Talking to HR on tues--how to prepare?

[Anonymous]

I work at a consulting company that has a very hostile environment. Sexiest, homophobic, raceist. When they sent out a global employee survey I unloaded and put my name on it. They now want to sit down w me on Tuesday. I am talking to an employment lawyer tomorrow and I have gotten my finances in order to quit quickly. Should I tell them I have consulted a lawyer? I am very nervous. Any advice on what to say/ not say? Should I lay it out? Not in the business of getting litigious but I am pissed as hell.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure why you are pissed? Shouldn't you have been expecting a meeting? I mean, you signed a survey stating the company was racist, sexist, homophobic, and hostile. Did you really except that they wouldn't wAnt to follow up?!?

[Anonymous]

I'm sure they just want to get more info and ask you to expand on the responses you gave. They may ask if you think it's so awful why you're still working there.

You'd have spent your time more wisely contacting a headhunter than an employment lawyer.

[Anonymous]

The lawyer will give you advice on what to say. I guess it also depends on what you want. Do you want to keep working for them? Are you ready to burn this bridge and quit at the meeting?

[Anonymous]

That was dumb.

[Anonymous]

Agree that it was dumb, but now you are where you are. The most important thing is to have actual concrete examples of every single thing you accused the company of and the more examples the better. If you don't have specific examples of each accusation, then you should be very worried.

[Anonymous]

OP here, I'm interviewing actively but hoping to stay bc the company at large (50+ offices globally) is great and also I need the income. I'm very interested to hear how other people have dealt w this type of thing and if I should actually think about legal action or if that would truly ruin my reputation in a sort of small community. Should I tell hr I have contacted a lawyer?

[Anonymous]

Do you all really think it was dumb? If she works in an awful place and they asked.....I mean, if they fire her she can sue. So wouldn't they be worried?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work at a consulting company that has a very hostile environment. Sexiest, homophobic, raceist. When they sent out a global employee survey I unloaded and put my name on it. They now want to sit down w me on Tuesday. I am talking to an employment lawyer tomorrow and I have gotten my finances in order to quit quickly. Should I tell them I have consulted a lawyer? I am very nervous. Any advice on what to say/ not say? Should I lay it out? Not in the business of getting litigious but I am pissed as hell.

What are you mad about? That they contacted you or the environment? Isn't them contacting you what you wanted since you gave them your name and detailed a list of complaints?

To answer your attorney question, sure, tell them. If they are as big as you say they are they won't bat an eye. Hopefully they conduct an thorough investigation and address the issues you raised. But it seems like instead of worrying about lawyering up, you should think about what your point is in raising these issues. Your later posts speak to liking the company in general. If you want them to address the issues and you want to be reassigned, tell them that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you all really think it was dumb? If she works in an awful place and they asked.....I mean, if they fire her she can sue. So wouldn't they be worried?

Why would they be worried? She reported a complaint and they are investigating. That is what is supposed to happen. She hasn't been fired or threatened to be fired.

[Anonymous]

They are investigating your complaints. That is what they are supposed to be doing. Hope your complaints were legit though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, I'm interviewing actively but hoping to stay bc the company at large (50+ offices globally) is great and also I need the income. I'm very interested to hear how other people have dealt w this type of thing and if I should actually think about legal action or if that would truly ruin my reputation in a sort of small community. Should I tell hr I have contacted a lawyer?

If this is the case, then why unload on the survey and give your name. How old are you? You need to grow up and think more strategically and use common sense. No one does this if they want to stay and move up in an organization. And, suing your employer can be professional suicide. I am a lawyer.

[Anonymous]

Wouldn't you be mad if they had NOT contacted you after what you wrote? Now that you've put this out there and put your name on it, they HAVE to follow up. They may be following up to cover their butts, they may want to find out if you are going to file a formal complaint, they may want to find out if you have examples of what you accused them of. They would be idiots to fire you for something like this, as it would prove your point. They may be wary of you now, and they may think of you as a trouble maker now. If you want to stay with this company, do not get angry during the HR conversation. Stay calm and diplomatically explain your viewpoint. It will only make sense to them if you have concrete examples.

I would NOT tell them about contacting a lawyer, that will just fan the flames. You are getting combative before you even know what is going on.

[Anonymous]

Hi OP, fellow hothead here! Take a deep deep breath. You were brave to do what you did - so many people will not speak the truth, and that is how injustice is perpetuate. BUT nobody ever said it would be comfortable to speak truth to power!

This sounds serious enough that consulting a lawyer is a good idea. Not necessarily to sue the company, but to tell you how to navigate this situation effectively.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I work at a consulting company that has a very hostile environment. Sexiest, homophobic, raceist. When they sent out a global employee survey I unloaded and put my name on it. They now want to sit down w me on Tuesday. I am talking to an employment lawyer tomorrow and I have gotten my finances in order to quit quickly. Should I tell them I have consulted a lawyer? I am very nervous. Any advice on what to say/ not say? Should I lay it out? Not in the business of getting litigious but I am pissed as hell.


What are you mad about? That they contacted you or the environment? Isn't them contacting you what you wanted since you gave them your name and detailed a list of complaints?

To answer your attorney question, sure, tell them. If they are as big as you say they are they won't bat an eye. Hopefully they conduct an thorough investigation and address the issues you raised. But it seems like instead of worrying about lawyering up, you should think about what your point is in raising these issues. Your later posts speak to liking the company in general. If you want them to address the issues and you want to be reassigned, tell them that.

That's not how HR works. They are there to protect the company. They will have two to three HR people and maybe a lawyer in the meeting(vs you by yourself). The meet is most likely to see their exposure and how to reduce it. Learn from this and never sign something like that ever...don't even fill it out. It's not done for the employees. What did your lawyer say? He should give you some phases that will scare the crap out of them.