A first-person workplace account · 2024–2026

I did the work.
I asked for fairness.
I chose to leave.

My experience working at Neal R. Gross & Co.—the opportunities I took, the concerns I raised, and why I decided that moving on was the right choice for me.

Portrait of Dalton Scott
Dalton ScottFormer Legal Multimedia & Technology Specialist / IT Associate
Aug 2024Employment began
4 disciplinesIT · reporting · video · proofreading
Aug 3, 2026Stated last day
01 / My story

The experience behind
the job title.

I joined Neal R. Gross & Co. in August 2024. My work combined legal multimedia and court reporting with technical support. Over time, I worked on Windows laptops, Microsoft 365, audio and video systems, deployment tasks and automation projects.

I value what I learned. My LinkedIn project history documents tools I built for recording management, FTR file preparation, and internal IT support. Dated Teams excerpts also show real assignments involving device upgrades, licensing, inventory and reporter setups.

At the same time, I came to feel that my responsibilities were not being matched by fair compensation, transparent expectations or respectful treatment. In a later Glassdoor review, I described difficulties from my first day and concerns that continued during my employment.

My decision to leave was not a claim that I had never learned anything there. It was a decision to take my work, boundaries and future seriously.

I did not have a single gap in employment between Neal R. Gross and my next job. I accepted an offer from an unnamed IT company on July 17, 2026 and began transitioning into that role before my August 3 final day at NRG. I kept working while choosing a different future for myself.

Portrait provided by Dalton Scott

Dalton Scott · My story, in my own words.

A laptop bearing a Neal R. Gross court reporting sticker, photographed by the author
A personal photograph of a laptop with Neal R. Gross branding. Included as context for this employment story; the image does not independently prove the allegations below.
02 / What I raised

Why I felt I needed
to stand up for myself.

The following points are attributed to my saved Glassdoor review summary. They reflect my experience and allegations, not findings against the company.

01 · WORKPLACE TREATMENT

Respect should not depend on who you are.

In my review, I said that first-day information was missing and described a manager whose conduct toward me felt rude and harsher than treatment I observed toward others. I also said some coworkers noticed it. I cannot independently establish their views from the screenshots provided.

My account · R2
02 · COMPENSATION & DUTIES

Multiple roles. One paycheck.

I described having to advocate for a $50,000 salary while covering IT support, court reporting, legal videography and proofreading. I also reported that a coworker focused only on IT earned a similar amount. The coworker’s pay is not independently verified in this record.

My account · R2
03 · ROLE BOUNDARIES

I wanted clarity about what the job actually was.

My review said that I could concentrate on IT work only after providing medical documentation. I also challenged changes to scheduling duties, court-reporting titles, and how union-related benefits were associated with those titles. A June 11, 2025 transcript certification bearing my name provides documentary support for my court-reporting responsibilities. My lack of union membership and my concerns about benefits remain my account, not a legal determination.

My account · R2
04 · OPERATIONS & SUPPORT

Better systems should be welcome.

I reported late reimbursements, unclear transportation policies, missing health-insurance enrollment material, outdated documentation and resistance to process improvements. Separate public projects establish that I was building tools to improve workflows, but not the reason any idea was accepted or rejected.

My account · R2; project record · R3
R15Next IT role and uninterrupted employmentJuly 17, 2026 signed offer and prior employment timeline+

Origin: Signed offer screenshot shared in this conversation and prior discussions of a late-July trial week and onsite start.

What it supports: Acceptance of a new IT position before the August 3 NRG departure, and an employment transition without a gap. The next employer is intentionally not identified on this page.

In particular, this page does not assert that unlawful discrimination, retaliation, wage violations, or union-law violations have been proven. Those would require separate evidence and legal analysis.

03 / Dated sequence

The timeline, not
just the conclusion.

Dates come from source material where available. Events without a precise contemporaneous date are explicitly marked as retrospective accounts.

2024
Documented work record

Joined Neal R. Gross & Co.

My employment history places the beginning of my time at NRG in August 2024, working in legal multimedia and expanding into IT support.

R1
2024

The first impression was difficult

In the later review I wrote that I did not receive the first-day information I expected and that I experienced a manager’s manner toward me as rude. This is my retrospective account; I do not have a dated management exchange in the materials reviewed that independently establishes it.

R2
2025
Documented work record

Built a recording-management tool

My LinkedIn project history describes a Python-based Twilio Recording Manager to help organize, search, download, and back up recordings used in legal workflows.

