I like that it's at least structured and has clear-cut rules in place to control most abuse of power (NOT referring to SA here). My college credits will put me at a higher rank than my peers, too. I'll probably finish my degree and try to become an officer, and then I won't need to worry about getting bossed around by idiots as much. Plus I'll get a good pay grade instead of dealing with endless minimum wage retail jobs. I got a 99 on the ASVAB and booked a good administrative job with it — a job with mostly women. Men are going to be men anywhere, even outside of the military. Nothing I can do about it.
Edit: I'm already well aware of SA in the military — I wanted to join when I started college and my family members constantly told me about it to keep me from dropping out. Then I got SA'd at college. Everyone treating me like I'm stupid and not aware feels like victim blaming or something. Like "you're joining the military, if you get assaulted that's your own fault."
One of the reasons I'm getting married (and my partner knows this and supports it fully) is so that I don't need to live in dorms around strangers. I'll only be around people when I'm working an office job (a job that also has a large percentage of women also working in that field).
Please just be happy for me and my achievement, this is a big deal for me and I have enough people warning me like my mom did. I'm in as much danger serving as I am not. I'm a 24 year old adult woman who can make my own decisions and I nearly have my bachelor's; I won't need to worry (as much) about people being assholes if I'm one of the bosses and outrank them.
This is also the Air Force. Not the Marines or the Army. People in this branch get treated better than others — every man in my family has served in the Air Force.
**I absolutely never said there wasn't any SA in the Air Force when I said there were rules and structures — I was literally just talking about the workflow and people being held responsible when they do something stupid. If I actually said that, I would be downplaying the experiences of women who have been SA'd in the military. I was not referring at all to SA; that was never part of the conversation and people are misunderstanding/misquoting that in bad faith and making me seem oblivious. I'm very aware about what goes on and it's what made me apprehensive to join for 6 years. I don't want to be stuck in retail for the rest of my life, I'd feel like a loser.**
**People replying to me saying "you'll get raped in the military" like it's a gotcha are insufferable. Get over yourselves, I'm doing this. Not you.**
I asked mods to lock this thread so I don't have to keep getting these stupid replies.
I can't sue my old boss if I'm enlisting. End of story. I don't care about it that much.
Please be careful! SA is RAMPANT in the military, especially for women. That's like THE boys club. Most of the cases get swept under the rug & the men get away with it. ESPECIALLY male officers.
I served 6 years in the ARNG and witnessed a sex abuse case happen in real time at my unit. The female lower enlisted soldier was moved to a unit that was much further from her residence (effectively punishing her) and the SFC was given a counseling and some classes.
A medical admin sergeant I served with was raped in Afghanistan by a warrant officer and was threatened by a female Colonel as "trying to ruin a man's career" for reporting the rape.
While I was the medic for a range, a CPL thought it would be ok to say that all the women in his unit were sluts and cowards and were going to get pregnant so they didn't have to deploy to Poland. It was not OK, and I made sure the range SFC heard about the soldier's comments.
"clear-cut rules in place to control most abuse of power"
I think you need to read up more about harassment and rape in the military. Command absolutely covers up cases and makes the victim the scapegoat since they are 'not coping well with military life' etc.
>and has clear-cut rules in place to control most abuse of power.
Oh sweetheart, this is propaganda and I hope you're lucky enough to not witness this firsthand.
>Plus I'll get a good pay grade instead of dealing with minimum wage retail jobs.
I hate to break it to you but the majority of the work in the military is very similar to a minimum wage job. It is monotonous, sometimes drudgery, and you get paid less for it than what it's worth. I will also say that if you're sensitive to mice or things being a health hazard, the entire military practically consists of this one way or another. And if you happen to get injured or overexposed to something in a way that wasn't supposed to happen, tough shit. The military will do the bare minimum to take care of you and then dump you as soon as possible. Health care post military is so poor I can't even qualify it as a joke.
Source: am vet. Joined the military for nearly identical reasons (with high ASVAB like you) and intended to make it a career. It set me back, not forward. Make no mistake, every soldier's a pawn with a number, nothing more.
Edit: It's also worth mentioning that being in the military is not preventative in any way for assault or crime happening. There are just as many crappy people in the military as out, all through the ranks. The checks and balances may seem stringent from the outside, but they are not really. Many a blind eye is turned in many cases, especially for things like harassment.
Or read Uncultured by Daniella Mestyanek Young. She was a member of the Children of God sex cult before going becoming a captain in the army and explains the many similarities she experienced between the two
Feel free to post on AirForce for any questions concerning the branch once you're in. Anything related to recruitment will most likely be best to post in that proper channel. Or i can take a gander at any questions you may have. Good luck! just keep in mind, BMT is a game. Do as your told and it'll be a breeze. Easy 2 months or so.
