Discrimination And Retaliation Claims

EXHIBIT A Start My name is John Young. I'm pursuing claims for violations by Garmin International for FMLA/ADA and would like to pursue legal remedies for illegal discrimination under federal law. I have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), generalized anxiety, depression, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) with anxiety. I worked as an electronics assembler at Garmin from June * until I was dismissed on March *, *. I believe I was discriminated against on the basis of my disabilities and that Garming permitted me to suffer a hostile work environment under the supervision of Andrew Veenstra. Hostile Work Environment My supervisor for the first three years of my employment with Garmin was a man named Daniel Lukowski. However, in *, Andrew Veenstra was hired for the purpose of taking over Dan's position, and the two worked in concert for some time as a way to train Andrew for the POsition, Shortly after Andrew was hired, an employee named Justin Raley, who had expressed anger toward me in the past, whistled at me to, get my attention and triggered my anxiety as a result. After I complained to Daniel about this, Daniel and Andrew arranged a meeting with myself and Justin to discuss that whistling was a trigger for my anxiety, and Justin agreed to avoid whistling in my presence Andrew was aware from this point on that whistling was a direct trigger of my anxiety. Around *, after Daniel exited his position as my supervisor, Andrew began a deliberate campaign of harassment and discrimination that I felt was designed to make me feel uncomfortable in the workplace and to exacerbate my conditions. Andrew would whistle often around me, and I noticed he would do it more often when he was in a bad mood. In the summer of *, Andrew told me, "You shouldn't have been able to have kids,'" implying that my medical conditions should have 'disqualified' me from having children. Being the father of two teenage girls, I was deeply offended by this statement and my OCD caused me to fixate on it for weeks afterward. Andrew would often insult me, telling me that I smelled, or that my hair looked "dumb" or "gross". These insults, coupled with the whistling, caused me immense anxiety during my employment with Garmin and exacerbated my need for accommodation for my disabilities. I also noticed that I was drug tested far more often than other associates, and I believe this was part of Andrew's harassment. Things began to escalate in late * after I started e new medication that impacted my ability to be alert and fully capable of working in the morning. I was having difficulty adjusting to my medication and it was affecting my work. Andrew noticed this and escalated his campaign of harassment accordingly On repeated occasions during the fall, including once on November *, Andrew would walk past my station whistling very loudly. Andrew would also target me with snide remarks and accusations of laziness during this time. In September *, I had two instances where I was late for work due to my medication, but the instances were coded as "no-call, no-shows" in Garmin's system for a short time before they could be corrected On October *, *, Andrew visited my work location and was talking to Jeff (L/N/U) about the Kansas City Chiefs game that evening and mentioned that people were leaving work to watch it. "That's the fastest way to get written up points," Andrew said, and then looked at me and said "that's not a jab at you, John." Andrew was clearly taunting me about my struggles. On November *, *, Andrew spoke with me about a shortage in some of our materials but he seemed frustrated about something. After our conversation, he walked away and started whistling very loudly He continued whistling until he returned to my desk a few minutes later to ask me to order more of the materials. On December *, *, Andrew approached me and accused me of "stealing easy jobs from other associates.' I told him that I was using the main pack dashboard to find jobs the same way any other associate did, but he told me that he was going to "change the code" so that I wouldn't be able to take certain jobs. I avoided reporting Andrew to HR because I felt that my concerns about my conditions had been minimized in the past, and I also knew that I might be punished by Andrew or Garmin, or even lose my job as a result of the complaint. However, on January *, *, I decided that the abuse had gone too far and I needed to make Garmin aware of my situation. I spoke with Melinda Horn, my HR representative, about the things Andrew does to trigger my anxiety. After the meeting, I sent Melinda an email to confirm the subject of our conversation. I continued to email Melinda, who suggested that we arrange a meeting with Andrew and herself to resolve the issue. I agreed to the meeting, which took place on January *. Although Andrew went through the motions at the meeting, he continued to harass me about my hygiene and whistle near my workstation until I was fired on March *, *. I think the short period between my complaint and my dismissal is indicative of retaliatory intent in my firing- Disability Discrimination feel that Garmin failed to accommodate my disability in a way that allowed me to perform my duties, of which I was fully capable. My change in medication in September generated many instances where I could not arrive at work at the early clock-in time that was assigned to me. Because of this, I would often have to take paid time off (PTO) or have attendance points applied to my personnel file. However, the process was inconsistently enforced, which caused me even more stress and confusion: there were instances where I notified Andrew that I would arrive late several minutes after my grace period that I did not receive attendance points, while other times under the same conditions I did receive attendance points. This was later characterized as Garmin "helping to manage my disabilities" but it was actually confusing and frustrating to play a guessing game of whether I would be punished for something out of my control. The stress of this issue as well as the ongoing harassment from Andrew generated cascading effect in which my work attendance suffered because of both my medication in the morning and because of my anxiety during the day. Garmin was clearly aware of my problems at the time, because I accumulated attendance points during the first quarter of * faster than I ever had before. However, instead of reaching out to find some way to solve the issue, Garmin decided to simply allow it to fester. On March *, *, when I realized the situation was not sustainable, I reached out to Melinda Homn to request a transfer to second shift, which works from *:* p.m. to *:* p.m. and would not be supervised by Andrew. However, I was fired the next day without any opportunity to discuss the potential accommodation. Many of the attendance points applied to my personnel file were the result of my medication and of the anxiety caused by Andrew's campaign of harassment. I feel that I was discriminated against by Garmin, who should have recognized my need for a different accommodation to my disabilities, and who are responsible for allowing me to suffer a hostile work environment while under the supervision of Andrew Veenstra.

