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FROM THE STORY: I Sued Shands, Pro Se, in Four Courts and Won Them All!
By M. A. Ellsworth ©1995
“That which does not kill you makes you strong” is an old Arabic proverb.
That’s what was running through my mind as Judge Paul took his seat behind the Federal Court Bench and looked at me disbelievingly.
“I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me.” I reminded myself over and over as he read my petition to represent myself, pro se, in the rest of my federal case, now that my attorney had quit.
I had refused to accept the paltry settlement she had negotiated in order to dump a case I felt she’d botched, and in turn she had dumped me to dump her liability if she lost the case. I had no such reservations.
I took heart in the three smaller suits I’d already won against Shands Hospital at the University of Florida, both without hiring an attorney. In this third suits’ Pre-Trial Decision the three Federal Review Judges had determined that my evidence substantiated a clear violation of federal sex discrimination statutes. The only thing that hadn’t been determined in pre-trial was whether Shands had fired me for reporting that discrimination, or for reporting my directors’ thefts. Either way, they'd fired me!
In considering the inequity of my work situation; the discrimination was clear. Was there equal pay for equal work the women's movement had fought so hard to establish in reverse conditions? Here, though our Job Titles were identical and our Job Description indicated we were involved in the same types of work, our duties had different emphasis. I had twenty five years of experience, the gentleman who had supposedly absorbed the lesser half of my original duties had none in this field. (That’s right! None!)
A comparison of my documentation proved this:
I typed 120 CWPM on the computer, 86-100 CWPM on a typewriter. He could never pass his minimum 35CWPM on either, in two years of trying.
I was functional on five types of computer soft wear, fluent in two. He had no experience and only scant training, years prior, in word processing.
I regularly did five duties at one time, well. He could barely do one, and that not always well.
I had four times his duty roster and was deprived of lunch hours, to boot. He was given regular lunch breaks and far less responsibilities (half of which I did!) Yes I was a bit more than peeved!
There was an eight cents and hour differential in our pay scale for six month’s difference in work time. It made me livid.
Dad’s war stories had taught me to war, and to war to win. I ran from fights I had no way of winning, but I wanted to win this one badly, and I knew I could. I had no intentions of running, even if I was scared half out of my wits! Some things are just worth fighting for.
“Do you understand, Mrs. Ellsworth, that this court will require you to follow all the rules of juris prudence required by federal law?” Judge Paul asked me.
It seemed like a monumental undertaking. I intentionally lowered my voice so I wouldn’t give any hint of lack of confidence.
“I do, Your Honor.”
“And you feel you can do that?”
“Yes, Your Honor. I do.”
“I must grant your petition for Pro Se representation, Mrs. Ellsworth. I further grant your Petition for a thirty-day postponement for the filing of your joint Pleadings. And I highly suggest that you seek legal counsel before then.”
He emphasized the latter as he closed my folder and rose.
“Thank you, Your Honor.”
I wondered if Judge Paul or the opposing counsel could see the hem of my skirt shaking like a flag on a pole in a brisk wind. If I was careful, they might never know how un-nerving all this was.
It’s one thing to stand up and be counted for right principles when the world around you seems wrong, but this was pressing the issue “a might far,” even for me.
Part of me chuckled on the way out of the courtroom to remember how, when I was a child fighting with my brother for my perceived rights, carefully laying out all my evidence, Dad used to say, “Sis! Don’t make a federal case out of this!” Somehow, I think he’d enjoy seeing me here, if he could. I remember thinking: “This one’s for you, Pop. I can’t let the freedom you fought for go to waste!”
Mom and Dad had always emphasized personal national duty to protect the rights to Redress of Grievance, and they tried to instilled in us a love of the law for the laws’ sake, and a respect for social order. Mom used to say, “You’ll never know what you can accomplish if you never try!”
Those had been some of the reasons I’d chosen to become a police woman in the mid-sixties, and in part, why I insisted on carrying my bold tenacity there in the courtroom, today, to the max. I was determined to make a difference.
My heart dared to believe God that He would guide me continually, like His Word says. And my mind chose to believe in Mom and Dad’s convictions, ideals and principles - as my own. If Dad, and men like him, had been willing to fight and die for them, the least I could do was to live for them.
I intended to show the world, by this suit, the corruption that fired me for doing the right thing. That corruption had floated up and was stagnated at the top of the workers’ pool… in the Executive Offices where the CEO and V.P.s' worked. I couldn’t count it a victory if I didn’t do that.
