When do the good guys win?

Alright - here goes. About a week back, my step-dad, Murry, was asked to come into Lowe's where he goes to pick up materials used for installing carpet as an independent contractor working under Rainwater Floorcovering (which my mom owns). He was told the night before that a corporate guy wanted to have a meeting about work loads and details, but in reality - Murry showed up and was physically forced into a room where another corporate guy was standing post at the door. The corporate guys commenced in a three hour drill and grill session about missing carpet pads (around $80,000.00 worth). Murry tells them that he is not a thief and starts to explain how the problem COULD be that the sales people at Lowe's allow the padding to be cut by the customers OR they give whole rolls out for small jobs. The corporate guys continue to harass and threaten Murry with prosecution and "video" of him placing carpet tacks in his cart. Duh! He puts carpets on floors!!! Of course he has carpet tacks in his cart. The main guy leaves several times and comes back to intimidate and use terroristic style interrogations until Murry finally gives. Now keep in mind that Murry hasn't been in this type of stressful, hostile situation since Vietnam and has been threatened, physically shoved, and harassed for THREE HOURS!!! They finally make him sign a note that says he is "sorry for his actions" and make him agree to paying around $400.00. What actions???? Why $400.00? No one knows. They escort him out of the store and refuse to let him work the next day.

BIG PROBLEM....the owner of the company is my mom. Not one time did they ever contact her as the owner and let her know. Nor did they give Murry a copy of whatever it was they made him sign. Nor did they terminate the already assigned jobs to my mom, but gave them to another contractor. Nor was there any kind of representation for Murry. I am going to cuss...I know I will, so you may not want to read any further.

On to a different problem, but still the same. Lowe's has had to be reminded SEVERAL times that my mom (a woman, for crying out loud) is the owner of the company. They have refused to acknowledge her through phone calls, emails, and any other way they can get around it. Back in June, she had to force a meeting with the installation manager because he was giving her the ol' corporate run-around paper trail game that had to do with a lost background check on one of her employees. They wouldn't let her company work (even though she had guys with background checks) until this particular employee's background check went through. The guy had been working for eight years with Lowe's - I wonder where the background check had been then? Sound suspicious??? It should - it was Murry's background check that was mysteriously missing. Again, mom had to force a meeting to prove she was the owner. When she tried to call above the head of this guy, she was told by his boss that he "already knows everything" and then asked my mom, "can YOU lay the carpet"? Okay - the curse words are going to bubble out...I will just try to hold on a bit longer.

I am encouraging my mother to pursue a claim with EEOC, with her own attorney, post it in the papers, shout it from the mountain tops, and visit Larry King. This is America and in America, we are not allowed to bully, harass, intimidate, extort, discriminate, threaten, or mistreat people. Small business owners already have it rough enough - they don't need to be man handled (no punn intended).

If you have thoughts or suggestions on when the good guys win, please go ahead and post. I would love to hear them.