I was employed by the W.P.B. Treatment Center, a Methadone clinic from October until February. I am 63 years old.in January, I gave the Program Director a copy of my appointments at the VA Medical Center where they had just diagnosed me with Neuropathy. Since I got off work at 2 PM, the majority of my appointments were made after 2 PM.
Shortly thereafter, I got a horrible evaluation from the P.D. She also wrote me up and in the past I had all good evaluations and never had a write-up. So, I felt like she was starting her attempt to fire me. I wrote a letter to the CEO of the company in Orlando, Mark Gallagher. Never heard a word from him. Then I wrote to the Regional Director and she called and said she would be in our office in a few weeks.
I therefore come under the title of a "whistle-blower" and from what I understand, you are not supposed to be fired if you file a complaint of being treated unfairly. Keep in mind, I was the oldest employee there in terms of age and service. People came in and out of there left and right. I had 73 patients, more than anyone else, did intakes twice per week, did the ordering of all the forms, and a host of other duties. They said my charts were not up to date. No one's charts were up to date since we did not have enough time to do them.
The Regional Director, Sandy Nicodemus, came to our offices and met with me for about 5 minutes and fired me. I got a lawyer who filed an age discrimination complaint against Colonial. Since that time, I heard from a patient that the Program Director admitted to him that I'd still be there if it hadn't been for the R.D. The Regional Director called her up after I sent out my letter to her and the CEO and told her, "Fire the bastard!" In the meantime, she also fired the Program Director. This woman is out of her mind. The company also doesn't care because employees come and go, but at least I cared enough to stay and was concerned about not being able to get another job at my age. I have been unemployed since February and am now a month behind in my mortgage.
Hopefully my lawyer will be able to deal with these animals more effectively than me.
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