R3
2025
Documented transcript

My name appears on an official hearing transcript

A transcript for a District of Columbia Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board roll-call hearing concerning DMV Investments Group LLC, case #25-PRO-00037, is dated June 11, 2025. Its certificate page prints my name beneath a signature and certifies the recording and transcription of the proceedings under the signer's direction. This is direct documentary evidence of my involvement in the court-reporting workflow. I say I was not a member of the court reporters' union despite doing digital audio reporting work. The transcript itself does not establish my union membership, job classification, or entitlement to union benefits.

R14R2
2025
Documented work record

Built an FTR file-conversion tool

My LinkedIn project history records a Notes-to-FTR converter to reduce manual formatting and make transcript-related inputs more consistent.

R3
2025
Documented work record

A license request for a new hire

An internal Teams extract shows a discussion about obtaining an Office license for a new CoBA hire. This is evidence of a work request and cross-company context, not by itself evidence of inappropriate treatment.

R4
2025
Documented work record

Coordinating a Windows 11 upgrade

A direct Teams conversation records me asking a colleague when a desktop was available for a Windows 11 upgrade and discussing the time needed to complete it.

R5
2025

Work recognized

I reported receiving Employee of the Month recognition in October 2025. No award certificate is included in this source set.

R12
2025
Documented work record

Still supporting reporting workflows

A Teams discussion from a testing group concerns FTR notes, playback, and rebuilding a reporting workflow; it places me in active operational conversations.

R6
2025
Documented work record

Laptop inventory and deployment requests

A recovered Teams transcript shows multiple requests for Windows 11 upgrades, reporter setups, laptop specifications and device swaps, including an instruction sent at 2:16 p.m. Eastern to obtain specifications for a colleague’s laptop. This documents requests, not completion of every task.

R7
2026
Documented work record

Formal leave eligibility addressed

An NRG letter confirmed eligibility for D.C. paid family leave and described conditions for job-protected family/medical leave. The existence of the letter does not by itself establish how managers treated me.

R8
2026
Documented work record

Designed an internal Teams ticketing system

My LinkedIn profile and a public post describe a Microsoft 365-based ticketing project using Teams, Power Apps, Power Automate, SharePoint and Planner, intended to improve support intake and tracking.

R3R9
2026
Documented work record

Chose to resign

My July 17 resignation letter, discussed in our earlier ChatGPT conversation, identified August 3, 2026 as my final employment date. I also accepted a new IT opportunity around this transition.

R10
2026
Employment transition

No employment gap — I had my next IT job lined up

On July 17, I accepted an offer from an unnamed IT company, the same day I submitted my resignation from Neal R. Gross. I participated in a trial week beginning around July 22 and began onsite work around July 29, while my stated final day at NRG was August 3. My next job was already underway before my previous employment ended. There was not a single gap in my employment. The new employer is intentionally unnamed here.

R10R15
2026

Put my concerns on record

I prepared a Glassdoor review describing management conduct, workload and pay concerns, leave/benefits communication, and operational issues. Earlier ChatGPT conversations report that the review was approved. The saved PDF is a summary, not a verified screenshot of the final published review.

R2R11
2026
Documented work record

Last day at NRG — already working in IT elsewhere

This was the final day specified in my resignation letter. By then, I had already started transitioning into my next IT role. Leaving NRG did not mean a period of unemployment.

R10
2026
Documented work record

Preserving a partial work history

I recovered and reviewed locally cached Teams conversations. The generated transcript itself says its completeness is unknown, so those messages should not be presented as a full account of every conversation.

R4R7
New documents / 2024–2026

Pay records, reporting duties,
and the request to focus on IT.

November 8, 2024 — An employer-issued pay statement. An ADP earnings statement identifies Neal R. Gross & Company Inc. as my employer for the October 21–November 3, 2024 pay period. This is contemporaneous documentation of my employment.

June 11, 2025 — Court-reporting certification. A D.C. Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board hearing transcript bears my printed name on its certification page. It supports my involvement in producing the official transcript. I have stated that I performed digital court-reporting work without union membership or associated benefits; the transcript itself does not verify my union classification.

March 18, 2026 — A formal request to change my assignments. A signed healthcare-provider letter asked that court reporting be excluded from my duties for the time being and specifically stated I remained able to perform the IT work I had been doing. This independently documents that my assignments included both types of work and that I sought an accommodation. The underlying private medical information is intentionally not published here.

2026 payroll — The compensation I was describing. Another Neal R. Gross earnings statement shows a regular rate of $24.04 per hour, equivalent to approximately $50,003 annually at a standard 40-hour week. It documents the rate, not the fairness of that rate or how my duties compared with coworkers'. The statement's pay-period dates are cropped out, so this page does not assign it a precise date.