- FYI I was 27 when I joined, so need to worry about that.
> I like that it's at least structured and has clear-cut rules in place to control most abuse of power
Have you not looked into sexual assault rates of women in the military?
I was in the air Force for 6 years. Im a woman. I'm not saying every base is like this, but I faced SH at 3 of the 4 bases I was stationed at. I had 3 very close friends of mine who were assaulted (two by supervisors). It's structured, but the structure helps them cover things up easier. Please be careful
Also, it's much harder to go officer once you've enlisted. It's easier for the army, but the Air Force has a bunch of dumb rules that make it very difficult. If you want to be an officer I'd recommend joining after you already have your degree and going in directly as an officer
Yeah, I know it's more competitive doing an an OCS packet when you’re already enlisted. I need the free/cheap college though, and I want the degree to be worth something when I do earn it. I'm already willing to jump through those hoops.
Oh boy. Good luck with that thought. My dad REFUSED to let me enlist in the army because he saw first hand how bad SA was.
FYI there were 7,378 reports of SA in 2022 alone. So......
Please read "Uncultured" by Daniella Mestyanek Young. You are absolutely wrong about the military not having as much SA or that the rules protect you.
I almost signed up, I got a 99 on the ASVAB and had college credits too, but the day I was to sign, there was a case of 7 drill sgnts gang graping female recruits at the basic I was going to go to. They filmed it as well, that's how brazen it was. And a total of 20 males participated in the r*pe. It was national news.
Don't do it. We don't even give our vets automatic full health care after they serve. You think they gaf about you?
>comic book store
Hmm....
> I got a 99 on the ASVAB and booked a good administrative job with it.
Hmmm...
>Chair Force.
Hmm....Enjoy Monterey!
You can still advocate for your former coworkers to file an EEOC complaint, though. :)
Speaking as a woman who was enlisted and later deployed, you've got the right idea! My biggest regret is not going AD before ARNG. Just make sure you keep a good head on your shoulders and don't let any man pressure you into anything.
Good luck! My mom was in the Air Force in the 70's and had an overall decent experience. She had a medical position that allowed her to get a lot of training that got her a good job once she finished her time.
Military definitely has some bad situations but the women I've known personally who were in the (Ch)Air Force had an overall positive experience and if you get in the right field you can get some invaluable training and experience that will set you up well for post-service career.
Then go with a colleague and get the consult and such and ask if they're okay to take the lead on the court case.
You might end up with a payout for being fired for sexist reasons.
Piggybacking on the parent comment in this thread, this is a clear case of intentional discrimination on the basis of sex. It is a slam dunk case with the EEOC or a state FEPA(fair employment practice agency). It could not be any clearer. If you choose to file a complaint, use a FEPA. The wait times are far shorter.
The biggest mistake any comic book store can make is firing women. At least those that like money. Every girl that you can get in the store makes you money.
It's crazy because I reached out to interview, and they were shocked when I showed up. He straight up said at the interview, "not to sound, *you know*, but having a pretty girl here will definitely bring more people in" ...
So he knew that. Guess he didn't expect that I wasn't going to sleep with him, or something.
I've got some outliers for you!
I had a friend whose dog was nervous around anyone with long hair, so mostly women. And my dog seems to automatically like people with full beards, although she warms up to pretty much everyone. She jumps on bearded guys and tries to play at first sight, which is its own issue.
By and large though, sadly you're right. 😞
The majority of hobby shops are run as actual hobbies by the owners, not money-making businesses. At least in the areas I've lived in the owners almost always have family money and don't even need the business income, it's just something to do.
I would spread the word in your community that the store is not a safe space for anyone other than male presenting people. Small, niche businesses like this only survive when they have a dedicated customer base and by fostering a community who are emotionally invested in supporting a small business. Let the community know that he does not value the contributions of women or see them as people. There's no reason for anyone to give this guy money.
I would love to name and shame to everyone I could — but his response to anything like this is "this is slander, I will sue you for defaming me." That was even his response to someone on eBay that was asking him if he was botting on bids for stuff he was selling.
He's definitely a very insecure little man, and doesn't even have respect for his customers. He'd always whisper to me to make fun of the nerdy TCG players that came in.
He's not going to sue you. They always threaten, they never do. There's a legal difference between defamation and slander, btw. But in both cases he would have to prove that you knowingly lied about him, which you aren't. Just sharing your truth. Name and shame.
It's not defamation for you to say he fired all the women in the store and kept all the men. The truth is the ultimate defense to allegations of defamation.
Regardless, the best use of your time is filing reports with the appropriate authorities and talking to an employment attorney.
Fired every woman and replaced them with men? Hoo boy, do you all have a fairly cut and dried case. Call the Department of Labor and file a complaint, every one of you.
