The title of my post says it all. I posted about this situation 14 months ago, so I saw it coming, but I can't say I'm happy about this.
https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/when-to-sue-and-when-to-just-let-go-107531.html
I'm done June 30, they say. Out the door. No reason given. No performance reviews in 4.5 years. I asked for my personnel file on the day I got the news, and there's nothing in there, basically. Nothing positive, nothing negative. Just my application materials and at-will hiring letter.
The employer has added positions -- a white male who is 42, a man and woman in their late 30s, and person of color in their early 30s who is gender nonconforming. These hires were all in the last two months. I am a 54-year-old white male who will turn 55 in May. These new hires will assume the duties I have been doing the past few years.
The field in question is higher education. It is my third career. My student evaluations are off-the-charts excellent. I learned the news as the students did: when they did not see my name on the fall semester schedule. One student questioned me about it in front of the class. I choked up and told them I've been told I will be terminated. They seemed as stunned as I am/was. Several took that class because they had heard I was an excellent teacher.
At the school, the faculty gets to call the shots, including on hiring and firing. There is no doubt in my mind my termination is a mixture of age, race, and gender discrimination. A year ago yesterday, during a faculty meeting on Zoom when discriminatory things were said, I took a screen shot of a comment by a "colleague" who posted a chat comment that said, and I quote: "I wonder what an employment lawyer would say about the meetings we've been having."
Indeed. Me too.
I had been leaning toward just leaving this highly unprofessional group of people behind, particularly because financially my wife and I are OK and my side hustle is going pretty well. She and I can probably gross 130K a year without too much trouble, which is plenty for us to live on. I have 200K in a 401(k) from this previous employer that I can tap penalty-free under the Rule of 55. In all, we have about 1.9M in retirement savings.
So we're probably OK. But wow ... part of me doesn't want to let this go. I left a lot of money on the table to go to this job (profit sharing, etc.), never dreaming this would be the end. My wife wants me to pursue this more than I do.
Thoughts?
[And thanks in advance.]
https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/when-to-sue-and-when-to-just-let-go-107531.html
I'm done June 30, they say. Out the door. No reason given. No performance reviews in 4.5 years. I asked for my personnel file on the day I got the news, and there's nothing in there, basically. Nothing positive, nothing negative. Just my application materials and at-will hiring letter.
The employer has added positions -- a white male who is 42, a man and woman in their late 30s, and person of color in their early 30s who is gender nonconforming. These hires were all in the last two months. I am a 54-year-old white male who will turn 55 in May. These new hires will assume the duties I have been doing the past few years.
The field in question is higher education. It is my third career. My student evaluations are off-the-charts excellent. I learned the news as the students did: when they did not see my name on the fall semester schedule. One student questioned me about it in front of the class. I choked up and told them I've been told I will be terminated. They seemed as stunned as I am/was. Several took that class because they had heard I was an excellent teacher.
At the school, the faculty gets to call the shots, including on hiring and firing. There is no doubt in my mind my termination is a mixture of age, race, and gender discrimination. A year ago yesterday, during a faculty meeting on Zoom when discriminatory things were said, I took a screen shot of a comment by a "colleague" who posted a chat comment that said, and I quote: "I wonder what an employment lawyer would say about the meetings we've been having."
Indeed. Me too.
I had been leaning toward just leaving this highly unprofessional group of people behind, particularly because financially my wife and I are OK and my side hustle is going pretty well. She and I can probably gross 130K a year without too much trouble, which is plenty for us to live on. I have 200K in a 401(k) from this previous employer that I can tap penalty-free under the Rule of 55. In all, we have about 1.9M in retirement savings.
So we're probably OK. But wow ... part of me doesn't want to let this go. I left a lot of money on the table to go to this job (profit sharing, etc.), never dreaming this would be the end. My wife wants me to pursue this more than I do.
Thoughts?
[And thanks in advance.]
