brittbritt22
New Member
(The rules asked for a location, but I see nowhere to put it - Houston, Tx)
I've been working for this company since April 4th of this year. I was under temp-service contract for the first month. I was told before I started here that they (K, who handles accounts payable, and B, the former owner who is semi-retired and only here out of boredom) didn't want a smoker. Figuring that this was company policy, I told the temp service that naturally, I'd smoke on my own time.
on my first day, the girl training me (M, who I would be replacing) told me that everyone here smokes. She took me out back where they had a "smoker's outpost". Everyone here smokes except for B and K (the ones who said I can't). I smoked a cigarette with her, and at this time, B sent K outside to ask me if smoking would be a problem. I told her that I was unclear on the rules because everyone else was smoking. 2 days later I was pulled into B's office (like said, she is semi-retired, no longer the head boss, and yet she seems to rule everything here) and asked if my smoking would be an issue because if it was going to be an "issue" she needed to "start looking for a replacement and not waste time and money" on me. She stated that during lunch was an acceptable time for me to smoke since I am not "on the clock". She also stated that we are all allowed breaks here, but we are "not allowed smoke breaks".
However, everyone else, including the partners (i.e. my actual bosses) who she gave the company over to, smoke and encourage smoke breaks. When I presented the complaint of her evident smoking discrimination to them, they said to just listen to her. The issue I'm curious about is this: I have been told not to smoke during work hours; however, NO ONE else has been asked not to smoke. I am the only one being told not to.
Issue #2: I am not being paid overtime when I work overtime. Only one person gets paid overtime in the office, and that's L. She's been here for 12 years, and she works weekends sometimes. They pay her overtime because she has "more of a workload" and she has "seniority" (little known to them, the reason her work load is so massive is because she spends 85% of her day on the internet). I come in 15-20 minutes early on a daily basis, per K and B's specific request, and I take short lunches like everyone else here so I can stay caught up on my work. When I worked under the temp service contract for the first month, I was getting paid overtime. Once I became a regular employee, the overtime pay stopped immediately.
Issue #3: I am often called at the office by one of the partners to check his e-mail for him while he is away. On one occasion, I was checking his e-mail for him and he told me to open a specific e-mail. The title of the e-mail seemed like a joke, and since it's pretty customary to send and receive e-mail forwards in an office environment, I didn't think anything of it. A movie opened on the screen, and it was of a scantily clad woman removing another woman's top to reveal naked breasts. I immediately closed the window. Upon sharing this information (couldn't help it in a way, since other people were in close proximity at the time and heard my reaction) with coworkers and superiors who were curious, they responded with amusement, as if this were normal behavior for this office. They all laughed and thought it was hilarious.
So there are my issues. Perhaps you can shed some light on whether or not any of this behavior warrants legal action.
I've been working for this company since April 4th of this year. I was under temp-service contract for the first month. I was told before I started here that they (K, who handles accounts payable, and B, the former owner who is semi-retired and only here out of boredom) didn't want a smoker. Figuring that this was company policy, I told the temp service that naturally, I'd smoke on my own time.
on my first day, the girl training me (M, who I would be replacing) told me that everyone here smokes. She took me out back where they had a "smoker's outpost". Everyone here smokes except for B and K (the ones who said I can't). I smoked a cigarette with her, and at this time, B sent K outside to ask me if smoking would be a problem. I told her that I was unclear on the rules because everyone else was smoking. 2 days later I was pulled into B's office (like said, she is semi-retired, no longer the head boss, and yet she seems to rule everything here) and asked if my smoking would be an issue because if it was going to be an "issue" she needed to "start looking for a replacement and not waste time and money" on me. She stated that during lunch was an acceptable time for me to smoke since I am not "on the clock". She also stated that we are all allowed breaks here, but we are "not allowed smoke breaks".
However, everyone else, including the partners (i.e. my actual bosses) who she gave the company over to, smoke and encourage smoke breaks. When I presented the complaint of her evident smoking discrimination to them, they said to just listen to her. The issue I'm curious about is this: I have been told not to smoke during work hours; however, NO ONE else has been asked not to smoke. I am the only one being told not to.
Issue #2: I am not being paid overtime when I work overtime. Only one person gets paid overtime in the office, and that's L. She's been here for 12 years, and she works weekends sometimes. They pay her overtime because she has "more of a workload" and she has "seniority" (little known to them, the reason her work load is so massive is because she spends 85% of her day on the internet). I come in 15-20 minutes early on a daily basis, per K and B's specific request, and I take short lunches like everyone else here so I can stay caught up on my work. When I worked under the temp service contract for the first month, I was getting paid overtime. Once I became a regular employee, the overtime pay stopped immediately.
Issue #3: I am often called at the office by one of the partners to check his e-mail for him while he is away. On one occasion, I was checking his e-mail for him and he told me to open a specific e-mail. The title of the e-mail seemed like a joke, and since it's pretty customary to send and receive e-mail forwards in an office environment, I didn't think anything of it. A movie opened on the screen, and it was of a scantily clad woman removing another woman's top to reveal naked breasts. I immediately closed the window. Upon sharing this information (couldn't help it in a way, since other people were in close proximity at the time and heard my reaction) with coworkers and superiors who were curious, they responded with amusement, as if this were normal behavior for this office. They all laughed and thought it was hilarious.
So there are my issues. Perhaps you can shed some light on whether or not any of this behavior warrants legal action.
