The Legal System

 by Charissa Nasrallah   

When I left South Carolina my friends gave me the most beautiful good-byes.  There were diner parties, dancing, bluegrass and gifts and I was so sad to leave it all behind, but I knew it was time for me to move on.  I had a job in Ohio waiting for me where I would be able to teach again and I was very anxious to see my family.  I packed up my Jeep Cherokee with everything I could fit, gave the rest away, then got on the road and headed home.

I started my new job almost immediately, and it wasn’t before long when I found myself wrapped up in my work.  Still, I made my best attempts at keeping in touch with the man from the US Department of Labor and the Man from the EPA, as well as all my friends from the park.  The man from the EPA had been advising me to get a lawyer from the moment we filed the complaint to the US Department of Labor, but it wasn’t until I had moved home until I decided to pursue his request.  I wanted justice, but I was having a difficult time determining if my actions against the park were in the best interest of everyone, or just myself.   I spoke with several lawyers in attempts to seek some legal advice about what kinds of compensation would be fair. 

Some lawyers offered me the opportunity to dump all my problems on the park, instead of dealing with them on my own.  Other lawyers offered promises of great amounts of money, but there always seem to be little lies associated with their plans.  I had been as honest as I could up to this point, and I had no desire to change my approach.   I continued to look for a lawyer who would consider taking my case on a contingency basis, since I had such little money. 

One afternoon, the man from the EPA contacted me to inform me he had found a law firm with people willing to work purely in the pursuit of justice.  He put me in contact with a man from an organization in Washington D.C. called project law, who offered to represent me for free. 

The Man from Project law informed me that not only had my previous employers at the park broken the law, but they had also made the mistake of going public about it.  As an A2 worker, I could have easily been dismissed for any reason, except for the one the people in upper management had publicly stated, “breaking the chain of command after signing a protected statement.”  Under whistleblower laws, that was not something that the park could legally do, even to the simplest of A2 employees. 

 The lawyer from Project Law and I decided we were going after what was ultimately fair.  He asked me what I wanted him to ask for in his statement.  The list I replied with was long and complex, but it reflected exactly what I wanted.

I wanted the park to begin recycling again, if not for the visitors, then at least for the employees.  I wanted them to make sure every chemical they used was safe for the environment, employees, and animals. I wanted them to make sure the people who lied to cover up mistakes were reprimanded and that the people who took strong stands for the truth were rewarded.  I wanted the people who did programs in the animal forest to be paid the same as the people in the history department, and that the naturalist got paid as much as the historian.  I wanted them to publicly state I was wrongfully discharged, as so was my friend who they believed was leaking information to me.  I wanted them to make sure people had a chance to speak with a non-bias third party if they had a problem with their manager.  But most of all, I wanted them to treat the views and opinions of all the other workers there with equal respect and consideration.

If all these conditions were met, I would settle at $7,000 a modest amount covering my back pay, moving expenses and a donation to the EPA and Project Law.

            The man from Project Law suggested just asking for the money and reinstatement.  I reluctantly followed his suggestion, knowing he knew much more about the laws and proper damage compensation than I did and I trusted he was sincerely working in my best interest.  I made my request to the man from the US Department of labor and waited for a response from the park.

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