely to deter reasonable people from pursuing their rights.
Adverse actions do not include petty slights and annoyances, such as stray negative comments in an otherwise positive or neutral evaluation, “snubbing” a colleague, or negative comments that are justified by an employee’s poor work performance or history.
Even if the prior protected activity alleged wrongdoing by a different employer, retaliatory adverse actions are unlawful. For example, it is unlawful for a worker’s current employer to retaliate against him for pursuing an EEO charge against a former employer.
Of course, employees are not excused from continuing to perform their jobs or follow their company’s legitimate workplace rules just because they have filed a complaint with the EEOC or opposed discrimination.
For more information about adverse actions, see EEOC’s Compliance Manual Section 8, Chapter II, Part D.
Employee Right - Whistle blowing
Whistleblower statue prohibits an employer from taking any retaliatory
action against an employee who objects to, refuses to participate in,
or discloses any activity that is illegal and breaks the law of the
state. The employer cannot discharge, demote, suspend, or harass the
employee as a retaliatory action. The whistle blower provisions may
allow the employee to file a charge with a government agency, sue the
employer, or both.
What does the law say?
The Occupational Safety and Health Act was enacted to achieve safer and more healthful workplaces throughout the nation. The Act provides for a wide range of substantive and procedural rights for employees and representatives of employees. To help ensure that employees are, in fact, free to participation in safety and health activities, Section 11(c) of the Act prohibits any person from discharging or in any manner discriminating against any employee because the employee has exercised rights under the Act.
These rights include complaining to OSHA and seeking an OSHA
inspection, participating in an OSHA inspection, and participating or
testifying in any proceeding related to an OSHA inspection.
“Discrimination” can include the following actions:
Firing or laying off
Assigning to undesirable shifts
Blacklisting
Demoting
Denying overtime or promotion
Disciplining
Denial of benefits
Failure to hire or rehire
Intimidation
Transferring
Reassigning work
Reducing pay or hours
OSHA also administers the whistleblowing provisions of thirteen other
statutes, protecting employees who report violations of various
trucking, airline, nuclear power, pipeline, environmental, and
securities laws.
BELOW IS A COPY OF THE PICTURE THAT WAS TAKING OUT OF MY VISUAL TOOL BOX.
Welcome to KKKMart
A new lawsuit alleges that Boca Raton's Stein Mart was in fact a hotbed of racism
By Amy Roe
-
Joshua Prezant
Former employee Jonathan Morales says racism was business as usual at the Boca Raton Stein Mart
Inside there are reptile-print slippers in turquoise, silver, and ruby. Pastel aromatherapy candles are stacked on a table, and the racks overflow with rows of pantsuits in jade, fuschia, and lime. "I would suggest this color," says a saleswoman fussily attempting to match merchandise, "but it's a little off for that."
Indeed, when it comes to color, the Boca Raton store may be more than a little off.
In June 1998 Jonathan Morales took an undercover security job at the Boca Stein Mart, a position known in the delicate parlance of retail management as "loss-prevention officer." It required him to follow customers incognito to prevent "shrinkage." In other words Morales was hired to make sure people didn't steal and to catch them if they did. The job description was simple, but it wasn't long before things got complicated, he says.
"It actually first started when I came into work. As I was walking into the back office, I heard the general manager tell an assistant manager that the store was becoming "a damn melting pot' and he'd like to "do what they did in the old days and string 'em up.'
"Two or three days later, some black shoppers came into the store, and he said, "I have some of your people here, and I need you to follow them.' I didn't know what he meant by that, "your people.' I thought he meant some family members."
Morales, it should be noted, is black. He says store manager William Abel, who is white, repeatedly told him to focus his security efforts on black and Hispanic shoppers, whom he says the manager referred to as "those people." This struck him as racism, so he complained to the corporate office and was told to complain to the management of the store, he says.
When he did, "[They] told me if I didn't like it, I could leave."
Abel declined to be interviewed for this story.
Kris Shoop also worked undercover security at the store and says customers for the most part reflect the population of Boca: wealthy whites. Although black and Hispanic customers were in the minority, Shoop, who is white, says he was expected to devote his time to watching people of color.
"Regardless of what I was doing or who I was watching, Mr. Abel would have me stop what I was doing and watch Hispanic people, black people, basically darker skins. I would listen to him, you know, but it didn't make sense. I'm going to concentrate on the black people and Hispanic people while the white people steal? That's ridiculous. I don't see color. Everyone steals."
Frustrated with what he regarded as racism, Shoop quit after a few months on the job. "I didn't want to be part of that bandwagon," he says. "That bothered me." Shoop now works as an undercover security guard at another department store.
In March, Morales was fired from his job at Stein Mart. At his unemployment compensation hearing, company officials testified that he was terminated for failing to follow procedure in handling an item in the store's lost and found. The hearing officer ruled in Stein Mart's favor; Morales was denied benefits.
However, at the hearing, current and former employees painted a picture of the Boca Stein Mart that corroborates Morales' allegations by depicting racial jokes and stereotyping as business as usual for the Boca store.
"Well, generally we just joke about our customers when we go back in the break room," testified gift department manager Lorraine Spagnia. "It's just something we do in our lunchroom to relieve tension, is to make comments on our customers."
But Spagnia said it wasn't black or Hispanics who bore the brunt of the jokes: "Well, actually, we really joke about our Jewish clientele, truthfully. We have a lot of snowbirds down in the area…."
