The OSMARI Project

Fighting Discrimination and Wrongful Termination at KG&P Strategies (MVM Inc, evolve24) - The OSMARI Project

• OSMARI • Episode 3

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Embarking on a legal battle is a profound endeavor, especially when it's rooted in personal strife and the quest for justice. In the raw and revealing heart of this episode I unpack my decision to file a lawsuit against KG&P Strategies (MVM Inc., KACE Company, The Providencia Group, evolve24 d/b/a Sherpa LLC) for wrongful termination that I believe was based on my Afghan heritage and sexual orientation. The weight of this decision is not just legal but carries a heavy cultural significance, as the concept of honor within the Afghan community adds an intricate layer to my pursuit of justice. I delve into the legal specifics filed at the Fairfax County Circuit Court case number 2024-352, discussing the impact on my family and the broader implications for individuals facing similar discriminations.

Gratitude pours out in this episode as I acknowledge the unwavering support from you, my listeners, through this difficult chapter of my life. While the constraints of the legal process limit the details I can share, I invite you to be part of the journey via The OSMARI project. Your engagement and suggestions breathe life into the narrative, as we together navigate the complexities of standing up to discrimination. With heartfelt thanks, I promise to keep you informed with general updates and insights into the legal steps being taken, ensuring that this tale of resilience and the fight for equity continues to resonate.


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Osman:

Hey everybody, welcome to The OSMARI Project, and there's going to be a little change in pace today. So some of you already know that I've been going through a workplace discrimination lawsuit over the last year. I was wrongfully terminated on February 17th 2023. It's almost a year now and went through the EEOC process, gained counsel and been gathering my evidence and putting everything together and we finally filed a claim with the Fairfax County Circuit Court on January 8th. With the help of my attorneys, I've been drafting a press release and I thought I'd share that with you today. That kind of outlines the case, what I intend to plan on suing them for and just giving you a little bit background information pertaining to the case specifics. I'm hoping that this issue is resolved soon.

Osman:

There has been significant changes in my life over the last year with respect to not only mental health but my quality of life, as some of you also know that my mother and I live together and we've been supporting each other, especially since my mom's injury in 2009. With respect to everything that has been going on, I've continued to seek positions in my background in data science. I've been doing what I can with the Osmari brand, but unfortunately, since my funds are limited at the time. I've been doing what I can and this is one of the reasons why I started the podcast because of the lawsuit in question. I felt it was very important to share my experience as a plaintiff and to ensure that, with the current climate in the LGBTQ community, there are actually legitimate cases that are being filed and there are extremists on the left that are potentially causing damages to other discrimination cases. In any event, I thought I'd read the press release to you today verbatim, as well as give information as to the company and the individuals in question that are included in the lawsuit and that are the defendants in my case. Unfortunately, because of privacy issues, I'm going to have to bleep out individual names in the final recording for YouTube and possibly the podcast. However, my case number is 2024-352 in the Fairfax County Circuit Courts.

Osman:

I'm hoping that everything will be as public as possible, including any evidence, and even if it goes to trial, I intend on having videographers record the trial and put those videos on YouTube, as well as, potentially, the podcast, depending on the sound quality. With respect to the evidence, I want all the evidence out there. I challenge my former employer to put all the evidence out there. If I'm allowed to, I'll post it on my new, redesigned Osmari website in a special section pertaining to my discrimination case, as well as photos of the individuals and some of their background information, and try to be as transparent as possible, because I absolutely have nothing to hide With respect to my national origin. My family is originally from Afghanistan and I don't know if some of you know the culture and the people from Afghanistan, but we are very honorable people. We are honest, direct and very, very hospitable people. Honor is a very, very big thing. Considering that I'm also a homosexual, in order to proceed with this case, I had to ask for the blessing of my parents, because of our family name may be tarnished as a result of me going public with my lawsuit. They rather see me maintain my integrity, my individual integrity, at the cost of our family reputation, which was one of the nicest things that they could have done for me. Without further ado, I'll begin reading the press release. The title Osman files a second Afghan national origin and first sexual orientation discrimination charges against , which is a parent company to MVM Inc. This is their second Afghan national origin discrimination lawsuit and they are very familiar with workplace discrimination lawsuits Based in Aldie Virginia. Today's date is February 4, 2024.