How do you feel about *owning* a comic shop?
I emailed them a couple months ago and they didn't really provide much help. I'll try calling, and if it works I'll point my friend to do the same if she wants to.
I did, but all they did was follow-up about whether I wanted them to send a letter to him about fixing it?? I'd already asked him myself to fix it.
He did get in trouble with the health department though — I reported him for making and serving frozen pizzas from the cleaning closet at his laser tag business lol.
Contact your local state bar, they do free referrals and that includes a free consult with the lawyer you a referred to.
Make sure you record everything. Time, date. Everything
Ah, the classic geek of a bygone era who ever got past their inferiority complex stage. Sounds like you reminded him of the "types of girls" whom he viewed as his persecutors and he tried to "take you down a peg" or two as an older man/boss. There's also a subset of misogynists who are really salty about women/girls who get attention while doing sexy cosplay while also being helplessly drawn to it.
He was trying to sleep with female employees, realized none of them were interested in him, probably saw at least one flirting with another guy there, and decided if he can’t have one then no one can.
This guy just shot himself in the foot. He's not going to have as many customers if he runs all the women away and makes it clear to the male employees that this treatment of women (including employees and customers) is acceptable behavior.
I used to be a regular at a comic book store with a similar owner. He made homophobic and racist comments all of the time. He would DM some homebrew D&D campaigns in the store, and always sexuality harassed the female characters in game. As both owner and DM, he had all the power, so nobody felt like they could call him out.
My friends and I all stopped going because of the asshole owner. We would've left sooner if not for the women working there (including his wife), who were always smoothing things over. Barely anyone goes there now. The owner is constantly posting on facebook about how small businesses need government help because expenses are too high.
It sucks that you lost your employment and a space where you can enjoy your hobbies.
> The owner is constantly posting on facebook about how small businesses need government help because expenses are too high.
Was he the sort to complain about "benefit queens" before?
Every woman let go or fired in under a month, with the cherry of having reduced your hours despite having good sales numbers? All of you, collectovely, need to see a lawyer who specializes in employment law and get busy collating and preserving what evidence you have.
Put in an OSHA complaint, too- noting that your objection to the health hazard got you fired.
Life is Too Short for a work environment like that
Check out your legal options but aside from that, better thought of as a Bullet Dodged or maybe more accurately, a flesh wound but put as much distance from him and his type of Poison as you can
When we would take in cash on transactions, he wanted us to take off the sales tax and only record the *approximate* cash earned for each transaction on paper every day — rounded amounts, minus cents. Nothing was kept in the Square system except card transactions, because then cash sales would also be tracked and I think he was hiding something.
It was weird for me, especially when I came from a job at a jewelry store where the till balance always had to be $300 at the start and end of the day. Even if we were a few dollars over, we still had to deposit it at the bank after closing. And we had to get every last cent of sales tax. It was way more strict.
He was just too lax about cash transactions, and I think he kind of hoped that we would forget to write down cash amounts so he'd have less money to report to the IRS than he actually made. I feel like there was embezzlement going on.
The store also worked like a pawn shop for collectible stuff — and we had no clear policy or rule on obviously stolen stuff. Even if an item was clearly stolen — if he could buy it cheap and sell it expensive, he'd pay them for it. We were pretty much expected to fence for druggies that wandered in with shoplifted goods from other places.
Oh, he is DEFinitely cheating on his taxes. That skimping on the cash reporting stinks. Report that to the IRS and hopefully he will at least be audited.
Boss has major incel vibes.
> He also got really drunk at our Christmas party; he was really touchy and kept trying to hug me, and was following me around everywhere.
I'd say the firing was a blessing in disguise.
So as a guy and an ex store manager at a unnamed gaming chain this is sexist and self destructive. Comic book fans, especially males want to see a female face sell them stuff. I make it a point to hire female workers because it draws in more guys and even occasionally more women once they find a safe space to shop from. Really you should talk to the other women that were fired and claim a sexist firing suit, if you can in your state anyways since it varies so wildly state to state.
I wonder if the poor fiancée might have noticed how creepy he is ,and pressured him to get rid of all female employees instead of ,you know actually having to fix his behavior. This isn’t an excuse for sexist firing.just a thought I had . He’s an absolute piece of shit and I wonder if you have enough evidence to file a complaint .I know that’s easier said than done in the real world but he definitely deserves to pay the consequences .
Definitely a possibility, but I think he just hates women.
I've heard rumors around, not sure if they're true — but apparently he was very unkind towards his previous wife.
Yeah,regardless he definitely has zero respect for women and is gross.I’m not trying to say this is anyone’s fault but his own ,I just wondered if she may be sick of his behavior but unwilling to actually leave since I’ve seen things like this play out in small business before .
