Enclosed you will find copies of my time logs that I kept and also a copy of the separation statement that I filled out for my unemployment insurance benefits.

Towards the end of my employment with him, it seemed like he tried to make me quit by making me do odd tasks, such as pick up the trash off the lawn. The employees in the office at that time said that no one in the office has ever been asked or ordered to clean the lawn. I don’t know if he did anything wrong, but I started to second guess myself and I began to wonder if I was not a good worker, as he broke me down.

Jillene J

 

 

March 07, 2003

Merrill called me into his office - He called me a yehti and asked if I was stupid and if I even graduated from school. He accused me of plotting against him.

Before this had happened he has made me cry and called me a parrot because he said I was mocking him. I feel very incompetent around him.

May 2003

Some documents arrived for Carner - someone was suing her and I signed for it. (Merrill was not in the office, he was on vacation.) I asked Claudia what to do (Claudia worked with me). She said just to give it to her. So I did. When he got back from vacation a week later, Carner received a fax asking about the documents to see if she received them. Merrill Schneider gets a copy of everything that gets faxed in or out. Once he saw this and realized that he had not seen the documents- I got called into his office and he was very angry with me. He asked me if I received this document and I said yes. I also told him that I asked others what to do. He again stated that I was plotting against him and that I could have made him lose everything.

No date

It was late in the afternoon and Merrill Schneider had left for the day (probably around 4:30). A package arrived. I opened it and stamped it in and put it in his box. The next day Merrill Schneider called the office and demanded to know if we received a package and where I put it. I told him that I opened it and stamped it in and put it in his box. He yelled at me and said that those documents were very important and he needed them for his depo that morning. No one told me that they were needed. He yelled at me and hung up on me. I was expecting to be fired that day.

No date

I answered a call and a Janice from Verizon called and asked for Merrill Schneider. I said “Her name is Janice and she is the Verizon yellow pages rep.” Merrill Schneider asked “Are you fucking with me?” Out of frustration, I told him that I did not know. He said to find out what she wanted and to buzz him back. I asked her again what she wanted and she said the same thing. The reason she was calling was about the Verizon yellow page ad. He took the call.

Every morning I am supposed to bring up the mail into his office and check the tray for stuff to bring down. Well, one day Jessica had brought up the mail and the tray was not checked. Merrill buzzed me and yelled at me, asking why this was not done. I explained to him that I did not do this and that it was Jessica who had brought up the mail. He said it did not matter - I am held accountable.

I am constantly scrutinized by him, and yes, he has made me cry.

Nicole had to come down and baby-sit me to make sure that the work was getting done. Again Nicole accused me of not stepping up to the plate to do my job. They have both made me feel incompetent - Nicole is the new office manager.

Some people in the office see what Nicole and Merrill are doing to me and constantly ask me why I do not leave or quit. I am not going to quit!

October

I was called up to his office - Merrill Schneider noted that there was a bunch of filing mistakes. When I started I was given a cheat sheet of what goes where. He accused me of not knowing how to file and that I was faking my way through it. I am held accountable for other peoples’ mistakes.

When I got to work, Merrill Schneider called me up to his office and Nicole was there. Merrill said that my attendance was good until lately. I explained that I had been sick and I had documentation that my dad had a heart attack and a triple by-pass. He asked me if there was any way I could postpone the surgery. I said “no, I am in a lot of pain”.

Merrill Schneider called me up to his office. He said that my filing was still not up to par. I explained that I thought it was. What I should have told him was that Kim had been checking my files and that there were no mistakes. I had proof. But of course, I got flustered and did not say a word. He said that he had to let me go, but he couldn’t at the moment because it would disrupt the office. So, I have no idea when my last day will be.

December

Merrill Schneider accused me of faking my filing and not knowing what I was doing down here. He also said that I never once had a passion for filing.

Everyday I have been coming to work, ten to fifteen minutes early everyday, to make sure I was on time and not do the opening chores. I was nice and pleasant to the clients. I was not disrespectful to anyone. I did my duties as I was still going to stay. I even stayed five to ten minutes late to finish projects. However, I knew that one day that I came to work I would be fired.

January

A phone call came in for a client and I got the name spelled incorrectly so we could not find it in the computer. Nicole took the call. When she hung up she yelled at me and said “Do you know you make my life difficult? Do you hear me? When I talk to you, you have a blank look on your face. It seems like you do not care for your job. I am through helping you. You never seem to care what I say or even acknowledge that you hear me. This is what Merrill and I do not like about you.” She totally berated me. She accused me of spacing out. After she left, I was upset. I broke down and cried. I am not stupid and I do understand what she said. I even said that I was sorry.

I have been trying really hard, I even kept track of all the files I filed in and when Kim would check them, there would be no mistakes! She stated “I do not think they are firing you because of your mistakes. It is more a conflict of personalities.”

Sometime at the end of January, I asked Nicole, “Since I was fired in December, when will my last day be?” She said “You were not fired, and if you were fired, you would have been gone a few weeks ago. Merrill just wants you to find another job.”

February

When I got back from lunch, Nicole told me that she needed to see me. So, we went into the back office to talk about my job. She stated “you can choose to be fired today as we are going to put an ad in the paper for your job. If you stay, you have to be nice to the people who are calling for your job. I asked if I could think about it. She said yes. I left and went back to my desk and I thought about it. I was going to leave, so I got my coat and was ready to walk out the door. Nicole yelled, “Wait, where are you going?” I stated that I had the choice and I was leaving. She said, “Wait, Merrill wants to see you.” So, I took off my coat and went upstairs to talk to Merrill Schneider. He said, “I am sorry for the hard feelings but you do not have to leave today. We are not going to put the ad in until Sunday, so you don’t have to leave today. I would prefer if you stayed until your position has been filled.” So I decided not to leave, but to be fired on Friday.

February

Nicole said that she needed to see me again. She asked, “So, are you leaving tomorrow? Because if you leave, it will be on your own accord and you will not get unemployment.” I asked “If I stayed, will Merrill fight my unemployment?” So I left to go back to my desk and she went up to see Merrill. She came back down half an hour later and told me that Merrill hadn’t decided what to do at that point. It was still up in the air. Feeling like I have no choice, I will stay until my position has been filled. The ad will go in the Sunday Oregonian for my position.

 

Nicole was trying to find things wrong with what I was doing. I assembled some envelopes wrong and she said that this was a huge mistake, that they could be sued. After lunch I was called up to Merrill’s office and I was fired.

I spoke to Christi Carner and she said that Merrill Schneider would make fun of me in front of other people. He has these meetings with office staff to go over mail and files.

I constantly got yelled at for stuff other people got away with such as:

1. Eating food at desk

2. Taking the filing out of the box and leaving it on the table

3. Other staff members chat online, play games or even check their email.