Demand justice: Stop disability discrimination against neurodivergent engineers
The Issue
Petition Title: Demand Justice: Stop Disability Discrimination Against Neurodivergent Engineers at deciBel Research, Inc.
Petition Text: To the Board of Directors of deciBel Research, Inc., Corporate Leadership, and Defense Industry Oversight Partners, I am launching this petition to expose blatant disability discrimination, a bad-faith hiring pretext, and a retaliatory blacklist at the deciBel Research, Inc. campus in Beavercreek, Ohio, and to demand immediate accountability from its executive leadership in Huntsville, Alabama.
My name is Ernest Lee Mitchell. I am a highly qualified professional holding a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (RF Systems) from Wright State University. Like thousands of dedicated Department of Defense personnel, my life was upended in May 2025 when I was one of the 5,400 probationary employees selected for layoff from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) under the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) downsizing. Following a grueling job hunt, I successfully proved my technical merit and won a contract position at deciBel Research, Inc. as a Line-Of-Sight (LOS) Analyst with an agreed salary of $85,000 USD in June 2022. This critical role would have placed me directly within the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) to perform day-to-day data processing and dissemination of LOS radar sensor data.
However, the moment I acted in good faith and disclosed that I am on the Autism Spectrum, corporate leadership engineered a calculated scheme to reverse my employment. First, Alan Puterbaugh, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Dayton Operations, delayed my official July 1st start date to an undetermined date, while giving me false reassurances that I would still be brought on board and that the company would sponsor my Top Secret clearance reactivation.
Then, Senior VP Alan Puterbaugh weaponized the background check process. He directed Facility Security Officer (FSO) Carol Gardner to halt my paperwork over an automated portal warning. Specifically, they flagged an SF-86 "Form Section: 1 - Information About You" warning stating that my place of birth did not match historical system records. The hospital I was born in closed permanently in August 1989—a legal and documented geographical reality clearly outlined on the official birth certificate I provided. This bureaucratic artifact has never been an issue in my entire defense career. Alan Puterbaugh and Carol Gardner used this automated system warning as a convenient, bad-faith pretext to claim that I—because of my autism—"did not know how to file an SF-86," resulting in a wrongful rescission of my job offer and an immediate corporate blacklist.
This treatment completely betrays deciBel Research, Inc.'s own stated mission. The company publicizes that it is “founded on the principles of radar system and sensor technologies research, development, integration, and advancement” and proudly claims to be “an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer, Male/Female/Vets/Disabilities.” Fabricating a security clearance technicality to block an autistic engineer from executing core competencies at NASIC directly contradicts federal law and basic corporate ethics.
Because the EEOC’s severe case backlog prevents them from taking swift action, I am taking this fight directly to the public and the company's decision-makers. This discrimination has placed me under severe financial hardship. Instead of utilizing my advanced engineering degree at NASIC, I am forced to work 36 hours a week delivering packages for Amazon Flex just to survive. Despite this exhausting grind, I am actively struggling to keep up with my car payment and find adequate housing, especially since the homeless shelters in Dayton are completely booked. My stability has been shattered because deciBel Research, Inc. stripped away a $85,000 USD livelihood while forcing me to try to pivot to another role within the RF and Electromagnetic engineering realm. By signing this petition, you are standing with me, Ernest Lee Mitchell, to demand that deciBel Research, Inc. immediately implement the following remedies:
1.) Executive and FSO Accountability: Senior Vice President Alan Puterbaugh and FSO Carol Gardner must face immediate, documented corporate investigation for weaponizing a disability disclosure and manipulating background verification procedures.
2.) Restitution or Reinstatement: deciBel Research, Inc. must either immediately reinstate me to my earned LOS Analyst position at NASIC with appropriate disability accommodations and clearance sponsorship, or provide financial compensation of $85,000 USD to cover the lost wages and expenses incurred due to this wrongful rescission.
3.) Lift the Blacklist: An immediate dissolution of the retaliatory blacklist against me, alongside an independent audit of the Beavercreek campus's hiring, disclosure, and FSO practices to ensure they actually follow their Equal Opportunity policy.
No professional should have their career stripped away and their financial stability shattered under false pretenses simply for being honest about being autistic. Please sign and share to demand that deciBel Research, Inc. honors federal law and compensates the talent they wrongfully cast aside.
