David Moultrie III
489 Church Street
Atco, New Jersey 08004
February 8, 2011
Comcast Cable Communications, LLC
Attn: Philip Annone, RVP Human Resources
3220 Tillman Drive, Suite 400
Bensalem, Pennsylvania 19020
RE: Employment Status
Dear Mr. Annone:
As you may know, my employment history with Comcast since being hired in 2003 has
been stellar and beyond reproach. My last two performance reviews (December, 2009
and June, 2010) were both “Meets/Exceeds Expectations”. I was selected to take over as
MPR Supervisor for the Philly City system in February 2010, reporting to Mrs. Suzanne
Reina. I began the position part-time in February, and assumed full-time responsibilities
in May, 2010.
Mrs. Reina stressed to me from the beginning that she wanted to get rid of all the current
MPRs – except for Brian Hathaway, a White male – and that I was to immediately work
on getting rid of the other MPRs because they either “just don‟t represent the image” and
“Property managers would not want to deal with [his] kind” (Herbert Robinson, Jerome
Payne, Jay Johnson and Richard Terrell, all Black males), and Leonard Nesson, a White
over-60-year old male, “because of his age, poor computer skills and poor job
performance”, and Louis Ragusa, a Latino, because of his hygiene.
Specifically, Mrs. Reina stated on numerous occasions the following:
Regarding Louis Ragusa: “He needs to take baths and use deodorant because he smells.”
Mrs. Reina repeatedly referenced conversations between herself and Ginger Yorty about
Mr. Ragusa‟s clothes and his hygiene.
Regarding Mr. Payne, a 62-year-old Black male, Mrs. Reina demanded several times that
I “find out when Jerome will be retiring and if he‟s not going to be retiring, give him an
undesirable portfolio to persuade him to retire.” She also stated “There is something
about him that I just don‟t like”, and repeated her demand that I “get rid of him.”
Regarding Mr. Robinson, a mid-40s Black male, Mrs. Reina repeatedly demanded that I
terminate him because of his “slick talking and style of dress”. Mrs. Reina said on one
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February 7, 2011
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occasion, “Look at him – he dresses like a pimp;” “No property manager would want to
deal with him,” and “I can‟t even understand him when he is speaking. We need to
terminate him as soon as possible.”
Regarding Mr. Johnson (a late-40s Black male) and Mr. Terrell (a 53-year-old Black
male) Mrs. Reina continuously stated that they “do not represent the MPR look that I
desire for our team.”
Mrs. Reina repeatedly stated that she wanted the “Brian Hathaway types” – 49-year-old,
White, distinguished-looking males, for the team, and that I should build the team around
Brian Hathaway, using Brian as the “role model”.
As a 48-year-old Black male myself, I am well aware that Mr. Hathaway was far from the
“ideal” role model, and that firing all the Black and Latino employees simply because of
their Race and/or Age and replacing them with White males was discriminatory.
Mr. Hathaway had a less-than-stellar history with Comcast, having been hired in August,
2009, and being transferred to the MPR team by Mrs. Reina even though he was on a
disciplinary write up at the time because of poor job performance, although this was
clearly against Comcast policy. When one of the Black male MPR team members,
Herbert Robinson, complained to Jim Pauciello that Mr. Hathaway was receiving
preferential treatment not received by other employees, Mrs. Reina instructed me to “find
something on him [Robinson] and fire him.”
Beginning in February, 2010, Mrs. Reina gave Mr. Hathaway lucrative sales assignments
that led to him receiving enormous financial rewards. These rewards led to Michael
Whitenack conducting audits on Mr. Hathaway‟s payroll orders because of the
suspiciously large amounts awarded to Mr. Hathaway. Despite the audit, Mrs. Reina
continued to lavish Mr. Hathaway with free TVs, tickets, free passes, special items, golf
outings and giveaways when he visits her (frequently) in the Bensalem office.
In June, 2010, I learned that two MPRs, Brian Hathaway and Lou Ragusa, were falsifying
their identities when calling in orders to receive special 12-month offers. I submitted
Corrective Actions for both individuals, but Mrs. Reina insisted that Mr. Ragusa be
terminated, while Mr. Hathaway receive only coaching.
Throughout the summer of 2010, I continually coached Mr. Hathaway on his
unprofessional behavior, because he continued to demand preferential treatment, as he‟d
been promised by Mrs. Reina. Mrs. Reina shared confidential personnel information
with Mr. Hathaway that should not have been shared with an MPR – information such as
Human Resources issues, performance-related matters, and field evaluations).
In September, 2010, I shared with Jim Venne that I would be looking to transfer from the
department and away from Mrs. Reina because she targeted employees for termination
based on their Race, Age, and other protected status. I told Mr. Venne that, based on
Comcast‟s transfer rules, I wouldn‟t be able to transfer until December, 2010.
