Hi Tom.  The whole sordid affair lasted over 3 years.  I was terminated
once, then put back on the payroll by the legal department without any
specific job responsibilities.  Various threats and counter threats
occurred, then I was terminated a second time, and a week later we filed the
lawsuit.  Discovery took 2 years, and of course there was the 7 week trial
before jury.  Though I had prevailed, the company wouldn't pay the judgment.
Well, I got them good.  I knew the pay schedule, as well as the bank on
which the pay checks were drawn.  My attorneys served a writ of garnishment
on the payroll account, and their lawyers went ballistic.  They filed a
motion to require reimbursement, but the judge said, "but didn't Mr. Downing
win?"  He went on to say, "All that you had to do was pay him."  Then he
ordered them to pay me interest!




Alan R. Downing
Phoenix, AZ


-----Original Message-----
From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Tom Behler
Sent: Saturday, August 17, 2013 7:55 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Update From KB8TYJ

Wow, Alan, talk about stress!!!!

I kind of got involved in a bit of whistle-blowing myself, and I'm sure some

of my superiors weren't happy with me either for reporting to certain other 
higher-level administrators  about  things that should have been done but 
weren't.  But, my experience certainly was nothing like yours.

Hope to see you in the NAQP later today.

Tom Behler: KB8TYJ, Big Rapids, MI

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Alan R. Downing" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, August 17, 2013 10:47 AM
Subject: Re: Update From KB8TYJ


> My employment situation was slightly different with respect to the company
> that I had gone to work for upon graduation from MIT.  They transferred me
> out to Phoenix from the Boston area in 1975.  Ultimately I got caught up 
> in
> what today would be called a whistle-blowing action.  Except, that term
> hadn't been coined yet.  Lacking a cause of whistle-blowing, it became an
> wrongful termination action.  It stemmed from me reporting several 
> managers
> for permitting another former manager into the office complex where we
> worked.  The purpose of the former manager  coming onto the property was
> specifically to get ahold of proprietary corporate data/information, to 
> give
> to his new employer, which was a competitor.  It is hard to believe that
> such a blatant violation of security could happen, but it did, and my 
> report
> was fully confirmed by the security and legal departments, and those
> responsible were reprimanded; not fired as they should have been. 
> However,
> since these guys were over me and my department, they weren't overly happy
> with me.  To make a lengthy and convoluted story short, I ended up suing 
> the
> company, and won a jury verdict, and a fair amount of dough, after a 7 
> week
> trial in superior court.
>
> There was a certain irony to this whole affair.  If I hadn't accepted the
> transfer to Phoenix in 1975, I would have left the company and entered
> Harvard law school that fall.
>
> What are you gonna do?
>
> 73
>
>
>
> Alan R. Downing
> Phoenix, AZ
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> On Behalf Of Tom Behler
> Sent: Saturday, August 17, 2013 7:00 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Update From KB8TYJ
>
> Ron:
>
> Well, from one former Department Head to another, I have to say that the
> situation you describe mirrors my experience exactly.
>
> Far too many demands from all sides, with very limited resources and/or
> power to do what's truly needed.
>
> Actually, I received excellent performance evaluations from both my 
> faculty,
>
> and the administrative side, but you just get to a point where you 
> seriously
>
> have to ask the question:  "At what cost should I keep doing this?"
>
> Teaching clearly is my real passion in academia, and it will be a pleasure
> to be back in the classroom starting in the Spring semester.
>
> I now have your personal e-mail address, and would like to share more with
> you off list at some point if you are interested.
>
> 73 from Tom Behler: KB8TYJ
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Dr. Ronald E. Milliman" <    [log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Friday, August 16, 2013 11:49 PM
> Subject: Re: Update From KB8TYJ
>
>
>> Tom, as the former Chair of the Marketing Department at Loyola 
>> University,
>
>> I
>> fully understand and support your decision to take a break from the
>> position
>> at the university. I think being a department chair is one of the most
>> stressful jobs in academia. You are caught in a kind of sandwich; i.e. 
>> you
>> hear complaints from all sides, and in my case, I had limited resources 
>> to
>> remedy the issues about which students, faculty, and administration were
>> concerned about.
>>
>> I retired a year ago, and I have not missed the publish or perish 
>> pressure
>> for one nanosecond! <lol>
>>
>> Kick back for a while, and enjoy ham radio, and you'll be a new man 
>> before
>> you know it!
>>
>> Ron, K8HSY
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: For blind ham radio operators 
>> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
>> On Behalf Of Tom Behler
>> Sent: Friday, August 16, 2013 7:00 PM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Update From KB8TYJ
>>
>> Hello, everyone.
>>
>> For a time, I debated sending this post, but have decided to go ahead 
>> with
>> it, because I consider the folks on this list to be part of a great 
>> family
>> that I have come to know over the past 12 years or so.
>>
>> If this is felt to be too "off topic" for some, please hit the good old
>> delete button, and I promise I will not be offended.
>>
>> As many of you know, about a year and a half ago, I took the Acting
>> Department Head position in the Department Of Social Sciences at Ferris
>> State University.  When I took the position, I knew going in that it was
>> going to be extremely demanding.  Not only would it be a 12-month
>> position,
>> and would involve 50 to 60-hour work weeks, but it would involve running
>> all
>> administrative functions for a department with approximately 30 faculty
>> members, and 5 major University programs.
>>
>> By all counts from both administration and faculty members, I was a great
>> success in the position, and met or exceeded all initial performance
>> expectations.
>>
>> However, beginning in the late Spring of this year, I began experiencing
>> some significant stress-related medical symptoms, and those symptoms
>> steadily grew worse over the Summer.  Fortunately, the symptoms didn't
>> seem
>> to aggravate my already-existing heart condition, but they became
>> important
>> warning signs that I simply couldn't ignore.
>>
>> As a result, I have officially stepped down from the administrative
>> position, and, with the authorization of my doctor, have taken a medical
>> leave for the Fall 2013 semester.  Fortunately, I have ample accumulated
>> sick time, so that this will not create a financial burden for my wife 
>> and
>> I.  The plan is for me to take the Fall off, work on some other
>> professional
>> projects, and then resume my full-time teaching in the Spring of 2014.
>>
>> I am nearing 60 years old, now, and still need to work a few more years
>> before getting serious about retirement, so hopefully, this little hiatus
>> will carry me through.
>>
>> I also am hoping that the time off will allow me to get more back into 
>> ham
>> radio than I have been lately.  So, look for an increased presence from 
>> me
>> on the list, and also on our week-end nets over the coming months.
>>
>> 73 from Tom Behler: KB8TYJ
>>
>