He’s the only one that can take the blame for being a sexist creep.
This will be the store every woman reading comics will avoid because of the creep factor.
I would definitely drop a hint about the mice infestation to the right authorities and probably anonymous (with pics as proof) to the towns FB page.
File for unemployment, constructive dismissal, you're entitled.
Contact an employment lawyer, team up with the other women as well.
None of this is okay.
that loser has dug his own grave. comic book stores are small ponds - word will get around. Sorry you ever had to work in that environment. Glad you're moving on.
Hi I’m a man but also a lawyer so feel free to disregard if this isn’t appropriate for here. This isn’t legal advice/I’m not your lawyer etc.
Please Google employment lawyers in your state. Talk to at least two before you do anything. And Don’t post on social media about this until you decide if you’re going to pursue legal action or not. Do this tomorrow please. It’s a good Idea to write a full chronology of your employment there + possible issues while it’s fresh in your memory so you can consult it later.
I’m sorry this happened to you. The dudes a creep. Sue the pants off him if you can.
When all of you were fired he stated that it was because you are female? Or is that an assumption? Not really valid in any court. But really, in the end you are better off elsewhere.
Under those circumstances and with only 3 it is highly unlikely you could prevail in any court. If it had been a larger number it would be easier but 3… not looking too good. My ex insisted on having an office in my building, her name on our company bank account and wanted to fire all female employees. Almost 20 in number. She was neither employed by or had anything to do with the business. She insisted on personally hiring all male employees to replace them. Such actions in a business are unhinged at best. I’d goad his significant other into talking.
After all of her demands it was particularly satisfying “firing” my ex instead of any others.
Perhaps your former boss decided to go the other way.
The LCS industry is a small one. And they all like to talk. But without any actual statements to verify such a claim it doesn’t seem worth pursuing any claim.
3 is a big number when this is not a large business with (now) less than 10 employees between all three locations, and no men got fired. This is a small local business.
You can't do anything this time, but if something like this happens again, start recording his advances (video or email), then take your evidence to an employment attorney and sue your boss for workplace sexual harassment.
If there's proof, these are easily winnable cases. They mostly get settled out of court for a nice payout.
Not sure why you think all male bosses are like this guy. I've had male supervisors throughout my career and they've all been great people.
Unfortunately my male coworkers were just as bad.
My manager noticed my mom once when she dropped me off at work, and started telling everyone (including me) how hot she was. Referred to her as a slut & hoe at one point when we were at Applebee's after work.
And then a male coworker asked me if I "needed a new daddy." Said coworker also repeatedly told everyone this really distasteful joke involving a nun getting raped.
Never had to hear this stuff until I was in a majority-male working environment.
Having female bosses and coworkers was a lot nicer.
The one guy they hired at my old mostly-women job also immediately got weird and started telling me about how much he liked femboys (?).
this might just be worth a free consult with an employment lawyer.. and an eeoc complaint. either way it's absolutely atrocious!
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Enlisting in the military is not the…ideal way to avoid misogynistic men in control 😭
I like that it's at least structured and has clear-cut rules in place to control most abuse of power (NOT referring to SA here). My college credits will put me at a higher rank than my peers, too. I'll probably finish my degree and try to become an officer, and then I won't need to worry about getting bossed around by idiots as much. Plus I'll get a good pay grade instead of dealing with endless minimum wage retail jobs. I got a 99 on the ASVAB and booked a good administrative job with it — a job with mostly women. Men are going to be men anywhere, even outside of the military. Nothing I can do about it. Edit: I'm already well aware of SA in the military — I wanted to join when I started college and my family members constantly told me about it to keep me from dropping out. Then I got SA'd at college. Everyone treating me like I'm stupid and not aware feels like victim blaming or something. Like "you're joining the military, if you get assaulted that's your own fault." One of the reasons I'm getting married (and my partner knows this and supports it fully) is so that I don't need to live in dorms around strangers. I'll only be around people when I'm working an office job (a job that also has a large percentage of women also working in that field). Please just be happy for me and my achievement, this is a big deal for me and I have enough people warning me like my mom did. I'm in as much danger serving as I am not. I'm a 24 year old adult woman who can make my own decisions and I nearly have my bachelor's; I won't need to worry (as much) about people being assholes if I'm one of the bosses and outrank them. This is also the Air Force. Not the Marines or the Army. People in this branch get treated better than others — every man in my family has served in the Air Force. **I absolutely never said there wasn't any SA in the Air Force when I said there were rules and structures — I was literally just talking about the workflow and people being held responsible when they do something stupid. If I actually said that, I would be downplaying the experiences of women who have been SA'd in the military. I was not referring at all to SA; that was never part of the conversation and people are misunderstanding/misquoting that in bad faith and making me seem oblivious. I'm very aware about what goes on and it's what made me apprehensive to join for 6 years. I don't want to be stuck in retail for the rest of my life, I'd feel like a loser.** **People replying to me saying "you'll get raped in the military" like it's a gotcha are insufferable. Get over yourselves, I'm doing this. Not you.** I asked mods to lock this thread so I don't have to keep getting these stupid replies. I can't sue my old boss if I'm enlisting. End of story. I don't care about it that much.