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February 7, 2011
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Immediately after my conversation with Mr. Venne, I shared with Mrs. Reina that I
would be seeking a transfer, and that I felt it was in both of our best interests.
On September 21, 2010, however, I was confronted by Mrs. Reina and Mr. Jason Teetie
from Human Resources, who informed me – much to my surprise - that I had “resigned”.
They asked for my company cell phone and badge and asked me to leave the building. I
explained that I absolutely had not resigned, but Jason insisted that they were “accepting
your e-mail as resignation”, and not to worry – “you can still collect unemployment”. I
stated that if I could collect unemployment, then I was being fired, not quitting
voluntarily. I objected that this was a Wrongful Termination, and that it was nothing
more than retaliation against me for my repeated complaints of racial and age
discrimination, harassment and retaliation because I refused to conspire with Mrs. Reina
in her efforts to discriminate against and terminate certain employees because of their
race and age. I pointed out that Mr. Teetie was now participating in the retaliation
because of the illegal issues I had addressed with Mrs. Reina and him.
Days prior to my termination, Mr. Hathaway had shared with co-workers, “Don‟t be
surprised if you come in and Moultrie is gone,” predicting the day it would happen –
September 21, 2010 – the day I was terminated by Mrs. Reina and Mr. Teetie.
Obviously, Mrs. Reina shared this confidential management-level information with Mr.
Hathaway. Subsequent to my being re-hired and returning to work on November 1,
2010, I endured teasing and harassment by co-workers about having been fired because I
complained about Race and Age Discrimination and retaliation for reporting the illegal
discrimination. My absence was officially characterized (falsely) as an “Administrative
Leave”.
On November 2, 2010, Mrs. Reina held a team meeting in Philly City with the MPRs to
inform them of my return. During this meeting Mrs. Reina shared - and allowed to be
shared - confidential personnel information pertaining to me having been fired. Mrs.
Reina encouraged MPRs to harass, humiliate and shame me as she stood there not
stopping the onslaught of personal attacks.
On November 3, 2010, Mr. Hathaway made several disturbing racial and threatening
comments to me including: “Do you want me to take you to the “hood” or are you afraid
your car will be vandalized?” and “The „hood‟ is where the Negro colored people are”
and “Negro meaning the color” and that “There is nothing wrong with saying that
because Lowes Home Improvement store identifies the color of their mailbox with this
phrase.” Mr. Hathaway went on to use various other racial epithets. I told Mr. Hathaway
I would report his behavior to Mrs. Reina; he stated that it would be his word against
mine and Mrs. Reina would not believe me. Mr. Hathaway then stated it was “only a
matter of time before Susanne will have you fired for good”. He then called me
“Blackie”.
On November 5, 2010, Mr. Kerwin Calbert came into my office and asked me if I was ok
or if this was just another “Jigaboo Moment”? When I asked what he meant by that, he
stated how Blacks are treated in “this system”. Mr. Calbert went on to inform me that he
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February 7, 2011
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came up with a “Comcast Jigaboo Jingle and Dance” that he has shared with others, and
went on to demonstrate it, singing and dancing. I recommended to Mrs. Reina that both
Mr. Hathaway and Mr. Calbert be immediately terminated for their offensive behavior,
but Mrs. Reina never responded to my request so I submitted the same request to Human
Resources. Likewise, Human Resources never responded to my request.
I have committed myself to serving Comcast for nearly 8 years. I have always been
available to tackle whatever responsibilities were required of me to meet the needs of the
organization and its customers. I never imagined I would be the victim of such a brutal,
personal attack against my character.
The following is an excerpt from my June 2010 Mid-Year Connection Feedback written
by Mrs. Reina: “Dave has done a nice job rebuilding his team in Philly City. Dave was
handling this team part time as well as overseeing another important project, Calvary
before officially coming over to the Supervisor role on May 16th. Dave had a few legacy
rep‟s who he has had to retrain on the position as well as hold them accountable for their
activities. Dave was also fortunate enough to be able to build his own MPR team as he
has hired 4 to date with more on the way. Dave will continue to see the hard work,
training and field time which is necessary to “inspect what we expect” result in sales.
Field time with the MPR‟s is crucial to the success of the team and balancing the office
time since we have so much going on is key to the success. I look forward to seeing Dave
continue to grow into this position with his team leading the way and being on top of
sales as they have the opportunity and potential to do.”
I am very proud of the work I have done for Comcast and am dismayed and disheartened
by the treatment I have received at the hands of Mrs. Reina in her attempt to ruin my
professional reputation and destroy my livelihood. It was not my desire to leave
Comcast‟s employ after so many years of dedicated service. I had looked forward to
many years of growth with Comcast.
