Brentp
Santa Maria,#2UPDATE EX-employee responds
Tue, April 07, 2009
I can help I too am a former employee with Rent A Center who was let go after some sexual misconduct between two of my supervisors and myself I have spoken with a lawyer and retained legal councel. I can give you all the information you need and I can tell you who and what kind of people/persons to contact. My email is listed here shoot me an email and Ill give ya the details.
Sjergons
Beaver Falls,#3UPDATE EX-employee responds
Fri, April 03, 2009
I am an ex-employee of Rent-a-center. I had only worked there for a year. I am a fairly good looking woman who was hired by the DM because he had seen me working somewhere else and working hard. So he hired me and afterward kept coming into the store on a daily basis. my co-workers started to make comments immediately and I was embarrassed to no end. Well I am small and told the DM that I was unable to do a lot of the stuff that they wanted me to do. He said that he would make sure that I didn't do anything that wasn't appropriate for me and that I would most likely be in the store in no time. Well that store was closed and I was transferred to another store not to far away. Instant hell. Nothing but practical jokes, violence and porn. The personal attacks were horrible. The first week I was there they stole my cigarettes and put them in the shredder. They ate my food in the refrigerator. They were sending me picks of naked girls. They had sent me on the road in the beginning every day all day with the guy who was steeling from me and the company. I was expected to do bedrooms up 3 flights of stairs. At one point we were taking a couch up stairs to an apartment and we could not get the couch up. It had to be lifted up over the banister to get it in. So he decided to have me turn around and I was so confused about what he wanted me to do and then he said, "I am just going to rest the couch down and you need to just keep holding your end." Well by the way he had me turn the couch ended up on my back as he stood at the top of the stairs wondering how he would get it up there. I have also experienced a lot of sexual harassment from the DM. Scratches my palm when he shakes my hand. Holds onto my hand and wont let go. He has made comments to me about making my life so much easier if I would just let him. I would just tell him no. I wasn't interested. I had asked to be transferred. I told on my manager about missing merchandise and porn in the store that he brought in and the DM once again offered to make life easier for me. Co-workers always laughed at me and made jokes about it. I am older and there were always old jokes. Well they have since fired me and I am collecting unemployment but they filed an appeal. I have never had this problem in the workplace to this extent and I am really tired of having to put up with men who can't control their urges. It truly was a man's club around there. Once the assistant manager had punched out a co-worker and he was never reprimanded. He also put another co-worker in a choke hold up against the wall until the guy fell to the floor in convulsions. Never got in trouble. But every single word or joke out of my mouth and I was in trouble. I had gone to my manager many times to complain about stuff and it would end up with him yelling in my face and me yelling back at him because instead of addressing a situation he would just turn it around on me and defend them. I think this just needs to be stopped and Rent-A-Center needs to evaluate the way they treat the female employees. They need to be held accountable.
#4UPDATE EX-employee responds
Wed, December 17, 2008
This was one of the hardest jobs I have ever had and am so glad to be out of it. It was a living hell, with no breaks, horny male employees, super long hours, mean treatment and weight gain!!! I was there for four years and endured some unthinkable treatment. I am with you if you wanna file a class action suit. Contact Lisa at store 364, she won and then went to RentWay before RAC bought them out. 1-440-366-6565 Lorain, Ohio. Not sure how much help she will be. P.S. I switched over to Cash Advantedge and was wrongfully terminated after one year of dedicated service and 6 months of working alone @60+ hours per week!!! Said my store wasn't growing. In reality Damarys Nieves the DM that slept with half the region and all the big-wigs got demoted and took my store because it was the one closest to her home. She tried her hardest to fing some integrity issues, wrong contracts or any flaws and found none. She even had her niece work some of my off days so she could raise my delinquency with bad loans (Tasha Hoon). This was planned and calculated and trumped up bullcrap.
Nowaymam
Kimberly,#5UPDATE EX-employee responds
Sat, February 02, 2008
Hi there, I just did my own report for discrimination and thought that your experience was much like mine. Thank goodness you were never pregnant with the company. I wish you the best and don't give up on the suit. I have faith that we are not alone in this. Take care- P.S. Most of the men in the store I worked at are the same way!
Revrufus
Owings,#6Consumer Suggestion
Thu, January 17, 2008
Living here in MD also, there are plenty of law firms who advertise on tv and offer free consultation. That is what you need, a legal consultation. During this they will tell you whether or not you have a case, and what the costs of such will be, and when payment is expected. I suspect that time may be running out so if you haven't looked into any , of this yet, you need to get moving! From just reading your story if sex was discussed in your presence, and more particularly comments made about body parts, especially yours, you have the premise for a sexual harassment case. Sexual harassment now covers more than just pressuring for sex. It includes making an environment uncomfortable by remarks and actions of a sexual nature. They do not have to be directed to you or anyone. Did you complain to management? Did you complain to management outside of your store? All of this will be investigated by your lawyer. As far as an unfair work load I am not sure you have any recourse there. Employers are permitted to make work assignments as they see necessary, so even though I agree that you received an unfair amount, that may not be actionable. What may be actionable, however, is, as you stated, you were told that if you expected to be paid like a man that you had to work like one. That lends credibility to a sexual discrimination claim, where you were assigned increasingly heavy work loads not based upon company need, but based upon your gender, and the company's attempts to "make you a man". The practice of having you go out on all day assignments alone while they remained behind and goofed off lends credibility to you being treated differently because of your gender. It lends credibility to a claim that they did not want you around and treated you indifferently because of your sexual gender. Again, your lawyer will review and investigate all of this with you. Like I said, I am not a lawyer, and I definitely am not offering you any legal advice, just street advice that you should go discuss your issues with a lawyer. My 2 cents OBE