MARK LABELL & CHARLES SCHWABS PHOENIX OFFICE Ken Berwitz If you are a regular reader of my blog, hopelesslypartisan, I assume you are aware of the firestorm created several weeks ago by what I wrote about Hobby Lobby. Now, unless some major event has yet to take place (and I cant imagine what it might be), the Hobby Lobby story is over. But, because of it, I was contacted by a gentleman named Mark Labell, who asked if I could intercede on his behalf regarding a very unpleasant dispute he is engaged in with his former employer, Charles Schwabs Phoenix office. Mr. Labell accuses this office of discriminating against him as a Jew, and making it so difficult to work there that he was effectively forced out after 12 years of service. I do not know Mark Labell, and therefore cannot speak first-hand for him. But I can post the events he related to me, and comment on what it means if they are true - which I am happy to do. Here, in condensed version, is what Mr. Labells account: Being the only Jewish member of a team at a brokerage firm in Phoenix Arizona I was placed in what is referred to a a Hostile work environment as well as alienated discriminated and bullied to the point in which I was forced out. After seeking help and guidance from an independent Human resources specialist I was what is referred to as being constructively discharged (NOTE: Constructive discharge is when someone leaves a company because circumstances have made it intolerable for that person to continue there). I currently have an open case with both FINRA (NOTE: FINRA is the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) for the constructive Discharge case as well as the EEOC for my religious discrimination. Let me share some things with you on both issues. the managers are giving team money to be used by everyone on the team for either ordering in lunch for everyone or going on a team outing as a team building type of function. During some of the Jewish holidays like Passover knowing that I can not eat bread the would order Pizza and subs. or during Yom Kippur they would order in party trays from various places knowingly that I was fasting. Or non Jewish holidays order in pork products with out including me and letting me be allowed to order something different. I would receive constant snide derogatory comments from management that I am too picky or I am only being Jewish when it is convenient for me to be Which is hard to say when I am 100% Jewish. The open case I have with FINRA some examples that I can share with you include pointing out a grave injustice that was done where on a team of 11 including 2 managers, 1 person was out on medical leave for about 7-8 weeks out of the qtr and 8 people out of the 11 received a special recognition along with an additional bonus in which 3 people did not relieve anything what was unfair about this whole ordeal is that the person out on medical leave received this special recognition and bonus for not doing 1 ounce of the work where as myself and 2 others did all the work and did not receive anything. 2 of us spoke up, one of us only had his hands slapped however I was severely scrutinized and punished where I lost out on several things including my annual raise, my qtry bonus(different from special bonus and several other things. I tried numerous times to leave the department and go to another department to only find out after the fact that I was being blacklisted. (This) ultimately forced me out after 12 and a half years in which I was vested in the company and had no desire to leave. Mr. Labell has given me far more intricate detail of situations he encountered at his company, which mention the actions of specific people. He has also showed me a number of anonymous reviews by current and former employees of the company which support his claims of bullying and offensive behavior at Charles Schwab. I will not post them here, because I have no way of vouching for whether these events actually occurred or what the circumstances were. Ill let the folks at FINRA and the EEOC decide that for themselves. He also forwarded the letter of a co-worker which commends the quality of his work and confirms the treatment he was accorded. I am showin git below, with the co-workers name obliterated to protect him/her from retaliation: To whom it may concern, My name is XXXXXXX and I am a former coworker of Mark Labell. I have known him for approximately seven years and in that seven years he has continued to be a hard-working, dedicated, loyal employee. On several occasions during my employment at Charles Schwab, while working with Mark Labell, I witnessed several events that to me would have been offensive and discriminatory. I believe Mark will strive in his current role without the stressors of a hostile working environment that tends to be a common occurrence at Charles Schwab. hope this letter will serve as a reference to Mr. Labells outstanding character. Thank you, FYI: I have spoken with the person who wrote this letter. He/she assures me it is correct, that Mark is a stand-up guy who got the short end of the stick and that this is how management works at that office. How do I feel about the events Mark Labell has related to me? Im sure you already know. Singling out someone because of who they are is ugly and offensive. I would put what he has described in the same category as, for example, ordering out for lunch and always making a point of asking a Black employee if he/she wanted fried chicken and watermelon, or having an office party and putting all the whiskey on an Irish employees desk - then sneering out an attack if there were any complaint about it. Any action of this type is obviously offensive. But continual actions such as these over an extended period of time are far worse, because they make it crystal clear to the employee that the people in charge do not care what kind of person he/she is, or the quality of his/her work. All they see is the ethnicity. That stinks. And it is 100% intolerable. I again point out that the information I am presenting here is second-hand in nature. But if Mark Labells has correctly described what he was subjected to, I hope youll join me in rooting for him to win his FINRA and EEOC cases, get full satisfaction, and put the people who did this to shame.
Posted on: Sat, 19 Oct 2013 03:14:20 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015