Indeed Morales says racial jokes were so commonplace they were uttered openly around -- and even by -- store managers. He says Jewish customers were routinely referred to among management and hourly employees as "Jewish bitches." The break room in particular was a hotbed of racial stereotyping, he says. "The break room was a place you didn't want to be if you were Jewish, black, or Hispanic. A lot of times, customers would mistake the door to the break room as a bathroom and just walk right in. I saw shoppers hear these comments, set their stuff down, and leave."
Now Morales has filed a civil suit in Palm Beach County District Court, alleging store management condoned a racist workplace, required racial profiling of shoppers, and unfairly fired him. He's seeking compensation for lost wages, emotional pain and suffering, and punitive damages.
The unemployment hearing testimony is central to Morales' case against Stein Mart, says his attorney, Loring N. Spolter. Spagnia testified that she had worked at the Boca store for more than two years and never received any antidiscrimination training, nor had she ever heard a manager tell her or others to stop making racial jokes.
"Well," she said, "we all know that we shouldn't do it." Former employee Jonathan Morales says racism was business as usual at the Boca Raton Stein Mart
But Spolter says the Jacksonville, Florida¯based company was negligent in failing to provide employees with antidiscrimination training. "It was not an accident; this was inevitable," he says. "In the absence of training, anyone could see this coming."
He also characterizes the case as another example of racial profiling, or "shopping while black." The phrase garnered national attention in June after a black man died in a scuffle with undercover security guards from a Lord & Taylor store in suburban Detroit. More than 9000 protesters showed up for a rally against the store.
Stein Mart would not comment on the lawsuit. However, former Stein Mart loss-prevention manager Andre Harris, who is black, says racial profiling was never part of the retailer's loss-prevention tactics. In fact he says the company requires antidiscrimination training for all its associates.
"I never got that (racial profiling) direction from anybody, and I never got that even underlying," Harris says by phone from Houston, Texas. "To the contrary I can think of a couple of times where things like that were very heavily discouraged."
As loss-prevention manager for the district that includes Boca, Harris was on a team that hired Morales last spring. The two later spoke on the phone a few times, even after the district was no longer under Harris' supervision.
"He would call me to vent," Harris says, adding that while he knew Morales had problems with store management, he wasn't aware those problems were race-related.
During his five years with the company, Harris rose through Stein Mart's ranks and now works in the loss-prevention department of another company. He concedes he doesn't know exactly what happened in Boca but says the company's corporate culture, at least, is colorblind: "I'm a young black male who was very successful at Stein Mart," Harris says. "The company did right by me."
After five months of unemployment, Morales found another job as an undercover security guard. He says there's no racial profiling or joking at his present job because his employer simply doesn't allow it.
"I've worked for five major retailers. Stein Mart is the only one I know of that doesn't have any training on discrimination."
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Complaint Rating:
 Company information:
Stein Mart 278 Williamsburg Shopping Center Williamsburg, Virginia United States Phone: 757-2202749 I was employed with stien mart for seven years with a one year break because of finding another job but in beginning of june i was asked by management to come back so because i loved my job so much i decided to do so i love customers and i had many threw my time working there knew me by name and came there asking for me by name as time went on i developed loving relationships with regular customers along with employees will to make a long story short sept 18, 2008 me and another employee were working we had a long couple weeks for she worked in my department she was full time and i part time we just finished getting a temp sale together and running fitting room it was a good day we worked together that day to knock out tasks quicker i admit we did talk to each other but never lost focus of work as day went on we learned that out lost prevention team was there we were told they were there to look a cameras in hopes to catch shop lifters for we had been having many episodes with theft we were told not to acknowledge the female LP agent so customers wouldn't know we knew her they had gotten there at around 3 that afternoon and were in office viewing tapes about sevenish the other the employee that got fired in my department along with me was called to office i was cleaning up department but i couldn't help to think why she was taking so long id say 15 min went by and she walked out office walking toward me i said kim (thats what ill call her to protect privacy) i gave her a look like what took so long and smiled she lipped to me she got fired i said what why she said because we were talking but that she couldn't talk to me that she would call me later i went on working shocked and nervous trying to understand 5 min later i was called in office the door was closed so i went in sat down beside lp lady and my boss asked me how do i think we prevented shrink in my ladies department i told her by making sure customer took six items in fitting room and helping them on floor and filling out ticket requisition forms she shook her head telling me that today me and kim were being watched and that she so us on tape talking for a hour i said yes we did talk but were were also talking about operation in store and temp sale etc she told me my story didn't match kims and i said well sorry but thats what happened i cant control what she said i am telling you what took place she looked at lp lady and said anything you wanna add she said well thats not what it looks like on tape i am like how do they know cameras don't pick up volume only visual so i was told i was being terminated no verbal or written on sheet it said as reason that i was being fired for visiting with kim ignoring customers and not watching fitting room all not true i was hurt because after 7 years of hard work and weeks before time coming in on days off and working backroom my manager told me thank you and how she owed me this is how she paid me back just cause we were working and talking i signed sheet saying i was talking but we also talked about sales that had to be set that night and floor moves she told me to hand her my badge and when i clean out my locker leave it open i was upset and confused i had never been fired by any job and never thought id ever be i am a single mother trying to raise my 7 year old autistic little girl on my own and now i am worried about how i am going to make rent and bills all i ever tried to do was my job and this is thanks i get but i will be following up with this with my lawyer because theres others in company that already left that were to scared to speak up that instead quit i will be that voice. |
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