Kansas

EXHIBIT A Start My name is John Young. I'm pursuing claims for violations by Garmin International for FMLA/ADA and would like to pursue legal remedies for illegal discrimination under federal law. I have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), generalized anxiety, depression, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) with anxiety. I worked as an electronics assembler at Garmin from June * until I was dismissed on March *, *. I believe I was discriminated against on the basis of my disabilities and that Garming permitted me to suffer a hostile work environment under the supervision of Andrew Veenstra. Hostile Work Environment My supervisor for the first three years of my employment with Garmin was a man named Daniel Lukowski. However, in *, Andrew Veenstra was hired for the purpose of taking over Dan's position, and the two worked in concert for some time as a way to train Andrew for the POsition, Shortly after Andrew was hired, an employee named Justin Raley, who had expressed anger toward me in the past, whistled at me to, get my attention and triggered my anxiety as a result. After I complained to Daniel about this, Daniel and Andrew arranged a meeting with myself and Justin to discuss that whistling was a trigger for my anxiety, and Justin agreed to avoid whistling in my presence Andrew was aware from this point on that whistling was a direct trigger of my anxiety. Around *, after Daniel exited his position as my supervisor, Andrew began a deliberate campaign of harassment and discrimination that I felt was designed to make me feel uncomfortable in the workplace and to exacerbate my conditions. Andrew would whistle often around me, and I noticed he would do it more often when he was in a bad mood. In the summer of *, Andrew told me, "You shouldn't have been able to have kids,'" implying that my medical conditions should have 'disqualified' me from having children. Being the father of two teenage girls, I was deeply offended by this statement and my OCD caused me to fixate on it for weeks afterward. Andrew would often insult me, telling me that I smelled, or that my hair looked "dumb" or "gross". These insults, coupled with the whistling, caused me immense anxiety during my employment with Garmin and exacerbated my need for accommodation for my disabilities. I also noticed that I was drug tested far more often than other associates, and I believe this was part of Andrew's harassment. Things began to escalate in late * after I started e new medication that impacted my ability to be alert and fully capable of working in the morning. I was having difficulty adjusting to my medication and it was affecting my work. Andrew noticed this and escalated his campaign of harassment accordingly On repeated occasions during the fall, including once on November *, Andrew would walk past my station whistling very loudly. Andrew would also target me with snide remarks and accusations of laziness during this time. In September *, I had two instances where I was late for work due to my medication, but the instances were coded as "no-call, no-shows" in Garmin's system for a short time before they could be corrected On October *, *, Andrew visited my work location and was talking to Jeff (L/N/U) about the Kansas City Chiefs game that evening and mentioned that people were leaving work to watch it. "That's the fastest way to get written up points," Andrew said, and then looked at me and said "that's not a jab at you, John." Andrew was clearly taunting me about my struggles. On November *, *, Andrew spoke with me about a shortage in some of our materials but he seemed frustrated about something. After our conversation, he walked away and started whistling very loudly He continued whistling until he returned to my desk a few minutes later to ask me to order more of the materials. On December *, *, Andrew approached me and accused me of "stealing easy jobs from other associates.' I told him that I was using the main pack dashboard to find jobs the same way any other associate did, but he told me that he was going to "change the code" so that I wouldn't be able to take certain jobs. I avoided reporting Andrew to HR because I felt that my concerns about my conditions had been minimized in the past, and I also knew that I might be punished by Andrew or Garmin, or even lose my job as a result of the complaint. However, on January *, *, I decided that the abuse had gone too far and I needed to make Garmin aware of my situation. I spoke with Melinda Horn, my HR representative, about the things Andrew does to trigger my anxiety. After the meeting, I sent Melinda an email to confirm the subject of our conversation. I continued to email Melinda, who suggested that we arrange a meeting with Andrew and herself to resolve the issue. I agreed to the meeting, which took place on January *. Although Andrew went through the motions at the meeting, he continued to harass me about my hygiene and whistle near my workstation until I was fired on March *, *. I think the short period between my complaint and my dismissal is indicative of retaliatory intent in my firing- Disability Discrimination feel that Garmin failed to accommodate my disability in a way that allowed me to perform my duties, of which I was fully capable. My change in medication in September generated many instances where I could not arrive at work at the early clock-in time that was assigned to me. Because of this, I would often have to take paid time off (PTO) or have attendance points applied to my personnel file. However, the process was inconsistently enforced, which caused me even more stress and confusion: there were instances where I notified Andrew that I would arrive late several minutes after my grace period that I did not receive attendance points, while other times under the same conditions I did receive attendance points. This was later characterized as Garmin "helping to manage my disabilities" but it was actually confusing and frustrating to play a guessing game of whether I would be punished for something out of my control. The stress of this issue as well as the ongoing harassment from Andrew generated cascading effect in which my work attendance suffered because of both my medication in the morning and because of my anxiety during the day. Garmin was clearly aware of my problems at the time, because I accumulated attendance points during the first quarter of * faster than I ever had before. However, instead of reaching out to find some way to solve the issue, Garmin decided to simply allow it to fester. On March *, *, when I realized the situation was not sustainable, I reached out to Melinda Homn to request a transfer to second shift, which works from *:* p.m. to *:* p.m. and would not be supervised by Andrew. However, I was fired the next day without any opportunity to discuss the potential accommodation. Many of the attendance points applied to my personnel file were the result of my medication and of the anxiety caused by Andrew's campaign of harassment. I feel that I was discriminated against by Garmin, who should have recognized my need for a different accommodation to my disabilities, and who are responsible for allowing me to suffer a hostile work environment while under the supervision of Andrew Veenstra.

