Characters in the Story:

<p>Manager Ms. A – lazy manager who refuses to train new employees, takes atleast one “personal day” per work week, and may be sexist.

<p>Supervisor Ms. B – apparent “second in command” who was caught in a lie by the bank’s surveillance camera.

<p>Senior Teller Ms. C – a bad trainer.

<p>Teller Ms. D – insubordinate teller who was asked to train her supervisor and rarely gets a lunch break

<p>Okay, here’s the story …

<p>On October 16, my employment with M and T Bank was terminated. Present were Manager Ms. A, a Corporate Security Officer, and the Regional Team Leader. My daughter turned one month old that day. I had been employed as a Senior Teller.

<p>First and foremost, on my termination notice, it is stated that I received “all relevant training” for my position. This couldn’t be more untrue. I was trained for only two weeks by another senior teller, Ms. C. Senior Teller Ms. C did not even cover, in her brief training, the majority of what I would later discover were some of my primary job responsibilities. Among the things she did not even mention nor show me was the “Audit Book.” Ms. C also did not mention nor train me on Safety Deposit Box Reviews, Disclosure Reviews, and Teller Difference Reports, among other things, which are important job responsibilities of the Senior Teller. Manager Ms. A acknowledged to me that she believed my training was too brief and said she believed that a Senior Teller should be trained for a “minimum of three weeks.” After my training with Ms. C was over, Manager Ms. A did not train nor advise me on anything – instead, she relied on Teller Ms. D to train me. Note that as a Senior Teller, I was actually supposed to be supervising Teller Ms. D.

<p>In short, I was never given a fair chance to learn or do my job.

<p>Something else cited on my termination notice is “failure to follow ATM operation policy.” On October 9, Manager Ms. A asked me to “surrender my ATM responsibilities” to Teller Ms. D. This was done by Manager Ms. A, I believe, in response to the fact that on the previous day (October 8), the ATM was switched over to the next business day after the deadline and consequently customer transactions were processed later than they should have been. Clearly, Manager Ms. A blamed me alone for things being done past the deadline. However, the ATM is under dual control. Therefore, I could not go into the ATM alone. I needed the help of Supervisor Ms. B to go into the ATM. And, on October 8, I asked Ms. B at 9 am, 11 am, 1 pm, and 2 pm to please help me with the ATM. All four times that I asked for her help, she refused. She did have a rush of customers around 2 pm, so I can understand her not being able to help me at that time. However, at 9 am, 11 am, and 1 pm, she had no customers, and was more interested in calling for pet medication and socializing with Teller Ms. D than in doing her job and helping me with the ATM.

<p>“Dual control violations” are listed as a cause of my termination. I would also like to state that on many occasions, Supervisor Ms. B has walked away while she was supposed to be watching me under dual control while I went into the ATM.

<p>Supervisor Ms. B also refused, once, to help me conduct our monthly Alarm Test, saying that she “didn’t trust me” and “I was trying to get her fired.” I brought this to Manager Ms. A’s attention, and nothing was done.

<p>In short, I did follow ATM operation policy to the best of my ability. I also followed Alarm Testing policy to the best of my ability. However, my counterpart did not, and Manager Ms. A never even addressed this issue with Ms. B.

<p>Another item cited on my termination notice is “teller cash violations (and) teller cash drawer violations.” As I told Manager Ms. A after the fact, at approximately 4:25 pm on September 29, our vault was locked before my teller drawer could be secured inside the vault. Both Teller Ms. D and Supervisor Ms. B (whom Manager Ms. A had entrusted to “train” me) told me not to contact Manager Ms. A regarding this situation. I recommended at the very least, my drawer should be audited, locked in the very bottom of my teller drawer, the teller drawer key should be taken with me, tape should be placed around the very bottom of my teller drawer, and the tape around the bottom drawer should be initialed under dual control. The team refused to do this. My drawer ended up being locked in the very bottom of my teller drawer per the advice of both Ms. D and Ms. B. I will admit that I should have called Ms. A regarding this situation, against the advice of my co-workers whom she had entrusted to “train” me. However, keep in mind that I was told that Ms. B is my supervisor in Manager Ms. A’ absence (she was not present) and she told me not to call Ms. A, and insisted that my money was fine being locked in the very bottom of my teller drawer.

<p>In short, with regards to this “teller cash violation (and) teller cash drawer violation,” I was told by Supervisor Ms. B that what I was doing was fine.

<p>Another item cited on my termination notice is “employee conduct violations.” There was an incident where my teller drawer came up short (the difference was later found). Before the teller difference was found, I had asked of Teller Ms. D to help customers (as I was being audited and was unable to help customers while auditing) and to allow me to follow the Teller Difference Guideline Procedures on my own. After requesting this of Ms. D, I discovered that she was on the phone giving false information regarding my teller difference. I again asked Ms. D to allow me to handle the situation per the procedure outlined in the Teller Difference Guideline Procedures. Her response was to snap at me, to use profanity, and to threaten to quit her job as a teller at the branch. When I brought to Ms. A’s attention the fact that Ms. D had not only disobeyed what I had asked of her, but also used profanity, Manager Ms. A did nothing.

