EVHasteMay 1, 2023

I have sufficient reason and evidence to believe that I was terminated from Rune Labs in retaliation for protected anti-discrimination whistleblowing activity.

Normally, NDA would prohibit me from disclosing this. However, thanks to Washington’s Silenced No More Act, my ability to speak about discrimination, harassment, or retaliation that I have witnessed in the workplace is legally protected.

🔊Boosts appreciated.

#trans #lgbtq #discrimination #layoffs #tech

https://evhaste.com/blog/silenced-no-more

I Was Laid Off In Retaliation for Anti-Discrimination Whistleblowing – Haste Makes Waste

In order to protect women, gender nonconforming folks, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ+ community from suffering as my peers and I have, I feel ethically obligated to go public with my experience. In this article, I will outline why I have sufficient reason to believe that my former employer Rune Labs has violated US anti-discrimination labor laws.

Show threadAuthor Sharon E. Cathcart ✅

@Haste

My issue was not the same as yours, but I was also laid off/fired/whatever term you want to use for being a whistleblower. Solidarity.

May 1, 2023 at 5:19pmWeb
Show threadEVHasteMay 1, 2023

@sharonecathcart Howdy Sharon! It’s a pleasure to meet you. ❤️ thanks for reaching out and helping me feel less alone.

Any advice you would give to someone who just pushed the big scary SEND button on something like this?

Show threadAuthor Sharon E. Cathcart ✅May 1, 2023

@Haste

I will pass on something that I received in the wake of my own whistleblowing experience.

I posted about my situation for about a year and a half on my friends-locked Livejournal (I'm old, y'all) ... and after it was all said and done, one of my pals said "Re-read this in a year and recognize that your dismissal probably did you a favor and saved your life."

Right now it's fresh and scary and horrible. And I do hope you are finding your way to a stable housing situation, etc., if you haven't already. But at some point, knowing you are doing the right thing begins to sink in ... and the shitty people? Well, they're still shitty ... but they can't do it to you anymore.

Like you, I believe that we have a duty to stand up for the marginalized. I have no regrets that I did so, nor for standing up to two horrid bully-bosses.

Please consider yourself to be hugged virtually from the Silicon Valley and know that I'm proud of what you did.

Show threadEVHasteMay 1, 2023

@sharonecathcart This is… precisely what I needed to hear in this moment.

Thank you for your wisdom. ❤️

Show threadAuthor Sharon E. Cathcart ✅May 1, 2023

@Haste

The one thing I forgot to say is that I did indeed go back and re-read those Livejournal posts about two years after the situation was over.

I felt nothing but relief that I was no longer in that situation ... and realized just how much of a toll it had all taken on my health (I couldn't see it clearly at the time, but I did talk about the medical things that were happening ... all of which could be laid at the door of stress, bullying/gaslighting, and other forms of workplace abuse). My life was indeed saved by being away from there.

I'm in a much better place career-wise than I would have if I'd caved to the bullies and liars, and I'm happy most of the time.

I'd still cheerfully slap those two bullies if I had the opportunity, but for the most part? Living well is the best revenge. They tried to break me and failed.

Show threadEVHasteMay 1, 2023

@sharonecathcart Hell yes. This really resonates with me; I had to take disability leave from the physical and emotional stress this job was putting on me, so I am definitely looking forward to having some distance from it.

I’m glad you got your best lived revenge in the end ❤️