Please help, I believe I was fired because of discrimination, possibly even retaliation.
Hi, I'm gonna try to make this as descriptive but short as I can. This is in Missouri. I am female, my boyfriend is male. Backstory: Per handbook and most people knowledge at the company (Hubbell Power Systems) I worked for. You have 6 attendance points. BUT "apparently" before your 90 days, there is 3 attendance points. It is not in the handbook, nor on boarding paperwork, and no one spoke of it, I checked all of my paperwork plus the whole handbook this "rule" NOWHERE to be found. Only the *apparently* after 90 day point system which is 6 points (days). Me and my boyfriend both worked there, he's still hired, but I was fired. He was hired 2 weeks before I was and he didn't even know this unspoken/unwritten rule. Trust me my boyfriend is relevant to the story. But to be clear: I am fully aware Missouri is an at will state. I understand I can be fired for no reason or ANY reason and its completely legal, I completely understand that.
Me and my boyfriend both missed the same amount of points IN OUR 90 DAYS. 3 days. Two of mine was doctor excused, one of his was. But regardless, you still get pointed with or without a doctors excuse. HR said this policy is across the board with all employees. BUT here's the kicker. I was fired. He was not, due to her hit his 90 days a week after his last absence. But HR "didn't catch it in time" (admitted on voice recording because I recorded the termination conversation between me and HR) with my supervisor approval for my leave via text messages because he had my doctors note and per the handbook, the supervisor is in charge of their own firing when it comes to attendance points. He said I was perfectly fine, I have the whole conversation screenshotted and still in my messages.
Again me and my boyfriend had the same amount of points. 3 which is "allegedly" termination within 90 days. He got to keep his job plus a promotion, and I got fired and I was less than 2 weeks away from my 90. As previously mentioned, HR's excuse for him was, he's after his 90 now so there's nothing we can do, though again, he had 3 points before he hit 90 days per this unspoken unwritten rule. But they caught me, allegedly and not even a week after I was fired he was promoted.
Now, I'm not 100% sure what I'm doing, I'm a young adult listening to the adulter adults than me, but everyone I've spoken to about this says its discrimination. A man and a woman, who did the exact same thing, bit only the woman gets terminated while the man gets to keep his job and get a promotion. I've spoken with lawyers and the few I've spoken to says there is enough red flags to point towards discrimination but they can take a hard to prove case right now. I've applied for a interview for the EEOC of St. Louis as directed by the lawyers I've spoken to but honestly not sure what to do, the free consultation lawyer is spoke to technically did give me a free consultation, but purely over the phone and obviously I couldn't show my evidence I have saved, like the recording or the text messages, and all my on boarding paperwork/handbook to show this rule does not exist and for other ones, (which was most) require $500+ for a consultation. Which I dont have. If only someone would let me show my evidence and the whole story, I just would like to know do I have a real shot or am I just uneducated on the law and I'm wrong. Which is completely possible and who can help me if I actually have a case.
Another point: My mother brought up an excellent point to me though, this is where the potential retaliation comes in. At this same company, my mom worked there 20 years ago. She was in a work place accident that left her permanently disabled for the rest of her life. She sued obviously and won, but in the same lawsuit, the company also go sued by my mom and her lawyers for discrimination because how she got so badly injured was because they didn't provide the correct PPO for her because she is so small. My mom is a rail thin, 5'2 woman. She's always been small even when she was still "healthy". HR'S reasoning then was "she's too small and we can't order child sizes". All of this information is second hand in my eyes, I was 4 at the time it happened so I do not personally remember it. But its been told to me by my mother and father, and its also on casenet. But how it could be retaliation, is they knew my mom worked there 20 years ago and I'm sure they remembered the whole thing, I mean it was a huge lawsuit that they lost. When I was hired and they did ask if I had any relatives that has worked for Hubbell (the company in question), and knowing she's my mom, I don't know if my background check would ping her name since she's my mother. So I didn't want to lie and not get hired neither, so I was honest about it. I told them my mother did, they asked her name, I told them. But they didn't seem too concerned about it at the time. So I thought I was good, throughout me working there. By supervisors and senior workers that remembered her, I've been asked about my mom but I didnt see it has confidential information. It was more like small talk questions, like how has she been? Did she ever recover? Etc. But my mom thinks potentially, they could've taken their "revenge" on me because of her. Could that be a possibility too? Again this "before 90 day 3 attendance point system" is NOWHERE to be found as it being a real rule, I've looked multiple times, every section just to see if either me or my boyfriend missed anything It is literally no where. The only attendance system thats mentioned is the "apparently" after 90 day point system which is 6 points (days).
I think this is most of everything, if anyone has more information or even a lawyer to talk to me or really anything to help it would be appreciated. I have screenshots, recordings, my on boarding paperwork, and my handbook. What can actually be done? Am I doing the right thing? Please help.