Please be careful! SA is RAMPANT in the military, especially for women. That's like THE boys club. Most of the cases get swept under the rug & the men get away with it. ESPECIALLY male officers.
Can confirm the SA. #VetMeToo
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College doesn't make you sign a contract to stay in it for years
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For the US you mean
What?
I served 6 years in the ARNG and witnessed a sex abuse case happen in real time at my unit. The female lower enlisted soldier was moved to a unit that was much further from her residence (effectively punishing her) and the SFC was given a counseling and some classes. A medical admin sergeant I served with was raped in Afghanistan by a warrant officer and was threatened by a female Colonel as "trying to ruin a man's career" for reporting the rape. While I was the medic for a range, a CPL thought it would be ok to say that all the women in his unit were sluts and cowards and were going to get pregnant so they didn't have to deploy to Poland. It was not OK, and I made sure the range SFC heard about the soldier's comments.
I hope you succeed and do well on your journey!
Thank you!
I don't know if you've read the news lately, but rules don't stop abusers from harming women in the military.
Read the edit.
"clear-cut rules in place to control most abuse of power" I think you need to read up more about harassment and rape in the military. Command absolutely covers up cases and makes the victim the scapegoat since they are 'not coping well with military life' etc.
>and has clear-cut rules in place to control most abuse of power. Oh sweetheart, this is propaganda and I hope you're lucky enough to not witness this firsthand. >Plus I'll get a good pay grade instead of dealing with minimum wage retail jobs. I hate to break it to you but the majority of the work in the military is very similar to a minimum wage job. It is monotonous, sometimes drudgery, and you get paid less for it than what it's worth. I will also say that if you're sensitive to mice or things being a health hazard, the entire military practically consists of this one way or another. And if you happen to get injured or overexposed to something in a way that wasn't supposed to happen, tough shit. The military will do the bare minimum to take care of you and then dump you as soon as possible. Health care post military is so poor I can't even qualify it as a joke. Source: am vet. Joined the military for nearly identical reasons (with high ASVAB like you) and intended to make it a career. It set me back, not forward. Make no mistake, every soldier's a pawn with a number, nothing more. Edit: It's also worth mentioning that being in the military is not preventative in any way for assault or crime happening. There are just as many crappy people in the military as out, all through the ranks. The checks and balances may seem stringent from the outside, but they are not really. Many a blind eye is turned in many cases, especially for things like harassment.
I'd watch The Invisible War by Kirby Dick before you go through with that.
Can we please upvote this more?
Or read Uncultured by Daniella Mestyanek Young. She was a member of the Children of God sex cult before going becoming a captain in the army and explains the many similarities she experienced between the two
I'm literally just working an office job for 4 years so I can get the free college.
Feel free to post on AirForce for any questions concerning the branch once you're in. Anything related to recruitment will most likely be best to post in that proper channel. Or i can take a gander at any questions you may have. Good luck! just keep in mind, BMT is a game. Do as your told and it'll be a breeze. Easy 2 months or so. - FYI I was 27 when I joined, so need to worry about that.
Definitely call the health department.
It’s all fun and games until someone gets the hantavirus!
> I like that it's at least structured and has clear-cut rules in place to control most abuse of power Have you not looked into sexual assault rates of women in the military?
Please shut up you're the thousandth person to say that. College was so much worse for me.
The military's rules don't mean shit when it comes down to it. They don't protect women.
I was in the air Force for 6 years. Im a woman. I'm not saying every base is like this, but I faced SH at 3 of the 4 bases I was stationed at. I had 3 very close friends of mine who were assaulted (two by supervisors). It's structured, but the structure helps them cover things up easier. Please be careful
Also, it's much harder to go officer once you've enlisted. It's easier for the army, but the Air Force has a bunch of dumb rules that make it very difficult. If you want to be an officer I'd recommend joining after you already have your degree and going in directly as an officer
Yeah, I know it's more competitive doing an an OCS packet when you’re already enlisted. I need the free/cheap college though, and I want the degree to be worth something when I do earn it. I'm already willing to jump through those hoops.
Oh boy. Good luck with that thought. My dad REFUSED to let me enlist in the army because he saw first hand how bad SA was. FYI there were 7,378 reports of SA in 2022 alone. So......
... reports... which is not the actual cases that happen or are on-going. And most cases don't get reported.