Glassdoor snapshot — Other employees' ratings, not a verdict. A screenshot shared in October 2026 shows a 2.0/5 overall rating, 34 reviews, and 13% recommending the company. Those figures reflect the screenshot at the time it was captured, may change, and do not independently prove my own workplace allegations.

July–August 2026 — I left without a gap. I accepted an offer from an unnamed IT employer on July 17 and began transitioning into that position before my final day at Neal R. Gross on August 3. My story is not one of leaving the workforce; it is one of continuing to work while choosing a different employer.

Privacy note: The supporting images include payroll identifiers, private health information, financial account details and third-party names. I have summarized only the relevant facts here rather than embedding those unredacted screenshots.

Workplace records / 2025

CoBA support and my exchanges with Ben

The recovered August 29, 2025 'Heather and Jay' Teams conversation discusses a laptop prepared for a new CoBA hire that lacked a Microsoft Office license. Jay Gross asks for the problem to be resolved, and Heather Hains discusses purchasing a license. I include this as evidence that IT support connected to CoBA was part of the work being coordinated around me. The excerpt does not, on its own, identify every task I personally completed for CoBA.

The October 27–30, 2025 'Latest UAT Testing Group' messages include instructions from Benjamin (Ben) Jaffe about opening FTR, replaying audio, recreating notes and preparing material for transcription. I experienced the manner of some management communications, including Ben's, as dismissive and rude. Readers can examine the wording for themselves; the screenshot establishes what was written, not the sender's intent.

On December 9, 2025, Heather Hains' messages assign multiple laptop preparations, Windows 11 upgrades and reporter setups. This is further context for the volume and range of technical work I was asked to handle.

August 29, 2025 — CoBA laptop licensing discussion
August 29, 2025 — CoBA laptop licensing discussion — Jay Gross raises the missing Office license on a laptop for a new CoBA hire; Heather responds about purchasing one. Supports the account of IT work extending to CoBA; not proof of every individual task.
October 27–30, 2025 — Ben Jaffe and FTR instructions
October 27–30, 2025 — Ben Jaffe and FTR instructions — Ben describes how to recreate FTR notes for transcription. The exact exchange is shown so readers can evaluate the tone independently; I found aspects of his communication rude.
December 9, 2025 — Heather Hains assigns device work
December 9, 2025 — Heather Hains assigns device work — Recovered messages show multiple device setup and upgrade requests, including reporter setup. Supports my recollection of varied IT assignments.
Visual evidence / selected excerpts

Screenshots and what
they actually show.

These are selected excerpts of documents I kept. Each caption explains what the image supports in my recollection, and what it cannot establish on its own. Sensitive payroll, medical and financial details have been omitted or cropped.

June 11, 2025 — Hearing transcript cover
June 11, 2025 — Hearing transcript coverIdentifies the public hearing and the Neal R. Gross transcript. Context for the certification page; the cover alone does not establish my individual role.
June 11, 2025 — Transcript certification
June 11, 2025 — Transcript certificationMy printed name appears beneath the certification signature. This directly supports my account that I worked on court-reporting transcripts; it does not prove union eligibility.
November 8, 2024 — Employer pay statement
November 8, 2024 — Employer pay statementThe cropped header identifies Neal R. Gross as my employer and gives a dated payroll period. Personal identifying fields are excluded.
NRG payroll — Regular hourly rate
NRG payroll — Regular hourly rateThe earnings table shows a $24.04 regular hourly rate. The statement supports the compensation figure I described, not conclusions about coworkers’ pay.
Glassdoor — Ratings snapshot
Glassdoor — Ratings snapshotAt the time of this screenshot, the page showed a 2.0/5 rating from 34 reviews and 13% recommending the company. These are third-party opinions, not verification of my particular experiences.
After leaving — Facebook friend request
After leaving — Facebook friend requestA screenshot shows a friend request from Heather Hains, whom I identify as my former manager, marked “1w.” I had already posted my Glassdoor review. The screenshot does not establish motive or whether she read it.

Images are supplied by me. Dates on a document refer to the event or record shown, not necessarily the date the screenshot was taken. The Facebook timestamp is relative, not an exact calendar date.

Manager communications / preserved records

Messages with management and coworkers.

These images are reproduced from the records I retained. They document the work discussions and requests that form part of my recollection. A message about an assignment does not, by itself, prove mistreatment; the captions distinguish the documented communication from my interpretation of it.

