I was hired as a forklift operator in 1997 at Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway in Memphis, Tennessee Yard. My supervisor began to sexually harass me and to tell me to find another job because the railroad was no place for a women. After I filed several complaints against my supervisor, retaliation activity started. I was demoted and assigned more strenuous duties, fired and immediately reinstated and suspended three times without cause. My court action began in 1999.
On June 22, 2006, The United States Supreme Court set precedent when it found that I had suffered workplace retaliation. This unanimous decision broke new ground for treating retaliation in the workplace and broadened the law inside or outside the workplace.
Nationwide attention was drawn to my long court struggle by many organizations from 2007 to 2018. I have received theses recognitions: The Heroism Award from Women of Achievement Inc., Memphis, Tennessee; Bar Association Guest for speaker Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg; Heroism Award from Women- e -News ; Blazing The Trail: Courage-Challenge-Change honored by National Employment Lawyers Association; U.S. House of Representative Congressional Record (June 23, 2016) recognition sponsored by Tennessee Congressman Steve Cohen; City Council of Memphis, Tennessee (2007) Resolution; Million Woman March Documentary by George Tillman, Memphis, Tennessee; Motivation Speaker for Employment Opportunity Commission and Georgia State Bar Conference , Atlanta, Georgia; Motivation Speaker for Women in The Trades Conference; Pride and a Paycheck, Chicago, ILL; Motivation Speaker on Marti Oakley Radio Talk Show; National Whistleblower Center Washington, DC Pillar Award (2017)and #Metoo panel (2018) and my book, "Fighting The Giant" by Sheila White that tell my legal battle and experience working on the railroad.
Still, no legislation bearing my name has been drafted about what constitutes workplace retaliation. I would like to change that. I am urging state and federal lawmakers to launch and attach my name Sheila White Anti-Workplace Retaliation Act. I would like your support in this effort. My case has been designated a landmark case; It is used everyday in courts, cases, on retaliation in the workplace; in workshops; and in law school, university and college courses. It has been researched extensively for many purposes. This is a cited case and my name should be attached to the title of this law.