I created this page to give a voice to the victims of Nicor Gas, Inc. Please feel free to post your stories below. Here is mine:
I started working at Nicor in 2009 shortly after I began to experience what I would consider blatant mistreatment of myself and my Asian/Indian coworker on behalf of our supervisor. My department consists of 3 White males, 1 Asian/Indian female, myself a Black female and our supervisor White. What I immediately noticed was the degrading and condescending manner in which our supervisor spoke to the other female and I. After working there less than 6 months I received an extremely negative and harsh review. As time continued I noticed a pattern of my supervisor deliberately discarding my work or delaying in submitting it to the proper departments in a timely fashion when I emailed to her for approval. I began collecting emailed proof of my report submissions to her and proof of her refusing to approve my reports for days beyond the due date without a reason and then her stating that she had no idea where my reports were. This treatment of deliberate work sabotage continued for several months and I spent months collecting documentation of this through emails and other written submissions. Approximately 6 months after a Black supervisor was hired and my supervisor was to be a direct report to her. When we asked why she was brought in solely to have one person report to her she responded that she was brought in to bridge the gap between our supervisor and the field employees.
From the time I began I also noticed other inequalities within the department the white males were afforded company credit cards and other privileges the minorities were not. I began to question things like why it was necessary for me to submit my work for approval to my supervisor and not my counterparts whom started working for the company around the same time I did. I also began to question why the white males within the department were receiving promotions and pay raises and not the minorities. After several attempts to seek help from management and being ignored I decided to choose a different route.
After months of collecting work sabotage documentation and confirming my suspicions of unequal treatment, unequal pay and alienation with the other minority female within the department and having her agree the same; I decided to speak up by contacting the Nicor Ethics Hotline an internal ethics reporting hotline (which is disproportionately used to fire blacks). Immediately following an interview with 2 white employees in HR and my supervisor out the blue the Black supervisor (who was new to her position) was called in the handle this. A sad depiction of what some Black people will do to in order to please their perceived superiors. A few days following I was placed on a PIP and immediately fired. I had never had any history of write ups or the sort.
I decided to file a charge with the Illinois Department of Human Rights and after submitting all my documentation, having the parties at Nicor admit to the charges during the fact finding conference, and having Nicors Attorney withdraw from the case the next day after the conference. Somehow the IDHR investigator ignored all written evidence and confessions and dismissed the case. The investigation by the IDHR was held and the witnesses contacted by the IDHR were the SAME 3 perpetrators whom the charge was against. All witness I named were either not included in the report or refused to talk. Now I have No IDEA (neither did my attorney) how it is that the IDHR is using the same person the charge was filed against as a witness to confirm no discrimination took place but they do.
In conclusion, it is my belief that Nicor offered some sort of compensation to the investigator in exchange for a dismissal of my case. I do not regret for one minute my decision to fight for equality and stand up to the ugliness of discrimination. It is sad that in 2011 we are still subjected to the same injustice and inequalities that this country was founded on. The sadder truth is the number of minorities whom are willing to turn on their counterparts in order to save themselves.
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