Heather and Jay — recovered Teams conversation
Heather and Jay — recovered Teams conversation
A recovered Teams conversation titled “Heather and Jay.” This is direct evidence of workplace communication involving my manager and helps anchor the dates and context of my IT responsibilities. The image does not independently prove that a specific instruction was unfair.
Heather and Jay — additional conversation excerpt
Heather and Jay — additional conversation excerpt
Another view of the preserved Heather and Jay discussion. Included to preserve the surrounding conversation rather than relying on a single isolated statement.
Abigail Rizzo — Windows 11 coordination
Abigail Rizzo — Windows 11 coordination
Teams messages about coordinating a Windows 11 upgrade. This supports my account that I handled IT deployment and user-support work alongside my other assigned responsibilities.
Work correspondence — device and scheduling details
Work correspondence — device and scheduling details
A preserved workplace communication about IT-related tasks. This supports the timeline of hands-on technical coordination; it does not, by itself, establish improper management conduct.
Work correspondence — follow-up exchange
Work correspondence — follow-up exchange
A second preserved correspondence excerpt showing ongoing coordination and follow-up on work. Included so readers can examine the context behind my account.
Latest UAT Testing Group — Teams record
Latest UAT Testing Group — Teams record
A recovered Teams discussion concerning operational testing and work coordination. It documents the breadth of work communications during my employment.
Video / external source

Neal speaking on video.

This is the YouTube video I identified as showing Neal, the company’s chairman, speaking. It provides public context about company leadership. I am not presenting it as evidence that he personally witnessed or caused any of the workplace experiences described here. The video requires an internet connection.

Watch the original video on YouTube if embedding is restricted.

After departure / 2026

A friend request after
I had spoken publicly.

Months after leaving Neal R. Gross, I received a Facebook friend request from Heather Hains, my former manager. By then, I had already published my Glassdoor review describing my experience at the company.

The screenshot shows Heather Hains listed under Facebook friend requests with a relative timestamp of “1w.” It documents that a request was visible when I captured the screen; it does not establish the exact date the request was sent, whether Heather had seen my review, or why she sent it.

For me, this was an unexpected point of contact after I had left the company and put my concerns in writing. I am including it as part of the chronology, not as proof of retaliation or any particular intent.

04 / Evidence & limits

What the records
actually show.

The difference between a documented assignment and proof of mistreatment matters.

What is supported

  • Employment and work spanning legal multimedia, reporting and IT.
  • Internal work requests in August, September, October and December 2025.
  • Publicly described automation and ticketing projects.
  • A January 20, 2026 employer leave-eligibility letter.
  • A resignation letter dated July 17 with an August 3 final date.
  • A July 17 offer from a subsequent IT employer, with a late-July transition before the NRG final date; no gap between the two jobs.
  • A personal review recording concrete grievances.

What is not established here

  • A complete record of the company’s Teams history or all management conversations.
  • Independent confirmation of comparative pay or coworker observations.
  • The employer’s response to each complaint, or its reasons for decisions.
  • A verified public copy of the final Glassdoor review.
  • An agency or court finding of wrongdoing.

The recovered cache explicitly warns that completeness is unknown. This page is intentionally not presented as a complete investigation.

05 / What I chose

Leaving was a way
of standing up for myself.

I was proud of the work I had done. I was also entitled to be concerned about how that work was valued and how I felt I was treated. I put those concerns into a review, submitted a resignation letter, and moved toward another IT opportunity.

My takeaway is simple: professionalism is not the same as staying silent. I can acknowledge the experience I gained at Neal R. Gross & Co. while being clear that, from my perspective, aspects of that workplace were not acceptable to me.

And for the record: I stand by every single situation in which I have been documented expressing frustration. I said what I said, and I am not going to pretend those concerns disappeared just because I no longer work there. The records show what I raised; my perspective on those experiences remains my own.

That is why I moved on.

06 / Source ledger

How this account
was assembled.

Open each entry for its source, its evidentiary scope and whether it can be viewed publicly. Private work material and sensitive records are not embedded or linked.

R1Employment dates and positionLocal résumé / public profile+

Origin: July 2026 resume saved in ChatGPT Library; LinkedIn work history.

What it supports: Employment from August 2024; duties spanning legal multimedia, reporting, technology and IT.

Open public source ↗
R2Glassdoor review summaryAuthor account+

Origin: Glassdoor_Review_Summary.pdf, saved July 21, 2026.