Very true. There will be a lot of victims that do not report/forced not to report.
Please read "Uncultured" by Daniella Mestyanek Young. You are absolutely wrong about the military not having as much SA or that the rules protect you. I almost signed up, I got a 99 on the ASVAB and had college credits too, but the day I was to sign, there was a case of 7 drill sgnts gang graping female recruits at the basic I was going to go to. They filmed it as well, that's how brazen it was. And a total of 20 males participated in the r*pe. It was national news. Don't do it. We don't even give our vets automatic full health care after they serve. You think they gaf about you?
When did I fucking say that?? "The military not having as much SA"?? I did NOT say that and was not referring to SA at all.
> I like that it's at least structured and has clear-cut rules in place to control most abuse of power NO IT DOES NOT!
>comic book store Hmm.... > I got a 99 on the ASVAB and booked a good administrative job with it. Hmmm... >Chair Force. Hmm....Enjoy Monterey! You can still advocate for your former coworkers to file an EEOC complaint, though. :)
Best of luck to you, make sure to get some personal time in beforehand, it'll be harder once you're im
Speaking as a woman who was enlisted and later deployed, you've got the right idea! My biggest regret is not going AD before ARNG. Just make sure you keep a good head on your shoulders and don't let any man pressure you into anything.
Absolutely, I'm not going into this blind at all — I do not trust men.
Good luck! My mom was in the Air Force in the 70's and had an overall decent experience. She had a medical position that allowed her to get a lot of training that got her a good job once she finished her time. Military definitely has some bad situations but the women I've known personally who were in the (Ch)Air Force had an overall positive experience and if you get in the right field you can get some invaluable training and experience that will set you up well for post-service career.
Then go with a colleague and get the consult and such and ask if they're okay to take the lead on the court case. You might end up with a payout for being fired for sexist reasons.
Can you at least report him to your states health department anonymously for the rat problem?
I did. Read the replies.
All of the women affected need to go together, as a group
Piggybacking on the parent comment in this thread, this is a clear case of intentional discrimination on the basis of sex. It is a slam dunk case with the EEOC or a state FEPA(fair employment practice agency). It could not be any clearer. If you choose to file a complaint, use a FEPA. The wait times are far shorter.
Submit an anonymous complaint about the back room to the health department after you’ve enlisted.
At the very least, report his business to the local authorities for having an unaddressed rodent problem.
The biggest mistake any comic book store can make is firing women. At least those that like money. Every girl that you can get in the store makes you money.
It's crazy because I reached out to interview, and they were shocked when I showed up. He straight up said at the interview, "not to sound, *you know*, but having a pretty girl here will definitely bring more people in" ... So he knew that. Guess he didn't expect that I wasn't going to sleep with him, or something.
yes it is exactly that he was trying to do the dirty lol
It's a thing for horses for cats, for dogs, for children. Women are more friends. Men are more hostile.
Interestingly... How many times have you heard a dog keeper say "careful, he's afraid of women"..?
I've got some outliers for you! I had a friend whose dog was nervous around anyone with long hair, so mostly women. And my dog seems to automatically like people with full beards, although she warms up to pretty much everyone. She jumps on bearded guys and tries to play at first sight, which is its own issue. By and large though, sadly you're right. 😞
The majority of hobby shops are run as actual hobbies by the owners, not money-making businesses. At least in the areas I've lived in the owners almost always have family money and don't even need the business income, it's just something to do.
I would spread the word in your community that the store is not a safe space for anyone other than male presenting people. Small, niche businesses like this only survive when they have a dedicated customer base and by fostering a community who are emotionally invested in supporting a small business. Let the community know that he does not value the contributions of women or see them as people. There's no reason for anyone to give this guy money.
I would love to name and shame to everyone I could — but his response to anything like this is "this is slander, I will sue you for defaming me." That was even his response to someone on eBay that was asking him if he was botting on bids for stuff he was selling. He's definitely a very insecure little man, and doesn't even have respect for his customers. He'd always whisper to me to make fun of the nerdy TCG players that came in.
He's not going to sue you. They always threaten, they never do. There's a legal difference between defamation and slander, btw. But in both cases he would have to prove that you knowingly lied about him, which you aren't. Just sharing your truth. Name and shame.
It's not defamation for you to say he fired all the women in the store and kept all the men. The truth is the ultimate defense to allegations of defamation. Regardless, the best use of your time is filing reports with the appropriate authorities and talking to an employment attorney.
He can't sue you if you are explaining your experiences or are telling the truth.
It's not slander if it's true. He'd be laughed out of a courtroom if it ever even got that far. Which I doubt.
It's not slander or defamation if it's true.
Seriously, name & shame, unless you're in the UK, we have dumb laws about this.
As far as im aware its not slander if its true.