<p>In short, I asked, in a professional manner, for Teller Ms. D to concentrating on assisting customers. Her response was to be insubordinate, to use profanity, and to threaten to quit. Yet I am the one accused of “employee conduct violations.”

<p>One other matter I’d like to make you aware of. On September 18, I asked co-workers Ms. D and Ms. B if they were OK for me to step outside for five minutes. I informed them that I was going to step outside to telephone my wife regarding my then two-day-old daughter’s appointment with a cardiologist due to a heart murmur. Ms. D’s response was “Yes,” and Ms. B’s response was, “Ya know, we haven’t eaten lunch yet.” I asked them both if they would like to take lunch, and they declined. I exited the back door and returned to the teller line approximately five minutes later. No one has ever informed me prior to September 19 that Ms. B, as a Customer Service Representative, was my supervisor in Ms. A’s absence. Prior to September 19, I was not aware that Ms. B had any jurisdiction over the teller line. I was actually told in training that as the Senior Teller, I was “second in command.” Whether or not Ms. B had this jurisdiction, I still didn’t consider our conversation above to be confrontational nor defiant until I was told in a sit-down with Ms. A that Ms. B took it this way. I also encouraged both Ms. D and Ms. B to take lunch when I returned, and both refused. After the above-referenced incident, I was told by Ms. A that according to Ms. B, I left while there was a “line in the branch.” When I left for five minutes on September 18, there was, in fact, absolutely positively no line in the branch. I asked Manager Ms. A to review the tapes from our branch for September 18. She did this, and my side of the story can be proven to be the correct one. Supervisor Ms. B was proven to have lied.

<p>One other point I’d like to make is that Manager Ms. A has NOT worked a full week since I started at the branch. She has taken atleast one “personal day” per week since I have gotten there. While Manager Ms. A is busy taking atleast one “personal day” per week, there have been instances where both I and Teller Ms. D have been denied a lunch break – a violation of State and Federal Law. Please also note that I have diabetes, and being denied a lunch break poses a potentially life-threatening risk for me. Not only is Ms. A an absentee manager, but she has done absolutely nothing to train me as her new hire. When I asked her for clarification on a policy or procedure, her catch phrase was always “I don’t know the teller line.” One time she even said to me, “Man, if I ever see you in an alley, it’s gonna be me and you.” Now, I would assume and certainly hope that she said this jokingly but I don’t take it as a joke. In light of the fact that a former co-worker of my father’s violently attacked and nearly killed him, I don’t take such statements as jokes – I take them as potential threats.

<p>In any event, my termination on October 16 was totally bogus. While my absentee manager has done nothing to train me, it is said that I “received all relevant training” for my position. I am accused of “employee conduct violations” for asking my teller to help customers. I did what my acting Supervisor advised me to do, and ended up being accused of cash violations. I am told that I don’t follow policies in a timely manner, when I have been nothing but proactive at attempting to get them done in a timely manner and have been delayed by the other party necessary to complete the task. And lastly, whether it was meant as a joke or not, I feel that I was threatened.

<p>I do believe Manager Ms. A’ behavior may be a matter of sex discrimination. To recap:

<p>Number One: On the September 18 incident, Supervisor Ms. B (female) felt as though I (male) was insubordinate towards her. Manager Ms. A (female) reprimanded me for this. Yet when Teller Ms. D (female) was clearly insubordinate towards me (male), Manager Ms. A (female) did nothing.

<p>Number Two: On October 8, Supervisor Ms. B (female) was more interested in calling for pet medication and socializing with Teller Ms. D (female) than in doing her job and helping me with the ATM. Note that I (male) asked for the help of Supervisor Ms. B (female) four times and each time she refused. However, I (male) am the one blamed for the ATM not being done when it was supposed to be done. I (male) am the one who was disciplined and ultimately fired. Manager Ms. A (female) did not so much as have a conversation with Supervisor Ms. B (female) with regards to her part in the ATM not being switched over at the correct time.

<p>Number Three: When I asked Teller Ms. D (female) to assist customers, her response was to tell me (male) that I am “not her father,” to use profanity, and to threaten to quit her job as a teller at the Horsham Branch. When I (male) brought this to the attention of Manager Ms. A (female), nothing was done. Yet I (male) am accused of “employee conduct violations.”

<p>Number Four: “Teller differences” are also cited as a reason for my termination. My “teller differences” have amounted to 49 cents. This is listed as a cause of my termination (I am male). The teller differences of Teller Ms. D (female) have amounted to 9 dollars, yet she has not been terminated nor so much as disciplined by Manager Ms. A (female).

<p>Number Five: “Dual control violations” are listed as a cause of my termination. The only instance of “dual control violations” occurred when Supervisor Ms. B (female) walked away while she was supposed to be watching me in the ATM. I (male) was fired, Supervisor Ms. B (female) was not so much as disciplined.