u/NotAHomoBro

The Background
I was hired at a large national retail company with over 500 employees. Shortly after being hired my direct supervisor made explicit statements that my sexual orientation was a factor in his decision to hire me. He said this directly to my face and repeated it again in front of a coworker on a later occasion. Beyond that he repeatedly pressured me throughout my employment to use my sexual orientation as a sales tool specifically to engage with customers of the same orientation in a way that would generate more revenue for the location. I declined every single time.

The Complaint
After approximately two months of employment I filed a formal written complaint with the company’s HR department documenting the sexual orientation discrimination and harassment. Prior to filing that complaint not a single disciplinary action had been taken against me, no performance concerns had been raised, and no questions had ever been asked about my background or conduct.

The Investigation
The company conducted an internal investigation. Within days of my complaint I was placed on paid administrative leave. The company completed its investigation and issued written findings. Those findings signed by a senior HR official — substantiated the majority of my allegations and confirmed that witnesses corroborated my account. The findings letter included a written promise from the company that retaliation would not be tolerated.

The Termination
I was terminated shortly after my allegations were confirmed in writing. The stated reason was an alleged omission on my pre-employment background check paperwork. Here is the issue with that my direct supervisor knew about my background before I was ever hired. I disclosed it to him personally. I took scheduled time off on a recurring basis for obligations related to that background and informed him of the nature of those appointments every time. On at least one occasion I contacted him specifically because officials overseeing my supervision needed his information. He acknowledged and accommodated everything throughout my entire employment without ever raising a concern until shortly after I filed my discrimination complaint.

The termination letter was emailed to me before I was verbally told I was being terminated. The investigation findings and the termination were delivered in the same phone call. I received the written promise that retaliation would not be tolerated and my termination letter within minutes of each other on that same call.

The EEOC Charge
My charge covers retaliation, sex discrimination based on sexual orientation, and sexual harassment in violation of Title VII. Both me and the company have agreed to mediate through the EEOC. The company’s legal representative and the HR official who signed the investigation findings letter will both be present at mediation.

Where I Am At
I am going into this pro se. I sent a formal demand letter to the company before mediation that included legal arguments referencing applicable Supreme Court and circuit court precedent, and a detailed breakdown of damages. No response was received. I have prepared extensively for the mediation including a negotiation strategy for the caucus format.

My Questions For The Community
**1.**Has anyone gone through EEOC mediation pro se against a large national employer with legal representation on the other side and what was your experience?
**2.**Given that the company’s own internal investigation confirmed the discrimination in writing, the retaliation timeline is extremely tight, and the termination letter was sent before verbal notification how strong does this case appear to people familiar with employment law?
**3.**Has anyone secured a high five figure or six figure settlement through EEOC mediation without attorney representation? I know settlements tend to be lower without attorneys but the documentation here is unusually strong and includes the company’s own signed findings confirming the harassment occurred.
**4.**Any advice on going up against a company’s legal team alone in a virtual caucus style mediation?
**5.**The company employs over 500 people which means the Title VII damages cap of $300,000 applies for combined punitive and compensatory damages. Is it realistic to expect that level of settlement in a well documented retaliation case through EEOC mediation?

I want honest assessments. If there are weaknesses in this case I want to know what they are. I am not looking for validation I am looking for real feedback. Thank you in advance.

I wanted to write this out because I put myself through way more stress than this class deserved, and I know I'm not the only one. I procrastinated D099 for about a month and a half, purely because of what I was reading in this sub. Every thread made it sound like some kind of final boss. It's not. I'm posting this hoping it saves someone else the same month and a half of dread.

Some background: I took all 5 PAs first and failed 4 out of 5. Not close either, just straight up failed them. Even after that, I was stubborn and kept trying to muscle through it my own way for a while. I was searching this sub constantly trying to figure out what I was missing, reading post after post, and honestly most of it just made me more anxious. Eventually I actually listened to a post/guide from a user here, and that's the thing that turned it around. I'll link it below for anyone who wants it.

What I did with it: I took that guide and had Claude/ChatGPT turn it into an actual study guide for me. I have pretty severe ADHD, so walls of text and scattered notes don't work for my brain, I need things broken down, condensed, and laid out plainly or I just bounce off of them. I studied that condensed guide for about an hour, then took the OA. That's it. One hour with the right material after weeks of spinning my wheels on my own.

Here's the process, in order:

1. Take your PAs, don't stress too hard about the score, they're mainly there to show you where the gaps are.
2. Find a condensed guide (the linked post below), or have ChatGPT/Claude rebuild the material into something bite-sized for you if you learn like I do.
3. Study that condensed version. For me this only took about an hour once it was in the right format, because it wasn't fighting my ADHD anymore.
4. Go take the OA.

The biggest surprise for me, and the thing I think is misleading people on this sub, is that the OA was noticeably easier than the PAs. The PAs are wordy, kind of convoluted, and a lot of the questions felt like they were testing whether you could parse the question itself rather than the material. The OA was much more direct. It got to the point a lot faster and didn't try to trip you up with phrasing the way the PAs did. If you're someone who's failing PAs and panicking that the OA is going to be even worse, in my experience it's the opposite.

I procrastinated this class for a month and a half because of what people wrote on here, and looking back that was the actual mistake, not the class itself. I'm not a good test taker, I have ADHD, and I still got through it once I stopped overthinking it and just followed a process. If you're in the position I was in a few weeks ago, staring at 4 failed PAs and dreading this thing, it's genuinely not as bad as it looks right now. Take a breath, get a study guide that actually works for how your brain processes information, and go for it.

Look at this guide!

https://www.reddit.com/r/WGU/s/cX8EGzGwKo

WGU is launching a Project Management degree in July. I am almost done with my Business Management degree. Is it worth going back for a second bachelor’s in PM or just get the PMP and call it a day?