Osman:

Osman, a resident of Aldi e, Virginia, has filed a lawsuit against , the parent company of MVM Inc., KACE company, the Providencia Group and Evolve24, doing business as Sherpa LLC, and the following individuals the first individual, former CEO of Evolve24, who left within months of the incident for undetermined reasons, Now an advisory committee member at University of Maryland College Park Business School, while her son is a senior in high school applying to colleges, one of them possibly being University of Maryland College Park. The second individual former HR manager of Evolve24, who left within months of the incident for undetermined reasons. She is the niece of former CEO of Time Inc and currently is employed as the director of operations at Player Progression Academy, based in Washington DC. Third individual data scientist at Evolve24, and former military sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States, and he does hold a security clearance. Fourth individual former DEA agent sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the director of law enforcement services for case company, and he does hold security clearance. Hr Manager for . Chief People Officer of and also a career executive and life coach at Loudoun Counseling and Coaching LLC in Sterling Virginia.

Osman:

The case alleges violations of the Virginia Human Rights Act, including wrongful discharge based on sexual orientation and his Afghan national origin. This follows another Afghan national origin discrimination lawsuit Alizai v MVM Inc faced back in the 1990s, along with multiple discrimination and harassment settlements stemming from charges against MVM Inc over the last decade. It was only recently that was formed as a parent company to include MVM Inc and the formations of Case Company and the Providencia Group. Following numerous settlements for discrimination, their involvement with the separation of minors from refugees and the respective publicity, including news releases from the EEOC and Daily Beast articles, Evolve24 was acquired by . A group of organizations combined have had multiple workplace discrimination settlements within the last decade, including discrimination based on race, religion, sex and retaliation.

Osman:

A little background of the case. Osman , a Muslim male of Afghan descent and a gay individual, began his employment as a vice president of Evolve24, located in Herndon, Virginia, on September 27, 2022. Remember publicly disclosing his sexual orientation at Evolve24, the complaint outlines a series of events that unfolded during his tenure. Allegations of sexual harassment were made against him by a colleague, where there is clear evidence of a conscious bias towards gay men from simple invitations with statements like you are welcome to join me and working out at the gym. Also, misinterpretations of communications were made stemming from cultural and language differences between American and Afghan cultures. Osman informed HR about unconscious bias shown based on the communications and recommended a company-wide training program. Osman was provided a written warning containing an undated list of violations that did not provide context, were misleading and unrelated to the original accusations and shown by evidence were prior to the outstanding performance review received in late 2022. He was terminated on February 17, 2023, and the reason given was that he did not mention no by name in a monthly company-wide email when no was no longer on his team. Two other senior leaders, American heterosexual white men, were tasked with sending the same monthly email communications and were never disciplined or terminated for not mentioning other team members outside of their group. The disparate treatment between Osman and the two other leaders further shows his reason for termination was pretextual for national origin and sexual orientation discrimination. He was provided an incomplete package containing his employment file with missing documents and performance reviews when requested post-termination and required to be provided by Virginia law when requested.

Osman:

The key allegations are as follows. Number one Osman's complaint contends that accusations were based on misconstrued statements taken out of context and exaggerated even further by individuals listed in the complaint. Second, the lawsuit claims that Osman, despite being a gay male, had not publicly disclosed his sexual orientation at the time of the alleged incidents, though he owns a clothing line where his customer base is gay men. Third, the complaint argues that subsequent actions by the defendants, including warnings and termination, were pretextual and stemmed from unconscious biases against Osman's sexual orientation and Afghan national origin after receiving continuous positive reviews and raises over his 16-plus year career. Fourth, Osman alleges that the termination resulted in significant financial losses, emotional distress and the infringement of his civil rights. Claims and relief sought is the next section.

Osman:

The lawsuit is structured around four causes of action focusing on violations of the Virginia Human Rights Act. Osman seeks various forms of relief, including Back pay of $20,125 per month, compensatory damages, punitive damages, costs and reasonable attorney's fees. Wrongful discharge for sexual orientation Alleges that Osman's termination was directly related to a sexual orientation. Seeks damages totaling $250,000 in compensatory damages, $350,000 in punitive damages and back pay. Wrongful discharge by national origin Contends that Osman's termination was based on his Afghan national origin. Requests the same relief as the first cause of action, with damages specified.

Osman:

Wrongful discrimination sexual orientation Accuses defendants of wrongful discrimination against Osman based on his sexual orientation. Seeks similar relief as the first cause of action, including back pay, compensatory damages, punitive damages and legal costs. Wrongful discrimination based on national origin Alleges wrongful discrimination against Osman based on his Afghan national origin. Requests the same relief as the third cause of action, with specific damages. Detailed Conclusion Osman's lawsuit underscores the importance of workplace equality and fair treatment, seeking legal remedies for the alleged violations of his rights.

