Meaningful and novel work overshadowed by poor management and HR failures - Associate Biologist Western EcoSystems Employee Review

My experience was ultimately cut short due to poor management and systemic HR issues. As a remote employee, I supported projects primarily outside my assigned team, but internal structures made it difficult to transition to managers who better aligned with my work, skill, and region. More concerning were significant payroll and HR failures after my relocation to California. The company did not initially comply with state overtime laws for salaried employees and, when the issue was raised, responses from HR and leadership were inconsistent and at times dismissive. Attempts to address the situation included retroactive pay adjustments that appeared designed to limit overtime eligibility, as well as messaging that discouraged employees from discussing concerns with one another. Employees impacted were largely junior staff, and those who raised questions were sometimes labeled as negative or difficult. Despite meeting performance expectations, achieving billable targets, and maintaining strong working relationships with project managers, I was terminated, which felt closely tied to raising concerns about these issues.