Over the next four months, I spent countless hours in the University of Florida Law Library doing case history searches, and countless more at the courthouse researching similar Pleadings to help me format mine. I made my Demands for Production of Evidence, and analyzed the thousands of pages it brought me.
I subpoenaed eight witnesses against the enemy and used the Word of God in that Subpoena to forewarn of God’s penalties, not just the U.S. and state law’s, for perjury during my proceedings. My actual, physical deposing of their past and present employees by myself consumed fourteen hours of one day.
It would take volumes to record (and there is a book and movie script underway about this) all the miracles I witnessed and all the lessons I learned along the way.
Suffice it to say, I learned that my God still works miracles for those who dare believe His precious promises; and that Mom and Dad were right: truth and freedom are worth fighting for… lest they fall from grace through neglect.
I won that round in federal court.
I cleared my name, and walked away with a little cash, though not enough, and an agreement not to disclose the particulars of our out of court settlement.
One would think that would be enough for anyone. Nothing is that simple to me.
The Director, whom I’d worked for, and her Vice President, who were the main cohorts in the crimes against me, had been divested of their privileges at Shands at the very onset of my battles. My office opponent had quit his job. It seemed to most people I talked to that there was little left to gain. Wrong!
Two very important things remained on my personal agenda. One was to remove the last remaining person, whom I saw as a co-conspirator in the discrimination I’d experienced: the CEO. This was the man no one made a vital move anywhere in the hospital without consulting. He was the man I knew, in my heart, had given the directive to terminate me ‘because I wasn’t a team player,’ a term I have come to equate with a willingness to pervert justice and equity for the wellbeing of the executives.
My friends said he couldn’t be touched. They were wrong. "Where there's a will, there's a way!" I don't know who coined that phrase, but they were right!
I collected and copied into booklets selective evidence my Discoveries brought me, highlighted in yellow the pertinent data for their review which pointed to that CEO as either a co-conspirator against me who knowingly covered blatant discrimination or an absolute ignoramus whose entire workforce operated without his knowledge or consent.
Then, I sent a personal cover letter and a copy of my Dismissal with each booklet to every member of the hospitals’ Board of Directors, in which I estimated the hospital’s cost of this one fiasco in the millions of dollars!
Within a year, for whatever reasons, he was gone from a job he had vowed never to leave.
I feel sure I left a lasting impression on him.
In the end, I found that Florida law sorely limits the amount of financial damages which can be recovered from a company that is convicted of discrimination. The individuals within the corporation, who openly disregard policy, violate job descriptions, and falsify documents to create the inequitable situations as I found in my workplace, can not even be held liable under current legislative provisions of the State of Florida.
So, now, only one thing remains on my original agenda. That is to see a Florida Statute enacted which holds individuals within corporations, who intentionally break the law, liable under the law. At this time, I have officially proposed through legislative channels a state ANTI-AIDING & ABETTING DISCRIMINATION Statute. This one’s for the oppressed people everywhere in my state and every state that needs an ANTI-AIDING & ABETTING DISCRIMINATION Statute.
It reads:
"It shall be a discriminatory or unfair employment practice for any person, whether or not an employer, an employment agency, a labor organization, or the employee or members thereof to aid, abet, incite, compel or coerce the doing of any act defined in this section to be a discriminatory or unfair employment practice, or to obstruct or prevent any person from complying with the provisions of this part or any Order issued with respect thereto, or to attempt, either directly or indirectly, to commit any act defined in this section to be a discriminatory or unfair employment practice." [Quoted as found in Colorado Rev. Statute Section 24-34-402 (1982)]
Or, "Any individual who knowingly aids and abets in a discriminatory act according to the statutes of the State of Florida shall be severally and individually liable for damages to any and all aggrieved persons injured by their participation in the discriminatory practices."
My bonus is that this historic event may become a Movie to encourage those who know they can… to do whatever must be done… to keep this nation free and equitable for the next generation.
To posterity, I leave this thought from the lessons I learned from this experience. “If you do not fully walk in the opportunities of each today, you will not be prepared for your destiny tomorrow.”
THE BEGINNING instead of The End
My official court documents are found in these case histories:
Alachua County, Florida, Small Claims Court - County Records, #92-1083-SC for Wage and Hour violations
FL Unemployment Compensation Appeal records, (= 2 claims) #54-7127655002-54660000-00-11023100 1) Original claim, and 2) Appeal Hearing
US Federal District Court in Gainesville, FL #93-10061
I offer this case history as proof that one person can make a difference in the business world when they stand up for right and righteousness.
Marilyn
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Maxii
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