Osman:

The plaintiff is determined to pursue justice and holds the defendants accountable for their actions, especially since there is a pattern of behavior with , MVM Inc. KACE Company, the Providencia Group and Evolve24 regarding discriminatory practices. My attorney is Jarvis Law PLLC, based in Front, Royal Virginia. A little about Osman. Osman is an individual who has dedicated his career to data science and engineering, while coming to the US as an Afghan refugee with his parents when he was a baby. Committed to promoting diversity and inclusion, Osman is now taking a legitimate stand against alleged discriminatory actions experienced during his employment at Evolve24, and to put a stop to the continuous discriminatory practices companies Inc. KACE Company, the Providencia Group and Evolve24. This must be done, for he is extremely concerned for the current Afghan refugees being dealt with by the Providencia Group employees through a Health and Human Services Government contract, specifically the Office of Refugee Resettlement.

Osman:

A disclaimer this press release is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The content herein reflects the allegations made in the complaint filed by Osman against , MVM Inc KACE Company, the Providencia Group and Evolve24, and the individuals, including the legal proceedings, will determine the validity of these claims. So that's the entire story right now. Again, we did file on January 8th. The organization, as well as the individuals, will hopefully be served soon. It lists the individuals as individual defendants in my lawsuit.

Osman:

With respect to the process, I think it's important for me to share the process as to what I went through after my termination to ensure that people have the necessary steps they need in order to pursue a lawsuit, should it be a legitimate lawsuit and needed. I can't determine if the lawsuit is legitimate or not. I can only give my perspective and experience my first-hand experience per se. With respect to my website, again, I'm going to hopefully finish that within the next month to have a special section with respect to my discrimination lawsuit as well as the history of cases that Inc at the time, has had against them over the many years that they have been operational. When you look at the timeline of events and looking at it from a factual and logical standpoint, you can see that there is a pattern of behavior that was displayed by the organization as well as the individuals, which is why I decided to pursue individual lawsuits as well With respect to the individuals.

Osman:

I do not know how much money they make or what their income is, however, but that's not the point. My point is about exposing the individuals in question, for they need to be held accountable, since some of the individuals no longer work for the organization. The two other leaders that were tasked with the same email to give out the monthly email as to the status of their particular group within the organization. I think it's funny that, after my termination, my boss, who was the CEO of Evolve24, the HR person, who both were involved in my particular instance, left, but also the two other leaders who were witnesses to the case also left. I think it's very unusual for a whole group of leadership individuals to leave an organization in the manner that they did. I don't know the circumstances as to which they left. I just find it suspect and requires further investigation.

Osman:

What I hope to also accomplish is, if it goes that far, to have the individual testimonies under oath by each of the individuals named in this lawsuit. There are some turns in this lawsuit that involves sister organizations and individuals of the sister organizations. I'm hoping that all the documents that I know exist will be present and will follow further enhance the timeline of events pertaining to my particular case. I know certain metadata information pieces exist, as well as communications. I did. However, I was lucky that I was able to retain some evidence pertaining to my particular lawsuit and provided all my evidence to my attorney In the claim we do list and provide them some of the evidence that we do have.

Osman:

I'm hoping that the case will be resolved in a way that is satisfactory to me. However, I think Accountability is a major issue. It's sad that I'm 41 years old and I'm going through this, but to each their own. However, I am very well versed in social media, as well as website design and data science, to publicly announce the status of my case as much as possible, as well as the various contacts that I have throughout the United States and the various social media influencers that I have been privileged to be in contact with. I'm hoping that they will spread my message as well.

Osman:

Now, should you have any questions and should you wish to share my story, you are more than welcome to contact me directly. However, I may forge a request to my lawyer. I'm hoping that, again, we resolve this as soon as possible because we are now approaching a year. It's February 4th. I was terminated on February 17th of last year and we'll see where it ends up.

Osman:

In any event, thank you for listening to me and, as well as being patient with respect to my case, I look for your support and, again, I hope to be able to share more pertaining to my case as time goes on, but I hope you can understand that I have to do so with my lawyer's permission.

Osman:

I do not wish to damage or tarnish the reputation of myself or my chances in the case in any way that I can, but I did get authorization to go public with my case with respect to the company or companies that are involved. Again, thank you so much for your time and I'll see you on the next one. I'm hoping that the other episodes you'll enjoy, the other episodes that are on the Esmari project. I hope you follow and comment and just let me know what you would like to hear. If you have questions that aren't necessarily relevant to my case, but have questions regarding through the steps that I have gone through, I'll be happy to address those in future podcasts or videos. Let's keep this moving. I'll see you on the next one. Cheers.