This past January when returning from four days of vacation, I was notified by Bartlett Nuclear that I had been terminated from my position of engineering consultant at Duke Power. The reason, they said, was improper internet usage and using the company phone for personal business. I had held this position for fifteen years at the Catawba facility under my own contract. Bartlett had been a competitor who was constantly trying to get this position for their own....as if the rest of the plant wasn't enough. I lost my contract in 1999 and was forced to go to work for Bartlett in order to stay at the Catawba facility. Soon afterward, I was transferred to the Calibration facility at the McGuire plant and there is where even more problems started. Apparantly, they didn't take too kindly to a "Vendor" coming there so they made it very clear that I was a "second class citizen" so to speak. I have had epilepsy for almost thirty years and this never seemed to be an issue at the Catawba facility, but it was brought up periodically at the calibration Lab. About eleven months ago, my wife and I decided to seperate which placed more stress on me which resulted in my having absence siezures. These siezures weren't serious, they would manifest themselves in my changing the subject in conversations, taking the wrong turn while driving, etc. But apparently this along with my age and the fact that I am a "vendor" and also the fact that I would not show the house people everything I knew about troubleshooting electronic circuitry all added up to my being a liability, I guess.
well, on January 25th, Bartlett's Site co ordinator and district manager terminated me for Improper Internet usage. When I asked to be shown where I had gone on the Internet that was prohibited they refused to show me. I also informed them that I had told my job sponsor about my phone calls and he had cleared them. Needless to say, the North Carolina Employment Securities Commission ruled in my favor this past week and found Bartlett to be neglegent and has ordered them to pay me all of my unemployment due back to this past January.
Now that's Bartlett. I am preparing a lawsuite against Duke Power Company on the grounds of Wrongful Termination and age Discrimination. Wish me luck. I am sure that I am going to need it. I have been at Duke for nineteen years and have seen how they abuse their employees and the contractors that come there also. I am sick of it and I plan to try do my part to bring these people to account for the things that they have done.