Disabled employee given run-around

Dear Annie: I have a disability, and my place of employment is discriminating against me based on that disability. I finally filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and waited. Having heard nothing, I phoned just to make sure the EEOC got the forms. After repeatedly calling, I finally had a return call stating that my case had been automatically deleted from the EEOC’s computer system after 90 days because of inactivity.

I went to the local EEOC office to file my complaint in person, but with interview questions such as “Why are you here, because you have not lost your job?” it became insulting. Am I wrong in believing that no one should be told one’s harassment or discrimination is unimportant because one is still employed?

Dismayed in Kentucky

Dear Dismayed: How incredibly frustrating. You’re not wrong for trying to file a complaint. You don’t need to be fired in order for your concerns about workplace discrimination to be valid. That’s not how that works. I’d recommend contacting a plaintiff-side employment lawyer (many offer free consultations) to discuss your situation and the options for redressing your grievances. Dear Annie: I haven’t any family except one son, and he lives in a group home. When I married for the second time (my first husband passed at the age of 35), the man had two sons, and one has passed. I am leaving just about everything to my stepson because I have no one else. I just made out a new will. My lawyer said that no one needs to see it — that I should simply put it in a safe box and let the executor know where it is located. I have done that.

The issue is that my stepson wants me to fax him a copy. He wants to see it. It isn’t any of his business right now. I can tell this is going to become a fight. What can I do? He is the one who will mess up if he messes with me.

Wills Are Not Family

Dear Wills Are Not Family: Your stepson has no right to demand to see your will. Set boundaries. Stay firm. And if you want to take him out of your will for this bullying behavior, nobody would blame you.

Send your questions for Annie Lane to dear annie@ creators .com. To find out more about Annie Lane and read features by other Creators Syndicate columnists and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.