Brianna Kowalski

Hi Brianna, thanks for reaching out. I'm here to help gather some information about your situation so the firm's attorneys can take a look. I'm an AI agent, not a lawyer, but I'll do my best to make sure everything important gets captured so the firm can review it and reach out if they can help. Go ahead and tell me, in your own words, what's going on. What brought you here today?

hi so i got fired from my job 2 weeks ago and im pretty sure its bc im pregnant?? they said its attendance points but thats BS. also they want me to sign some severance thing

I'm sorry, Brianna. Losing your job while you're pregnant is a lot to deal with. Let's get the details down so the firm has a clear picture. Let's start with the severance paperwork, since there's paper involved. When did they give it to you, and does it say how long you have to sign it?

ok so HR emailed it to me teh same day they fired me which was friday oct 16, like i literally got home and it was just sitting in my inbox lol so thoughtful smh. its called a "separation agreement and general release" and they're offering $2,400 which is honestly kind of insulting after 4 years?? it says i have 21 days to sign so i think i have until like next friday?? wait no maybe its sooner idk i havent sat down and counted it out tbh. i definately havent signed it yet bc something about it felt off and like why would i sign something from teh people who just did this to me

Thanks, Brianna. I can't speak to deadlines, but the firm will see these dates when it reviews your intake and will reach out if they can help. Let me go back to the job itself. What's the employer's name, and what was your role there?

its FreshWay Market, the one on Clark street. i was there 4 years, the last 2 as assistant store manager. they have like 40 stores around chicago and mine has about 60 ppl working there. i was salary, $46,000 a year, which sounds ok until you realize i was working like 55 hours most weeks and half the time i was just on a register or stocking shelves bc we were ALWAYS short staffed and managment never hired anybody lol. like i was "assistant manager" on paper but tbh i was basically a cashier who also got yelled at for the schedule smh. and no overtime ever bc salary i guess?? anyway yeah idk if that matters

Got it, thanks. You mentioned you were often on a register or stocking shelves. In a typical week, what part of your time went to manager work, and what did that manager work involve?

honestly like most of my shifts were register and stocking, if i had to guess id say way more than half?? like i didnt keep track or anything so idk an exact number sorry. the manager stuff was like... idk, the schedule stuff i mentioned, and whatever Gina told me to do, i dont really remember breaking it down tbh it all kinda blurred together bc i was just running around all day putting out fires lol oh wait also sorry random but should i sign teh severance thing or no?? bc like $2,400 is $2,400 and im about to have a baby and i dont have a job rn so part of me is like just take it ngl

That makes sense, and with a baby on the way it's a real thing to weigh. I'm not able to give legal advice, but whether to sign is exactly the kind of question the attorney can talk through with you once they've seen the full picture. You mentioned Gina. Who is she, and was she involved in the decision to fire you?

ok yeah thats fair so Gina Marsh is my store manager, like my direct boss. idk if she was the one who "decided" exactly bc it was Tom Haskins who actually fired me, hes teh district manager, but Gina was sitting right there in teh back office when he did it so like she obviously knew it was coming. and shes the one i told i was pregnant in the first place, that was tuesday sept 22, and then like less than a month later im out?? like come ON. i had never been written up before EVER in 4 years and then all of a sudden oct 6 Tom gives me this "final warning" for attendance out of nowhere and then fires me oct 16 for "too many attendance points" ugh it makes me so mad just typing it

That's a lot to carry, and it makes sense that typing it out brings the anger back up. About the October 6 final warning, was it in writing, and what absences or late days did Tom say the points were for?

yeah it was a write up, like on paper, he had me sign it saying i recieved it (not that i agreed lol). and heres teh thing EVERY single absence on there was a prenatal appointment. like every one. and i told Gina about each one ahead of time, i wasnt just not showing up, i literally told her "hey i have my dr appt on this day" and she was fine with it?? and then they turn around and count them as points against me like what. its so obviously bc of teh baby like can they even do this?? count your dr appointments against you when your pregnant?? that cant be legal right

