How Lowe's Can They Go?

   WHO AM I?

My name is Jim Lewis, and I’m a former Lowe’s Pro Sales Specialist at the only big-box home improvement store within 30 miles of a small South Georgia town where I settled after leaving my nearly 30-year career in Atlanta. I joined Lowe’s with high hopes, believing it would be an opportunity to bring my decades of experience as a licensed general contractor to a company that valued its employees and customers. I wanted to contribute meaningfully, stay active in my retirement, and work in an environment that reflected the high standards Lowe’s publicly claims to uphold.

What I found instead was a workplace that often felt chaotic—where policies and accountability seemed optional, and leadership failed to address systemic issues.

After a year of enduring what I experienced as an extreme and hostile environment, I exhausted every possible avenue to address the issues directly affecting me. I reached out to all levels of Lowe’s management—starting with my department supervisor and escalating to assistant store managers, store managers, district managers, associate relations advisors, and even Lowe’s corporate offices. Each time, my concerns were dismissed or went unanswered. After being consistently ignored, I felt I had no choice but to take legal action.

While I choose not to share specific details at this time as my case is still ongoing, I can assure you that my experiences highlight the need to expose serious workplace issues within Lowe’s Home Centers LLC.     

Once this trial concludes, my goal is to transform HowLowesCanTheyGo.com into an advocacy and resource platform for associates, customers, and legal professionals. This site will provide a space for individuals to share workplace experiences, access resources, and seek guidance on workplace-related concerns.

If you’ve experienced workplace harassment, retaliation, unethical practices, or wrongful termination, your story matters. Your voice can help bring about meaningful change. Together, we can promote workplace fairness, transparency, and accountability. My vision is for this website to become a community hub for workplace rights and corporate responsibility—one that fosters connections with attorneys, advocates, and others dedicated to workplace equity.

For now, my focus remains on my case. Once a verdict is reached, I plan to share my personal experiences and what I have learned throughout this legal journey. This will include publicly available information and insights gained along the way.

In the meantime, if you are a current or former Lowe’s associate who has faced alienation, harassment, retaliation, emotional distress, threats of violence, physical assault, managerial misconduct, or wrongful termination, I encourage you to reach out using the contact information below. I am more than happy to share my experiences, offer insights, and help provide guidance based on what I have learned.

If you haven’t personally faced these issues, that’s how it should be—but I urge you to share this website with every Lowe’s associate you know. There are employees out there who may be struggling with similar challenges, and they need to know they are not alone. Together, we can help ensure that every Lowe’s employee has access to information, support, and resources to make informed decisions.     

I strongly advise you not to use Lowe’s email system to forward information about this website. Major corporations have the ability to block or filter emails from their servers, preventing important messages from being sent or received. To protect your privacy and ensure the confidentiality of your concerns, use your personal email or other secure, private methods of communication instead. Your voice matters and safeguarding your ability to share your experiences is essential.

On the other hand, I strongly encourage you to always use your Lowe's email for communicating with peers, managers, and customers as part of your daily business operations. Make it a habit—because as a district-level manager once told me, "At Lowe's, if it ain't in an email, it didn't happen!" More importantly, use it when raising concerns about the workplace. If you are reporting unethical or illegal behaviors, be as precise as possible in your language. Use terms such as discrimination, retaliation, harassment, negligence, toxic work environment, infliction of emotional distress, or theft. Take the time to research your specific situation and ensure your complaints are worded clearly and effectively.

In situations where you feel it’s in your best interest—such as reporting workplace concerns—send your email to the appropriate Lowe’s manager or supervisor, and then immediately forward a copy to your personal email address for safekeeping. Based on my experience, emails on Lowe’s servers have sometimes been difficult to access later when needed.

If you request or are called into a meeting regarding any workplace complaints or concerns you’ve reported or been involved in, it is crucial to document everything immediately afterward. As soon as the meeting concludes, send an email to the store manager, copying all attendees, requesting written documentation of what was discussed. If your experience is anything like mine, you may find that meeting records are not always provided upon request. That’s why you must take steps to protect yourself. While your memory is fresh, write a detailed summary of the meeting, including key points discussed and any conclusions or next steps. Send this summary from your Lowe’s email to your personal email for safekeeping. Additionally, copy every associate who was present in the meeting so there is a shared record of what was said.

In my case, Lowe’s developed a pattern where documentation of key workplace matters was often unavailable or inconsistent. If you don’t create your own record, you may later find that no official documentation exists. Protect yourself—having your own written account could make all the difference.

Using the correct legal terminology in your complaints is also critical. Large corporations, including Lowe’s, often rely on precise wording as part of their legal defense strategies. If you do not explicitly state discrimination, retaliation, or harassment in your emails or depositions, they may later argue that you never made those claims in the first place. If your experience is anything like mine, you may be asked, "Well, Mr. Smith, can you show where in your email, complaint, or deposition you specifically used the words discrimination, retaliation, or harassment?" As if the typical Lowe’s associate—like myself—would have known to include those specific legal terms at the time.

Protect yourself by documenting your concerns clearly, accurately, and securely. It can make all the difference later.

 IF WE DO NOTHING, NOTHING CHANGES  

If we do nothing, nothing changes. Let’s work together to uncover the truth, demand accountability, and ensure no one has to face these challenges alone. Thank you for visiting—I look forward to building this movement with you.