D
The
isruptor
exists because there needs to be a safe space for victims of workplace harassment, giving a voice to those who have been silenced, advocating for a significant change to the cultural and corporate system that allows workplace abuse, minimizes hostile work environments, and retaliates against victims.
M
The
otivation
My former employer, FedEx, retaliated against me, traumatized me, enabled my stalker and harasser in my workplace to continue to abuse me in my workplace.
In my legal battle against FedEx, I have learned that my horror story is not all that uncommon. It has been this realization that has empowered me to establish The Disruptor and produce upcoming documentary, Predator Employer (2026) to support employees like myself who have been victimized, abused, and had their civil rights violated by predator employers in the workplace.
Abuse in the workplace is not discussed nearly enough. Consequences for Employer Retaliation not expansive enough.
Let’s change that.
Your Employee Rights Are Your Civil Rights
M
The
ethod
Building a community
Expose Predator Employers
Use unity, art, and media to change workplace culture
Empowering Employees with belief, support, and validation
Edifying Employees with information about their legal, civil, and human rights to use as tools to protect themselves and pursue their cases against employers who victimize us
Encouraging Employees by providing a safe space where they are to be heard not gaslighted
Giving the Targeted Workers and Career People Back Their Voices
Promote effective solutions to rework the workplace
Solicit our lawmakers to make stronger laws against employer retaliation and enabled harassment in the workplace
“When we are in a period of crisis, many of us look to our institutions to support and protect us. If they fail to do so, or if they take steps that we fear will harm us or those we care about, that can create a second injury, called an institutional betrayal.
The term “institutional betrayal”1 was first coined by psychologist Jennifer Freyd who describes it as occurring when an institution you trust or depend upon mistreats you. It can arise due to deliberate actions that harm, as well as from failing to act when action is expected. These actions or inactions can exacerbate already-difficult circumstances.”2
C. P. Smith & J.J. Freyd (2014). Institutional Betrayal. American Psychologist, 69(6), 575–587. Jennifer Freyd, PhD, Center for Institutional Courage, Inc.
Katherine Manning, “We Need Trauma-Informed Workplaces” HBR, https://hbr.org/2022/03/we-need-trauma-informed-workplaces
W
W
orkplace
arassment
W
E
hat is
mployer
R
etaliation
Blacklisting
Constructive Discharge
Withholding of Promotions
Conditions of Continued Employment hinge on not reporting escalating, alarming, or discriminator behavior that any responsible person would find troubling
Defamation of Character
Psychological Abuse/Gaslighting
Underpinnings of Discrimination
False Accusations
Manipulations of Reality
Victim Blamed for reporting harassment or discrimination
Coerced into retracting reports of abuse or into taking future abuses in silence
hat is
H
Discriminatory Comments/Actions
Sexually Suggestive Comments/Actions
Acts of Intimidation
False Accusations
Sabotaging Work
Unwanted Touching
Acts of Intimidation
Stalking
Bullying
Intentionally, habitually exhibiting annoying and unprofessional behavior
Inappropriate behavior
While this is not a comprehensive list if these things are inflicted upon you in your workplace by a coworker, supervisor, vendor, or even customers...you are being or have been harassed. See more HERE.
While this is not a comprehensive list if these things are used against you by your supervisors at any level and/or Human Resources department in your workplace or situations like these arise...you are being or have been retaliated against. See more HERE.
R
&
Your
ights
It is your legal right to work in a safe environment:
Free of Torment
Free of Discrimination
Free of Sexual Harassment
Free of Bullying
Free of Unwanted Touching
Free of False Accusations
Free of Psychological Abuse
If the Predator Employers won’t uphold their legal obligation to help us and choose to assist in our victimization, target us themselves, and harm us by allowing traumatic circumstances to continue we must report them to government agencies and call them out publicly so that the concept of workplace harassment and employer retaliation becomes less of an open secret and more of a societal issue to be addressed, confronted, and resolved.
L
The
K
aw
S
the
now
igns
Don’t just leave - Hold them Accountable with the Facts
Otherwise It Will Just Keep Happening
R
Starter
esources
Targeted for Retaliation?
Ignored?
Victimized?
Helpless?
Vilified?
Isolated?
Traumatized?
Discriminated Against?
First things first...
GO OVER THEIR HEADS & REPORT IT TO THE GOVERNMENT
EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)
DOL (Department of Labor)
NLRB (National Labor Relations Board)
OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)
DOJ (Department of Justice)
Attorney General Office
FTC (Federal Trade Commission
USA (Labor Laws and Worker Protections)
WORKPLACE TRAUMA
“W e’re NOT discussing
enough as a culture,
as we tend to focus on unpacking family or relationship trauma. Experience with trauma in the workplace is insidious and seeps into the fabric of who we are.” - Felecia Hatcher (CEO of Pharrell William’s Black Ambition Opportunity Fund)
Y
our
KNOW
D
Strict legal deadlines apply when filing reports regarding workplace harassment, retaliation, discrimination, and unsafe working conditions to government agencies.
Just a couple of nationally common deadlines to keep in mind listed to the right.
(However, some states have their own shorter deadlines that may apply instead).
Also, be sure to consult with your local government employee rights organizations and commissions.
eadlines
*All deadlines are strict, are counted in calendar days, and begin on exact date of last inciting event*
EEOC - 180 days (360 days in some federal employment cases)
DOL - 180 days (300 days in some disability related cases)
NLRB - 6 Months
OSHA - Less than 6 Months (Once 6 Months has passed nothing can done)
DOJ - 45 Days to file Initial Informal Complaint (after DOJ review of informal complaint then employee has mere
15 days to file formal complaint)
FTC - 45 Days
invisible
“The pain of workplace bullying isn’t
It physically
manifests as frailty, cancer, broken marriages, and lost earning potential. It’s tangible. It’s real. And, as Dr. Candia-Bailey and others just reminded us, it can be life threatening.”
Kim Williams Lindsay Ruiz, “When Going to Work Becomes a Matter of Life or Death,” The Texas Mail, https://hbr.org/2022/03/we-need-trauma-informed-workplaces
IT’S TIME TO END THE SILENCE AROUND
WORKPLACE HARASSMENT & EMPLOYER RETALIATION
LET’S GET LOUD FOR OUR RIGHTS
S
peak
O
N
&
S
ign
ut
ow
T
he
P
etition
If YOU have a story of
Workplace Harassment
Workplace Discrimination
or
Employer Retaliation
to share
WE WANT TO HEAR IT BECAUSE...
If we start to share our stories no matter the magnitude, how many it effected or involved, how long ago the occurrence, and especially how large the company is...We will start to see a new climate of prevention and accountability on the issue of Workplace Harassment and Employer Retaliation.
It’s Inevitable.
MAKE SURE YOUR VOICE IS HEARD
ivana sanders
Founder of The Disruptor, Documentary Producer (Predator Employer), Graduate, Editor, pursuing lawsuit against former employer (FedEx). for workplace discrimination and retaliation, After filing her claim with the EEOC in December 2022, they investigated the company and issued her the Right-to-Sue letter