I've been looking over the verbiage in the Garmin attendance policy, as well as my email interactions with HR regarding my FMLA and the "no-call no-shows". "You are expected to adhere to all standard absence policy notification requirements". How many different call in procedures/policies are there? Confusing! "When using intermittent leave, you are responsible for following the absence procedures outlined in the Associate Handbook. Except in case of an emergency, you must provide reasonable advance notice of a foreseeable absence from work. For unforeseeable absences, you must personally call your supervisor or leave a voicemail within one hour of the scheduled reporting time, "WHEN PRACTICABLE". Otherwise, you must call your supervisor "AS SOON AS PRACTICABLE". The part of law that applies here is " AS SOON AS PRACTICABLE", correct? What qualifies as an emergency? What qualifies as unforeseeable? Is recent medication changes part of emergency or unforeseeable? I should call my supervisor if this there is an emergency or unforeseeable action? I've literally never called Andy or Dan and always emailed or text them about FMLA attendance. *. Garmin approved my *-* intermittent FMLA that specifically states "potential late starts" *. When an employee seeks leave that may be covered by the FMLA but has failed to follow call-in procedures, the employer should engage the employee in a discussion about the reason why he or she could not follow these policies. (Should engage. Not a law) (Proves a pattern) based off them "accommodating my conditions" and removing my September write up and giving me my raise back. Garmin never asked why I failed to meet call-in procedures during the March incidents but asked and communicated in detail about it during the incidents in September. I was never given the reason why the September write up was removed. I asked for an update on the matter and "waiting on payrolls response" was as close as I got. Medication information I downloaded from the pharmacy helpful? Get notes from physiatrist? "Garmin maintains the right to change or terminate any policies or procedures at any time, with or without notice. This at-will policy is not intended to restrict or interfere with any associate's federal or state labor law rights, including ar associate's right to engage in concerted, protected activity." "No one, other than the vice president, human resources, has the authority to change the at-will nature of each associate's employment. The vice president, human resources, may only do so by written agreement, which must be signed by both the associate and the vice president, ruman resources." I've been looking over the verbiage in the Garmin attendance policy, as well as my email interactions with HR regarding my FMLA and the "no-call no-shows". "You are expected to adhere to all standard absence policy notification requirements". How many different call in procedures/policies are there? Confusing! "When using intermittent leave, you are responsible for following the absence procedures outlined in the Associate Handbook. Except in case of an emergency, you must provide reasonable advance notice of a foreseeable absence from work. For unforeseeable absences, you must personally call your supervisor or leave a voicemail within one hour of the scheduled reporting time, "WHEN PRACTICABLE". Otherwise, you must call your supervisor "AS SOON AS PRACTICABLE". The part of law that applies here is " AS SOON AS PRACTICABLE", correct? What qualifies as an emergency? What qualifies as unforeseeable? Is recent medication changes part of emergency or unforeseeable? I should call my supervisor if this there is an emergency or unforeseeable action? I've literally never called Andy or Dan and always emailed or text them about FMLA attendance. *. Garmin approved my *-* intermittent FMLA that specifically states "potential late starts" *. When an employee seeks leave that may be covered by the FMLA but has failed to follow call-in procedures, the employer should engage the employee in a discussion about the reason why he or she could not follow these policies. (Should engage. Not a law) (Proves a pattern) based off them "accommodating my conditions" and removing my September write up and giving me my raise back. Garmin never asked why I failed to meet call-in procedures during the March incidents but asked and communicated in detail about it during the incidents in September. I was never given the reason why the September write up was removed. I asked for an update on the matter and "waiting on payrolls response" was as close as I got. Medication information I downloaded from the pharmacy helpful? Get notes from physiatrist? "Garmin maintains the right to change or terminate any policies or procedures at any time, with or without notice. This at-will policy is not intended to restrict or interfere with any associate's federal or state labor law rights, including ar associate's right to engage in concerted, protected activity." "No one, other than the vice president, human resources, has the authority to change the at-will nature of each associate's employment. The vice president, human resources, may only do so by written agreement, which must be signed by both the associate and the vice president, ruman resources."