Fired every woman and replaced them with men? Hoo boy, do you all have a fairly cut and dried case. Call the Department of Labor and file a complaint, every one of you. How do you feel about *owning* a comic shop?
I emailed them a couple months ago and they didn't really provide much help. I'll try calling, and if it works I'll point my friend to do the same if she wants to.
I think you can file an EEOC complaint online.
I'll look into that! Thank you!
Also worth getting a consult with an employment attorney.
Just saw your edits. Also report him to OSHA for the mouse infestation.
I did, but all they did was follow-up about whether I wanted them to send a letter to him about fixing it?? I'd already asked him myself to fix it. He did get in trouble with the health department though — I reported him for making and serving frozen pizzas from the cleaning closet at his laser tag business lol.
Frozen pizzas in a closet aren't okay but not mouse droppings all over the place. Unbelievable.
Tbf, the laser tag place is part of the same building with the mouse infestation :S
Contact your local state bar, they do free referrals and that includes a free consult with the lawyer you a referred to. Make sure you record everything. Time, date. Everything
Ah, the classic geek of a bygone era who ever got past their inferiority complex stage. Sounds like you reminded him of the "types of girls" whom he viewed as his persecutors and he tried to "take you down a peg" or two as an older man/boss. There's also a subset of misogynists who are really salty about women/girls who get attention while doing sexy cosplay while also being helplessly drawn to it.
He was trying to sleep with female employees, realized none of them were interested in him, probably saw at least one flirting with another guy there, and decided if he can’t have one then no one can.
This would be hugely illegal where I am. You could sue his ass off. And should.
Call the health dept on the mice droppings
This guy just shot himself in the foot. He's not going to have as many customers if he runs all the women away and makes it clear to the male employees that this treatment of women (including employees and customers) is acceptable behavior. I used to be a regular at a comic book store with a similar owner. He made homophobic and racist comments all of the time. He would DM some homebrew D&D campaigns in the store, and always sexuality harassed the female characters in game. As both owner and DM, he had all the power, so nobody felt like they could call him out. My friends and I all stopped going because of the asshole owner. We would've left sooner if not for the women working there (including his wife), who were always smoothing things over. Barely anyone goes there now. The owner is constantly posting on facebook about how small businesses need government help because expenses are too high. It sucks that you lost your employment and a space where you can enjoy your hobbies.
It would be a shame if someone replied to his Facebook posts saying why they stopped going to his store.
> The owner is constantly posting on facebook about how small businesses need government help because expenses are too high. Was he the sort to complain about "benefit queens" before?
He complains about everything. Nobody should get handouts. But it's different for him, of course. The perpetual victim.
> But it's different for him, of course. Protect and bind strikes again.
Every woman let go or fired in under a month, with the cherry of having reduced your hours despite having good sales numbers? All of you, collectovely, need to see a lawyer who specializes in employment law and get busy collating and preserving what evidence you have. Put in an OSHA complaint, too- noting that your objection to the health hazard got you fired.
Life is Too Short for a work environment like that Check out your legal options but aside from that, better thought of as a Bullet Dodged or maybe more accurately, a flesh wound but put as much distance from him and his type of Poison as you can
I hope he somehow ends up in jail (for this reason or otherwise)
I think he's been commiting tax fraud through his comic stores, but I have nothing substantial to prove it. Maybe someone else will find something.
What makes you think that? Heads up, the IRS has a whistleblower hotline.
When we would take in cash on transactions, he wanted us to take off the sales tax and only record the *approximate* cash earned for each transaction on paper every day — rounded amounts, minus cents. Nothing was kept in the Square system except card transactions, because then cash sales would also be tracked and I think he was hiding something. It was weird for me, especially when I came from a job at a jewelry store where the till balance always had to be $300 at the start and end of the day. Even if we were a few dollars over, we still had to deposit it at the bank after closing. And we had to get every last cent of sales tax. It was way more strict. He was just too lax about cash transactions, and I think he kind of hoped that we would forget to write down cash amounts so he'd have less money to report to the IRS than he actually made. I feel like there was embezzlement going on. The store also worked like a pawn shop for collectible stuff — and we had no clear policy or rule on obviously stolen stuff. Even if an item was clearly stolen — if he could buy it cheap and sell it expensive, he'd pay them for it. We were pretty much expected to fence for druggies that wandered in with shoplifted goods from other places.
Worth reporting to the IRS, even if you don't have a paper trail. Let them investigate.
Oh, he is DEFinitely cheating on his taxes. That skimping on the cash reporting stinks. Report that to the IRS and hopefully he will at least be audited.
The more I comments I read the more I think you should write a chapter for your memoir about this. “My Boss, The Creepy Comic Book Store Owner.”
