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I am a female Asian American civilian employee who works for a sheriff’s department in California. My experience at work has been marked by discrimination, bullying, racism, retaliation, workplace violence, and an overall lack of acknowledgement and protection from my supervisors.

I have been in the ”progressive,” “anti-racist” environmental nonprofit field for over a decade. I have an environmental law degree and have even taken on increasingly more challenging roles and responsibilities with each job change. I expected a lot more from progressives – as they certainly like to talk the talk when it comes to BLM, environmental justice, equity, and “anti-racism.” However, for anyone reading the news about the attempts at all the national green groups attempting to retaliate against workers for unionization, we know that is not the case.  

As an Asian American plaintiff alleging racial discrimination against an insurance company, I learned the hard way how biased the federal legal system can be against employment discrimination victims. After enduring harassment and retaliation, I took my case to the EEOC thinking they would help. But my battle for justice had only begun.

My name is Daniel Murzyn. I’m a 42 year old engineer who has worked for a large American manufacturing company for over 15 years. 

“How amazing you are to manage an entire school’s technology support on a regular day, let alone when the entire school goes online. I appreciate your deep calm and positive attitude to help all the students thrive. We are so thankful for all the work you are doing to make this experience not just possible, but positive, for all of the students” note from School Administrator/Parent

I was working at a large nonprofit where my sponsor tapped me for a Senior Director role and the hiring manager commented that he and I are “violently aligned”. However, after I did not get the role the internal interview panel’s feedback was that they didn’t see enough leadership qualities and that my next move shouldn’t be such a senior role. I took a significant pay cut to join this org directly from b-school and successfully tackled everything they threw at me, many roles without previous experience, and after six years of accomplishments I wasn’t enough.

When I was in middle school, I had a crush on a boy in my grade. He sat near me during lunchtime, fooling around with his friends and fiddling with a DYMO label maker that made white embossed black labels.

After nine years in the healthcare IT consulting business, with two of those years at Liberty IT Solutions, my manager approached me with a promotional opportunity to become a portfolio director.  I had turned down a similar offer before.  This time my manager applied more pressure, expressing encouragement from not only himself, but his manager who would become the Chief Operation Officer (COO) and colleagues who would become my peers. I asked, “Why me?” He responded with “Because you’re a minority and you’re a female.”  

I wish it weren’t the case, but due to ongoing litigation, I am limited on what I can currently discuss. All I can say is that I am representing many like myself who have experienced vicious and targeted attacks simply due to our race and ethnicity. 

I sat at my desk, staring at my computer screen in disbelief, unable to utter a single word, as my boss had just spewed some of the most racist, inappropriate and unprofessional comments I have ever heard. It had been over two years since I started working at this predominantly white institution, and I had never felt more unseen and unheard. The traditional leaders held all the power, and anyone who fell on the margins, particularly people of color, didn’t stand a chance.

I grew up in the welcoming diversity of Hawaii but made the fateful decision 34 years ago to move to South Carolina when my husband was stationed here. After our divorce, I chose to remain, even turning down an offer from my Hawaiian boss to return home. It was the worst choice I ever made.

“I’m looking for a few more white hairs in my enterprise sales leader.”

I was one of the few tan-skinned Asian American women at my workplace, which had a diverse staff of mostly minorities. From day one, I faced endless microaggressions and outright racism from my manager.

Being an Asian American woman in the workplace often feels like an endless barrage of contempt, condescension, and harassment veiled in microaggressions. As someone seen as Chinese (parents are from Taiwan), shy, and awkward, I face constant nitpicking and doubting of my abilities, despite being born in the US. This discriminatory treatment causes severe anxiety and distress, deteriorating my mental health and quality of life.

I worked for a biotech startup in Boston for a few years. From the start, my manager (a White woman) would routinely take credit for my work, speak over me in meetings, and not acknowledge my contributions in meetings (but if someone else repeated the idea I brought up earlier, she would acknowledge them by name, and not me). This was especially an issue because she would insist on attending all meetings with me. Moreover, as I successfully completed projects and gained more recognition from the larger organization, the more my manager tried to suppress my voice and undermine my work. About a year later we hired another colleague to the team who happened to be a White woman. She was treated very differently from the start: our manager did not insist on attending meetings with her, she was given much more independence, and credit for even small contributions of work.

My story is about how a dream job working for the most beloved brand PBS – one that formed my childhood and taught me English – became a nightmare. After a 30-year corporate career, I looked forward to my career culminating with an educational institution like PBS that touts diversity and inclusion. Instead, Vegas PBS whose broadcast license is owned by the Clark County School District, has been the most racist and discriminatory environment I’ve ever experienced.

As an Asian American who’s endured lifelong racism, I didn’t fully wake up to the discrimination until the 2020 pandemic triggered a surge in anti-Asian hate. The former president’s incendiary rhetoric about China opened my eyes to pervasive biases I’d taken for granted. Now I’m speaking out so the next generation can recognize the signs and stand up to injustice.

As a former product manager at Big Four, I filed an EEOC charge of discrimination based on my race and disabilities. I allege that Big Four failed to provide reasonable accommodations for my disabilities, subjected me to a hostile work environment, retaliated against me by placing me on a Performance Improvement Plan, kept me on this plan until my termination, and wrongfully terminated my employment. I claim that Big Four retaliated against me by placing me on a Performance Improvement Plan until my termination. I also allege that I acted as an internal whistleblower, filing complaints regarding racist or ableist language used by supervisors and coworkers and regarding the sexual assault of a coworker. 

A few months ago, I was the only person “laid off” from my team, and I think it happened because my manager wanted to punish me for filing an internal complaint about them.