I've been looking over the verbiage in the Garmin attendance policy, as well as my email interactions with HR regarding my FMLA and the "no-call no-shows". "You are expected to adhere to all standard absence policy notification requirements". How many different call in procedures/policies are there? Confusing! "When using intermittent leave, you are responsible for following the absence procedures outlined in the Associate Handbook. Except in case of an emergency, you must provide reasonable advance notice of a foreseeable absence from work. For unforeseeable absences, you must personally call your supervisor or leave a voicemail within one hour of the scheduled reporting time, "WHEN PRACTICABLE". Otherwise, you must call your supervisor "AS SOON AS PRACTICABLE". The part of law that applies here is " AS SOON AS PRACTICABLE", correct? What qualifies as an emergency? What qualifies as unforeseeable? Is recent medication changes part of emergency or unforeseeable? I should call my supervisor if this there is an emergency or unforeseeable action? I've literally never called Andy or Dan and always emailed or text them about FMLA attendance. *. Garmin approved my *-* intermittent FMLA that specifically states "potential late starts" *. When an employee seeks leave that may be covered by the FMLA but has failed to follow call-in procedures, the employer should engage the employee in a discussion about the reason why he or she could not follow these policies. (Should engage. Not a law) (Proves a pattern) based off them "accommodating my conditions" and removing my September write up and giving me my raise back. Garmin never asked why I failed to meet call-in procedures during the March incidents but asked and communicated in detail about it during the incidents in September. I was never given the reason why the September write up was removed. I asked for an update on the matter and "waiting on payrolls response" was as close as I got. Medication information I downloaded from the pharmacy helpful? Get notes from physiatrist? "Garmin maintains the right to change or terminate any policies or procedures at any time, with or without notice. This at-will policy is not intended to restrict or interfere with any associate's federal or state labor law rights, including ar associate's right to engage in concerted, protected activity." "No one, other than the vice president, human resources, has the authority to change the at-will nature of each associate's employment. The vice president, human resources, may only do so by written agreement, which must be signed by both the associate and the vice president, ruman resources."

what would the employer's defense in court be after them removing my fmla protected write ups from September * and say it was helping managing my disability but fired me in March * when the exact same incident happened. no call no show past the hour grace period and I had a medication change. I was terminated * weeks after I took my supervisor to hr for his continued harassmentIn a situation like this, the employer's defense in court could focus on several key points: *. **Documentation and Policy Compliance**: They may argue that the removal of write-ups was part of a legitimate effort to support your disability management and that they followed their established policies regarding employee discipline and FMLA provisions. *. **Consistency in Enforcement of Policies**: The employer might assert that the termination was based on a consistent enforcement of attendance policies, regardless of your FMLA status. They could emphasize that the no-call, no-show incident violated company policy and was treated the same as any other employee's violation. *. **Performance and Behavior**: The employer could present evidence that your overall performance, attendance, or behavior had been a concern prior to the incidents in question. They may claim that the termination was justified based on a pattern of behavior that necessitated action. *. **Legitimate Business Reasons**: They might argue that the decision to terminate was based on legitimate business needs, such as maintaining operational efficiency, rather than retaliatory motives related to your FMLA rights or your complaints to HR. *. **Medication Change**: They could contend that while your medication change is a legitimate medical concern, it does not exempt you from adhering to the established attendance policies, especially if they were not formally notified of how the change impacted your ability to work. *. **Retaliation Defense**: If your termination came shortly after raising concerns about harassment, the employer might try to demonstrate that there was no causal link between your complaint and the termination, presenting alternative explanations for the timing of the decision. In any case, the specifics of your situation, including documentation, witness testimonies, and the employer's past practices, will play a critical role in determining the outcome. It may be advisable to consult with an employment attorney who can provide tailored advice based on the details of your case and the relevant laws.

*-*-* Write up was *:02am * min after the grave period

They made a policy change that the grave period only applies to statt time