I understand why you're asking, and it's a fair question to put to the attorney. I can't speak to what's legal, but they'll be able to answer that once they've seen everything. When you told Gina about each appointment ahead of time, how did you tell her, in person, by text, or some other way?

ok yeah ill ask them honestly idk i dont remember exactly for each one, i think it was mostly just telling her in person at teh store?? like when we were going over the schedule or whatever. i dont remember if i texted her about any of them, i could maybe check my phone but i dont know off teh top of my head sorry. ugh i shouldve put it all in writing i know that now smh

No need to apologize, that's fine. You remember telling her mostly in person. Going to October 16, when Tom fired you with Gina in the room, what do you remember him saying, and did either of them say anything about your pregnancy?

so it was in teh back office, friday oct 16, and Tom basically just said i had too many attendance points and that was it, i was done. like it was super quick. i dont remember either of them saying anything about me being pregnant, like they definately didnt come out and say it lol theyre not THAT dumb. Gina mostly just sat there and didnt say much that i remember. i was kind of in shock tbh so i dont remember every word, i just remember feeling sick and trying not to cry in front of Tom bc i did NOT want to give him that

That sounds like a really hard moment to sit through. Did you get anything in writing about the firing itself, like a termination letter, separate from the separation agreement HR emailed?

no i dont think so?? like i dont remember getting a letter or anything, just teh separation agreement email from HR. Tom didnt hand me anything in teh office that i remember, i just grabbed my stuff and left. idk if theres something i was supposed to get, nobody told me anything lol typical FreshWay

Okay, so the written warning from October 6 and the separation agreement email are the papers you have. Do you know of other people at your store who missed work or had attendance points and were treated differently than you were?

hmm honestly idk like specific ppl off the top of my head?? i mean people were late or called off all teh time bc thats retail lol but i dont know who had points or what happened to them bc i wasnt really in on that stuff, Tom and Gina handled it. i just know i never saw anybody get fired for it that i can remember. sorry thats not super helpful also wait i dont even know if i have a copy of teh oct 6 write up, i signed it but idk if they gave me one, i'd have to look

That's helpful, and it's fine that you're not sure about the copy. Between telling Gina on September 22 and the firing, or since then, did you raise any concerns with HR, anyone else at FreshWay, or any government agency about how you were being treated?

no not HR or like a govt agency or anything, i didnt even know i could do that tbh. teh only thing was on oct 1 i gave Gina a note from my doctor saying no lifting over 25 pounds, and she was like "we'll see what we can do" and then just... kept putting me on teh truck unload anyway?? like the WHOLE point of truck unload is lifting heavy boxes lol so that went great oh and ngl i did post on facebook teh day after i got fired, oct 17, i said Tom is "a pig who fires pregnant women" and its still up lol. i was SO mad. idk if that counts as raising concerns but thats teh only thing i did

Thanks for telling me both of those. On the doctor's note from October 1, do you still have a copy of it, and after you gave it to Gina, roughly how often were you put on truck unload before October 16?

idk if i have a copy of teh note tbh, i gave the paper to Gina so maybe my doctor's office has it?? i'd have to check how often idk an exact number, i dont remember sorry, but it kept happening it wasnt like a one time thing. OH but wait i took pictures of teh schedule before i got fired, like showing me on truck unload after i gave her teh note, so those would show it. i was kinda already suspicious lol so i snapped them on my phone. they're still on there

Got it, you have photos of the schedule on your phone showing you on truck unload after October 1. Going back to the absences listed on the October 6 write-up, do you remember roughly when those appointments were, and whether any of them came before you told Gina you were pregnant on September 22?

idk teh exact dates sorry i dont remember, i think they were all late sept and early oct?? but like every one on there was a prenatal appt and i told Gina about each one ahead of time so i dont think any were before i told her, bc i wasnt telling her about appointments before that lol ok ngl tho i was late 3 times back in august, before i was even pregnant, bc my car kept dying. but Gina never wrote me up for those, like nobody said a word about it at teh time. idk if those were on teh write up honestly i dont think so but i dont remember for sure, i was so mad when i read it i kinda just saw red

