I recently resigned my exempt sales position of 9 1/2 years with a Fortune 100 company. I had the same manager up until last June when the sales force reorganized. Up to that point I had had no problems with my childcare needs including an HR agreement set into place to allow me to take my child with special needs to PT 2x week. When we reorganized upper mgt said that all manager equity would transfer to new mgrs. My new mgr(female and childless) tried to undue all that had been put into place and when I expressed my childcare issues she saw that as a weak point and handed more work out to make my life harder creating a hostile environment. We work in a team selling model and she forced out another man who needed to transfer within the company(there were multiple positions available) 140 miles away to do what was best for his family and she blocked the transfer. After he was forced out instead of rehiring she mandated to the rest of us that we were to pick up the slack and no quota adjustments were given. We were to be in the field from 8-5 and do our computer work etc at night and we were to also make after hours and weekend calls which are not normally done at these times in the medical community. All of this was mandatory. I reported her to HR and let them know that she was a workplace bully and would expect me to work these hrs and be able to attend work meetings after hours upon demand with no consideration my childcare needs. I also let HR know of the health problems I was experiencing due to the hostile work environment from this woman. I also spoke at length with her direct mgr. I expressed my fear of retaliation for coming forward. Nothing changed for the better, she simply added more work. I was forced to take medical leave in December due to panic attacks. When I returned to work, she informed me that since I was unable to due my after hours calls in December I would need to due double in January. This is when I resigned. The company's position is they treated me fairly in regard to my childcare needs-which they did until this new mgr came in to play and tried to undo all that had been done and when I spoke up she singled me out as a working mother and stating that I was creating team inequity due to my working mother status. Knowing it would create a hardship, she scheduled many work items to try to force me out. What are your thoughts on being exempt and being told to work 8-5 plus afterhours? I am going to file an EEOC complaint but I am wondering your thoughts on her treatment of me as a working mother. It is funny that this company advertises that it is a great place for working mothers!

I feel for you. If you are wondering on what basis to file your complaint, it is probably under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). (Are you in California, by any chance? Many states, especially California, have additional protections against discrimination.) You can read more about discrimination at: www.eeoc.gov (http://www.eeoc.gov). The reason I suggest the ADA is that you mention that you have a child with special needs. ADA protects not only persons with disabilities but those who must provide care for a person with a disability.

Thank you-I am in FL. I actually meant to post this on the discrimination thread because of the working mother problem-would you still say under the ADA? Thanks

Yes, I would. The reason is that there isn't a specific protection for "working mothers". While there are protections against discrimination on the basis of gender, such as harassment for being a female, you mentioned that the new manager is equally hostile to at least one of the men. So, what is the differentiator in your case? I would say it is discrimination against disability, if your child qualifies as having a disability, as defined by the law. Under the ADA, your employer is prohibited from discrimination on the basis of disability AND they must make reasonable accomodations for a person such as you. The fact that the new manager has come down harder on you than others because you need to take your child to physical therapy is indicative that there may discrimination on the basis of disability.

Unfortunately, Florida is one of the states that don't offer much in the way of protection of employees from discrimination and harassment. They do have more stringent regulations against discrimination for those with sickle cell amenia but other than that, Florida looks toward federal law, for the most part. So, look to the US EEOC for assistance.