Thank You and God Bless,
Ernest Lee Mitchell
3
The Issue
Petition Title: Demand Justice: Stop Disability Discrimination Against Neurodivergent Engineers at deciBel Research, Inc.
Petition Text: To the Board of Directors of deciBel Research, Inc., Corporate Leadership, and Defense Industry Oversight Partners, I am launching this petition to expose blatant disability discrimination, a bad-faith hiring pretext, and a retaliatory blacklist at the deciBel Research, Inc. campus in Beavercreek, Ohio, and to demand immediate accountability from its executive leadership in Huntsville, Alabama.
My name is Ernest Lee Mitchell. I am a highly qualified professional holding a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (RF Systems) from Wright State University. Like thousands of dedicated Department of Defense personnel, my life was upended in May 2025 when I was one of the 5,400 probationary employees selected for layoff from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) under the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) downsizing. Following a grueling job hunt, I successfully proved my technical merit and won a contract position at deciBel Research, Inc. as a Line-Of-Sight (LOS) Analyst with an agreed salary of $85,000 USD in June 2022. This critical role would have placed me directly within the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) to perform day-to-day data processing and dissemination of LOS radar sensor data.
However, the moment I acted in good faith and disclosed that I am on the Autism Spectrum, corporate leadership engineered a calculated scheme to reverse my employment. First, Alan Puterbaugh, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Dayton Operations, delayed my official July 1st start date to an undetermined date, while giving me false reassurances that I would still be brought on board and that the company would sponsor my Top Secret clearance reactivation.
Then, Senior VP Alan Puterbaugh weaponized the background check process. He directed Facility Security Officer (FSO) Carol Gardner to halt my paperwork over an automated portal warning. Specifically, they flagged an SF-86 "Form Section: 1 - Information About You" warning stating that my place of birth did not match historical system records. The hospital I was born in closed permanently in August 1989—a legal and documented geographical reality clearly outlined on the official birth certificate I provided. This bureaucratic artifact has never been an issue in my entire defense career. Alan Puterbaugh and Carol Gardner used this automated system warning as a convenient, bad-faith pretext to claim that I—because of my autism—"did not know how to file an SF-86," resulting in a wrongful rescission of my job offer and an immediate corporate blacklist.
This treatment completely betrays deciBel Research, Inc.'s own stated mission. The company publicizes that it is “founded on the principles of radar system and sensor technologies research, development, integration, and advancement” and proudly claims to be “an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer, Male/Female/Vets/Disabilities.” Fabricating a security clearance technicality to block an autistic engineer from executing core competencies at NASIC directly contradicts federal law and basic corporate ethics.
Because the EEOC’s severe case backlog prevents them from taking swift action, I am taking this fight directly to the public and the company's decision-makers. This discrimination has placed me under severe financial hardship. Instead of utilizing my advanced engineering degree at NASIC, I am forced to work 36 hours a week delivering packages for Amazon Flex just to survive. Despite this exhausting grind, I am actively struggling to keep up with my car payment and find adequate housing, especially since the homeless shelters in Dayton are completely booked. My stability has been shattered because deciBel Research, Inc. stripped away a $85,000 USD livelihood while forcing me to try to pivot to another role within the RF and Electromagnetic engineering realm. By signing this petition, you are standing with me, Ernest Lee Mitchell, to demand that deciBel Research, Inc. immediately implement the following remedies:
1.) Executive and FSO Accountability: Senior Vice President Alan Puterbaugh and FSO Carol Gardner must face immediate, documented corporate investigation for weaponizing a disability disclosure and manipulating background verification procedures.
2.) Restitution or Reinstatement: deciBel Research, Inc. must either immediately reinstate me to my earned LOS Analyst position at NASIC with appropriate disability accommodations and clearance sponsorship, or provide financial compensation of $85,000 USD to cover the lost wages and expenses incurred due to this wrongful rescission.
3.) Lift the Blacklist: An immediate dissolution of the retaliatory blacklist against me, alongside an independent audit of the Beavercreek campus's hiring, disclosure, and FSO practices to ensure they actually follow their Equal Opportunity policy.
No professional should have their career stripped away and their financial stability shattered under false pretenses simply for being honest about being autistic. Please sign and share to demand that deciBel Research, Inc. honors federal law and compensates the talent they wrongfully cast aside.
Thank You and God Bless,
Ernest Lee Mitchell
The Decision Makers
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Petition created on September 27, 2026