Thanks for being upfront about the late days in August. When you were hired at FreshWay, or at any point after, do you remember signing anything about how disputes with the company would be handled, or any agreement besides the usual hiring paperwork?

ugh honestly idk?? when i got hired they had me sign a bunch of onboarding stuff on a tablet and i just kinda clicked through it like everybody does lol. so like maybe?? i really dont know if one of them was about disputes or arbitration or whatever, i definately didnt read it all. and i dont remember signing anything else after that besides teh write up. is that bad?? like if i did sign something like that does it mess everything up

Lots of people click through onboarding forms, so not remembering is completely understandable. What that kind of paperwork means for you is a question for the attorney once they've seen everything. Is your job at FreshWay covered by a union?

no, no union lol FreshWay would NEVER. like they would probably shut the store down before they let that happen smh. nobody ever even talked about it there tbh

Got it, no union. Since October 16, have you had any contact with FreshWay, like a conversation with HR, Gina, or Tom, or replying to the separation agreement email?

nope, nothing. i havent talked to Gina or Tom or HR since that day and i didnt reply to teh email, i just left it sitting there. i mean besides teh facebook post i already told you about, but i didnt like tag them or message them or anything, its just on my page. honestly i dont even want to look at any of them rn lol

That's understandable. Since the firing, have you looked for other work or found a new job, and if so, what does it pay?

yeah i've applied to 2 jobs since then and i actually have an interview next week!! so thats something lol. idk what it pays yet tbh they havent said, and i havent gotten anything yet obviously. im kinda nervous bc like do i tell them im pregnant?? or wait no sorry ignore that, ill figure it out lol. its just stressful bc i really need something before teh baby comes and i dont want this whole FreshWay thing following me around

Good luck with the interview next week. That's a lot of pressure to be under right now. Besides your salary, did you have benefits through FreshWay, like health insurance, and what happened to them after the firing?

ugh honestly idk, thats not something i really know off teh top of my head sorry. i dont remember what i had or what happened to it after, nobody from FreshWay told me anything about it and i havent looked into it yet. which now that your asking is kinda making me panic a little bc like... baby, doctor appointments, all that lol. i should probably figure that out huh

I'm sorry that question added to the worry. It's okay not to know right now, and the attorney can go over questions like that with you. Have you talked to or hired any other lawyer about what happened at FreshWay?

no this is teh first time ive reached out to anybody about it. i didnt even know where to start tbh, i just googled stuff at like 2am and ended up here lol. so no other lawyer, just you guys

Thanks, Brianna. Was anyone else at the store around when you told Gina about the pregnancy, the appointments, or the lifting note, or anyone who saw you being put on truck unload afterward?

hmm idk i dont really remember anybody specific being there when i told her stuff, i think it was mostly just me and Gina like in teh office or wherever. and for truck unload i mean there were other ppl working obviously but i dont remember who exactly saw what, it was a busy store and everybody was doing thier own thing. sorry i wish i had better answers for you

You don't need to apologize. You've given a clear account, and saying when you don't remember is just as useful. Is there anything else about FreshWay, the firing, or the separation agreement that you want the firm to know? If there's nothing more, that's completely fine too.

i think thats pretty much it?? like i feel like i dumped my whole life on you lol sorry. i guess just teh main thing is i was a good employee for 4 years, never got written up, and then teh SECOND i tell them im pregnant everything goes to crap. like thats not a coincidence. and also the overtime thing kinda bugs me now that i typed it all out, 55 hours a week mostly doing cashier stuff and never getting paid extra for it, idk if that matters but whatever and im just kinda freaking out about teh severance deadline bc i dont want to miss it if i end up needing the money. so yeah i think thats everything

Please don't apologize, Brianna. Thank you for reaching out and for explaining everything so clearly and openly. The firm will review what you shared, including the separation agreement dates and your hours and pay, and will reach out if they can help. Take care of yourself.

ok thank you so much, honestly it helped just getting it all out lol. i'll keep an eye on my phone. and i really hope they can help bc this whole thing is so messed up. thanks for listening to me rant 🙏

I'm glad it helped to get it all out, Brianna. Take care.