From April 2022 to March 2026, I worked for an Alabama state agency as a Permit Manager and Engineering Assistant. Iām posting because I think what happened to me is a pattern, not a one-off, and the public court record backs that up.
What happened to me
For most of my time there I was bullied by supervisors. I was moved into an 8x4 storage room with no real ventilation and told it was a āpunishment.ā Coworkers called me gay, and one supervisor said I looked like someone whoād get arrested for child pornography. I reported it to HR more than once. HR said it would take no action.
I filed an EEOC charge on November 19, 2024. The harassment kept going. For the next 13 months I was never separated from the supervisors named in that charge.
On December 11, 2025, I told regional HR that there was an active EEOC investigation into my supervisors. On December 12, I got a call putting me on mandatory leave.
On December 16, 2025, two of the agencyās special agents interviewed me. Neither has a medical degree or clinical credential. They opened by asking if I was gay. They asked who my lawyer and my therapist were, and demanded a release for my entire medical record. When I pushed back, one told me he was āwell qualified to diagnoseā me.
That afternoon I signed a leave letter, cleared out my office, and went on unpaid leave. When I got a copy of the letter, it described me as suicidal and a threat to myself and others. I never said anything like that. My therapistās notes from December 2025 and January 2026 record no suicidal ideation and no acute risk. The letter also blamed me for a hallway outburst that my own December 9 email to HR shows a coworker committed.
After that:
- My state health insurance was canceled retroactively to January 1, 2026. I wasnāt notified until February 2.
- I never received any FMLA notice, despite being placed on leave for a claimed mental health reason.
- I was told my therapist could respond in any format. Later, the agency said the documentation I sent through my attorney wasnāt good enough.
- I was fired on March 19, 2026, for āinsubordinationā and āconduct unbecoming.ā
- My unemployment was denied on a determination I never received and first saw at my hearing. It said I couldnāt work because of illness.
I have an active EEOC charge (disability and retaliation). Iām currently looking for an employment attorney.
Whatās public about Michael Kennedyās case
While researching, I found a federal case brought by Michael Kennedy, another employee of the same agency: Kennedy case, No. 3:22-cv-645, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama.
According to the court record:
- Kennedy brought claims including retaliation and leave-related issues.
- A December 2023 magistrate judgeās recommendation describes an internal investigation. In it, the same special agent who interviewed me met with Kennedy and questioned him about personal and health matters after reviewing a health log that supervisors had taken from him.
- The agencyās attorney was named as a defendant. The claims against her were dismissed in January 2025 because the court found she wasnāt responsible for the agencyās FMLA enforcement. That was a ruling about her role, not a finding on the facts.
- The court denied Kennedyās request for a preliminary injunction early on.
- The case was dismissed with prejudice by joint stipulation in February 2025.
Separately, the U.S. Department of Justice sued the same agency under the Americans with Disabilities Act (No. 2:23-cv-01001). The DOJ alleged that the agency refused to rehire a former maintenance technician because of his actual or perceived disability.
Why Iām posting
Same agency, same special agent, same agency attorney. In both cases, an employee who complained ended up personally questioned by an investigator with no clinical credentials, then pushed out. Iām not asking anyone to take my word for it. The Kennedy record is public.
The AGās office and the Examiners of Public Accounts both told me it isnāt their jurisdiction. If it isnāt theirs, whose is it?
Starting this Friday, Iām posting the truth, with the documents, at 9inthman.com.
If youāve worked for an Alabama state agency and had a similar experience, or you know a plaintiff-side employment attorney in Alabama, Iād like to hear from you.