You may be familiar with Burlington Northern v. White, 548 U.S. 53 (2006), in which the
U.S. Supreme Court made clear that employers are liable for their adverse employment
actions taken when it would “dissuade a reasonable individual from reporting harassment
or discrimination”. Clearly, the way in which I have been retaliated against by Mrs.
Reina and Comcast would dissuade a reasonable individual from reporting harassment or
discrimination, and I believe my co-workers have gotten that message loud and clear.
Comcast‟s managers will get the message loud and clear that this behavior cannot be
tolerated.
However, you need to know it is not my intent to quit and go away quietly. Instead, it
would be my intent to proceed with the complaint I have filed with the U.S. Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission and pursue those charges vigorously both through
the EEOC and the civil court system.
Alternatively, I would be interested in discussing a reasonable and fair severance
settlement, in exchange for which I would of course agree to release Comcast as well as
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February 7, 2011
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Mrs. Reina personally from liability for her illegal and discriminatory actions. The
severance package with which I have been presented is neither fair nor reasonable, and I
wish to continue negotiations until we are able to agree on something that satisfies both
of our needs.
The following are the terms I propose:
- A lump sum Severance of $210,000, less taxes and authorized payroll deductions.
- Payment in lieu of a required notice period. I believe the standard notice period is
two weeks, so an additional two weeks‟ pay would be reasonable.
- Payment for unused vacation time. I estimate this time to be 15 days.
- A fully-paid 4-year scholarship for my daughter to any Historically Black College
or University of her choice.
- My final travel and entertainment expense report payment to be paid on
Separation Date.
- Employee‟s existing, vested stock option grants will expire 90 days after
Separation Date if not sooner exercised.
- Employee entitled to the return of any amounts credited to employee‟s account
under the Comcast Employee Stock Purchase Plan, in accordance with the terms
of that plan.
- Employee‟s contributions and company match to the Retirement-Investment Plan
401(k) will cease on the Separation Date, and any vested service employee has
will be determined under the terms of ERISA and the Plan.
- Comcast pays off employee‟s existing remaining 401(k) loan balance of ~$3,053.
- Continued health, dental and prescription insurance benefits for twelve months.
- Fully-paid COBRA benefits at the end of twelve months for the standard 18-
month period. COBRA premiums to be paid in full by Comcast.
- Employee will convert life insurance to an individual policy within 31 days of
Separation Date, and Comcast to pay employee cost of premiums for 3 years.
- Courtesy cable and services for employee for 3 years.
- Comcast to provide 18 months of Key Executive Outplacement Service through
Right Associates to employee.
- Comcast to provide employee with a copy of all documents from employee‟s
personnel file.
- Comcast to provide employee with a neutral letter of reference.
- A non-disparagement agreement, in which Comcast and its employees agree not
to disparage my reputation and pay double liquidated damages to me if Comcast
or its employees breaches the agreement, and causing the agreement to be
rescinded.
- Confidentiality of the terms of the agreement and ability to rescind the agreement
and pay double liquidated damages to me if Comcast or its employees breaches
the agreement.
- Employee is free to seek future employment with a competitor at any time; no
restrictions whatsoever are placed on employee in seeking future employment.
- Employee returns all documents and materials that are Comcast property.
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February 7, 2011
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- Employee agrees not to solicit any person to terminate their employment with the
Company.
- Employee agrees to non-disclosure or use of confidential Company information.
- Employee agrees to disclose all patent applications filed by employee or on his
behalf during his employment with Comcast.
- Injunctive Relief clause is reciprocal.
- Reformation clause is reciprocal.
As indicated above, I would agree to sign a release of claims, including, but not limited
to, Civil Rights violations, retaliation for opposing work place discrimination,
harassment, discrimination, and hostile work environment, which you may present for my
attorney‟s review and approval. I would agree to withdraw my EEOC Claim #846-2011-
21732, filed February 2, 2011.
Again, please understand that I am deeply offended at Mrs. Reina‟s retaliation against me
for my legitimate complaints of Race and Age discrimination, and of her subsequent
manufacture of a reason to eliminate me. It was my intent to continue to work for
Comcast for some time, but Mrs. Reina seems to be determined to discriminate against
me and end my relationship with Comcast unfairly and illegally. It is my expectation that
you will agree to an equitable settlement in exchange for an agreement to part ways
amicably.
I look forward to hearing from you by February 11, 2011. If I do not receive a response
from you by that date, I will have no choice but to move forward with my claim with the
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and to take whatever legal action is
available to me against Comcast and Mrs. Reina personally.
Sincerely,
David Moultrie III
David Moultrie III