What it supports: Records the author’s account of onboarding, management treatment, compensation, classification, reimbursements and process concerns. Not an independent investigation or an authenticated capture of the submitted review.

Private / uploaded material; not published here
R3Public LinkedIn project historyPublic author profile+

Origin: Dalton Scott LinkedIn profile, Projects section.

What it supports: Describes Twilio Recording Manager, Notes-to-FTR converter, internal Teams ticketing, and related work periods.

Open public source ↗
R4Recovered work conversationPartial internal chat+

Origin: Uploaded photographs IMG_4254.jpeg and IMG_4255.jpeg; “Heather and Jay” cache PDF.

What it supports: Aug. 29, 2025 discussion of a Microsoft Office license for a CoBA hire; PDF states recovered data may be incomplete.

Private / uploaded material; not published here
R5Windows 11 coordinationPhotographed Teams conversation+

Origin: Uploaded IMG_4248.jpeg.

What it supports: Sept. 30, 2025 chat about when a colleague’s desktop could be upgraded.

Private / uploaded material; not published here
R6Reporting group conversationPhotographed Teams conversation+

Origin: Uploaded IMG_4245.jpeg.

What it supports: Oct. 27–30, 2025 discussion of FTR/reporting processes.

Private / uploaded material; not published here
R7IT inventory and laptop requestsRecovered chat excerpt+

Origin: Uploaded IMG_4251.jpeg and IMG_4252.jpeg.

What it supports: Dec. 9, 2025 series of internal requests and timestamped equipment follow-up.

Private / uploaded material; not published here
R8Leave eligibility memoEmployer letter+

Origin: NRGCO DC FMLA DC PFL ELIGIBILITY LETTER.pdf, dated Jan. 20, 2026.

What it supports: Formal eligibility communication; the memo contains a second inconsistent printed date of 4/17/2025 in its header. Medical details omitted from this public narrative.

Private / uploaded material; not published here
R9Public ticketing-system postPublic authored post+

Origin: LinkedIn post about building a Microsoft Teams IT ticketing system, posted in July 2026.

What it supports: Confirms the author publicly described the project during the NRG period.

Open public source ↗
R10Departure and next opportunityPrior conversation / private record+

Origin: ChatGPT resignation drafting conversation dated July 17, 2026; uploaded signed July 17 job-offer image IMG_4249.jpeg.

What it supports: Letter sets Aug. 3 as last day; new offer corroborates transition. Private identifying and compensation details are not reproduced.

Private / uploaded material; not published here
R11Glassdoor review follow-upAuthor account / generated summary+

Origin: ChatGPT discussions from July 20–22, 2026; Closing_a_Chapter.pdf.

What it supports: Author reported posting an approved review and seeking closure. No direct Glassdoor post URL was verified.

Private / uploaded material; not published here
R12Recognition noted in prior chatsAuthor account+

Origin: Earlier ChatGPT conversations around Oct. 2025.

What it supports: Reported Employee of the Month award; underlying award document not reviewed.

Private / uploaded material; not published here
R14June 11, 2025 hearing transcript and certificationPhotographed transcript pages · user-supplied evidence+

Origin: Uploaded IMG_4261.png and IMG_4262.png, showing the hearing cover page and certification page for DC ABCA case #25-PRO-00037.

What it supports: The June 11, 2025 hearing date and the printed name Dalton Scott on the certificate page beneath a signature, associated with Neal R. Gross & Co.

Limit: The two images alone do not verify the full transcript's public availability, union membership status, collective-bargaining coverage, or legal eligibility for union benefits. An independent public URL was not confirmed.

Cover of June 11 2025 DC ABCA hearing transcript
Hearing cover page
Certification page bearing Dalton Scott's printed name
Certification page
R13Professionalism and empathy reflectionsPublic author profile+

Origin: Public LinkedIn material indexed from the author’s activity.

What it supports: Emphasized that career professionalism and treating coworkers with kindness are compatible; not a direct claim about any individual manager.

Open public source ↗
R15Next IT role and uninterrupted employmentJuly 17, 2026 signed offer and prior employment timeline+

Origin: Signed offer screenshot shared in this conversation and prior discussions of a late-July trial week and onsite start.

What it supports: Acceptance of a new IT position before the August 3 NRG departure, and an employment transition without a gap. The next employer is intentionally not identified on this page.

Editorial note: The first-person narrative has been composed from the author's earlier statements and documents; it is not a word-for-word transcript. Review the wording and source ledger before publishing. No medical diagnosis, home address, account number, coworker login, original private chat export or unredacted employment paperwork is published here.