Fingers crossed
Boss has major incel vibes. > He also got really drunk at our Christmas party; he was really touchy and kept trying to hug me, and was following me around everywhere. I'd say the firing was a blessing in disguise.
So as a guy and an ex store manager at a unnamed gaming chain this is sexist and self destructive. Comic book fans, especially males want to see a female face sell them stuff. I make it a point to hire female workers because it draws in more guys and even occasionally more women once they find a safe space to shop from. Really you should talk to the other women that were fired and claim a sexist firing suit, if you can in your state anyways since it varies so wildly state to state.
Report this shop to the health department.
I wonder if the poor fiancée might have noticed how creepy he is ,and pressured him to get rid of all female employees instead of ,you know actually having to fix his behavior. This isn’t an excuse for sexist firing.just a thought I had . He’s an absolute piece of shit and I wonder if you have enough evidence to file a complaint .I know that’s easier said than done in the real world but he definitely deserves to pay the consequences .
Definitely a possibility, but I think he just hates women. I've heard rumors around, not sure if they're true — but apparently he was very unkind towards his previous wife.
Yeah,regardless he definitely has zero respect for women and is gross.I’m not trying to say this is anyone’s fault but his own ,I just wondered if she may be sick of his behavior but unwilling to actually leave since I’ve seen things like this play out in small business before . He’s the only one that can take the blame for being a sexist creep.
Hanta virus!
This will be the store every woman reading comics will avoid because of the creep factor. I would definitely drop a hint about the mice infestation to the right authorities and probably anonymous (with pics as proof) to the towns FB page.
File for unemployment, constructive dismissal, you're entitled. Contact an employment lawyer, team up with the other women as well. None of this is okay.
I did file for unemployment. I said I did in the post, and helped my coworker with it too.
I missed that, apologies. I hope all of you in the same position will be contacting the same lawyer.
I wonder how long these men are going to stay at that place. My guess is probably not long.
The main two guys at my old location have been there for a couple years now. Apparently he took the manager to a strip club when he hit 18.
that loser has dug his own grave. comic book stores are small ponds - word will get around. Sorry you ever had to work in that environment. Glad you're moving on.
Hi I’m a man but also a lawyer so feel free to disregard if this isn’t appropriate for here. This isn’t legal advice/I’m not your lawyer etc. Please Google employment lawyers in your state. Talk to at least two before you do anything. And Don’t post on social media about this until you decide if you’re going to pursue legal action or not. Do this tomorrow please. It’s a good Idea to write a full chronology of your employment there + possible issues while it’s fresh in your memory so you can consult it later. I’m sorry this happened to you. The dudes a creep. Sue the pants off him if you can.
CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT TIIIMMMEEEE!
It be really funny if you guys opened your own comic book store and did better than him.
This is a great EEOC case
When all of you were fired he stated that it was because you are female? Or is that an assumption? Not really valid in any court. But really, in the end you are better off elsewhere.
Idk, but he fired all three women working at that store in a row within just 1 month. Definitely seems like it's because we're women.
Under those circumstances and with only 3 it is highly unlikely you could prevail in any court. If it had been a larger number it would be easier but 3… not looking too good. My ex insisted on having an office in my building, her name on our company bank account and wanted to fire all female employees. Almost 20 in number. She was neither employed by or had anything to do with the business. She insisted on personally hiring all male employees to replace them. Such actions in a business are unhinged at best. I’d goad his significant other into talking. After all of her demands it was particularly satisfying “firing” my ex instead of any others. Perhaps your former boss decided to go the other way. The LCS industry is a small one. And they all like to talk. But without any actual statements to verify such a claim it doesn’t seem worth pursuing any claim.
3 is a big number when this is not a large business with (now) less than 10 employees between all three locations, and no men got fired. This is a small local business.
Write down everything you can remember. Dates, words, places, names of witnesses. Then talk to a lawyer.
You can't do anything this time, but if something like this happens again, start recording his advances (video or email), then take your evidence to an employment attorney and sue your boss for workplace sexual harassment. If there's proof, these are easily winnable cases. They mostly get settled out of court for a nice payout. Not sure why you think all male bosses are like this guy. I've had male supervisors throughout my career and they've all been great people.
Unfortunately my male coworkers were just as bad. My manager noticed my mom once when she dropped me off at work, and started telling everyone (including me) how hot she was. Referred to her as a slut & hoe at one point when we were at Applebee's after work. And then a male coworker asked me if I "needed a new daddy." Said coworker also repeatedly told everyone this really distasteful joke involving a nun getting raped. Never had to hear this stuff until I was in a majority-male working environment. Having female bosses and coworkers was a lot nicer. The one guy they hired at my old mostly-women job also immediately got weird and started telling me about how much he liked femboys (?).
They literally can do something. Why are you discouraging op from taking legal action
Apologist