In fact, the Carolinas Healthcare System Attorney did the "George Zimmerman" on me. He was quiet as a mouse the whole time, and the judge did not ask him any questions. CHS got lucky on this one! If we had a different judge, then the whole case would have flowed differently.
Another interesting fact is that my case along with other cases were moved to a different courtroom; yet most of the cases listed above did not show. Only the Ferguson Enterprises case and my CHS case seemed to have held. There was a separate roster for the Courtroom 2330 which had these cases appended.
Now for the bigger question:
When was I terminated from Carolinas Healthcare System?
August 1, 2012?
The judge from my July 14, 2014 hearing seemed to think that when CHS took my badge on August 1, 2012 that their actions signified termination because I was no longer to able to clock in.
August 6, 2012?
My unsigned separation agreement stated August 6, 2012 as my termination date in order to coincide with the end of a pay period, but CHS and I never reached a mutual agreement.
August 7, 2012?
My personnel files reflect August 7, 2012 as a termination date, and this seems to be the date that my COBRA benefits continuation coverage was calculated from.
September 5, 2012?
My personnel files reflect that September 5, 2012 was when action was taken on my termination. However, typically, the action dates and termination dates are the same date unless there is some valid reason for an employee to sit idle on the payroll for an extended period a time in a form of an unpaid absence.
December 1, 2012?
According to CHS PRN status description pictured below, I could have sat on payroll without generating a check for up to 90 days before termination was recommended.
So when was I terminated by staff reduction from Carolinas Healthcare System?
According to the judge at my July 14, 2014 hearing, she said that it does not even matter. In conclusion, it appears that I can only get paid for actual hours clocked in for work.
What an interesting journey? I only wonder if I had filed my discrimination cases for failure to promote and retaliation within the "90 day" window, what would have been the results?
CHS attorneys attempted to get my small claims case dismissed the week before the court date, but because small claims court is a lower court, dismissal was not an option. Also, my case was intentionally put at the end so that the courtroom was cleared out except one lady that had arrived late for roster call. After my case was over, the judge was surprised that someone was left in courtroom for a case. She had to find the case from the stack that missed the initial roll call, but I left out without thinking about getting her info for myself. This dramatic conclusion still rings clear in my memory banks. It is sadly all politics- justice is only a bonus in the justice system.
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