hostile workplace.. want out..

[masantha5186]

On December 7th one of my female managers at my job parked next to my car and waited 30 minutes for me to come out after one of my closing shifts. She yelled from her car she wanted to fu*king talk to me. I told her no i didnt want to talk to her because i could tell she wanted to argue or fight with me. She then got out of her car and walked up to me and got really close to my face and said " i heard you were talking about me, none of the counter girls like you and nobody wants you here, if you talk about me again i will knock your buck teeth down your fu*king throat". i turned and walked back inside. this all happened in front of another manager that didnt do anything im guessing because he is a new manager. The manager that was closing that night didnt seem to care either because they are long time friends. My question is, she did not get fired nor did managment do anything to try to solve the problem and i feel very uncomfortable at work. she causes new problems for me everyday.. so, do i have to stand for this hostility or can i collect unemployment?? i mean i love my job but i can no longer feel this way everyday at work.

 

[army judge]

You have no reason to quit, which will allow you to receive unemployment benefits.
What you describe is NOT a hostile work environment.

That said, you are free to secure new employment.

Or, why not ask your employer if a transfer is possible for you?

 

[masantha5186]

so a manager can threaten bodily harm and cuss me with no problems?.. what if this happens again? because im sure it will.. i have searched for new employment and it isnt easy in my area.. i already work 40 miles from home.. and i do have a reason to quit because i feel as if she can attack me at any time being there is no closure in this situation.. this all just seems so wrong to me..

 

[army judge]

so a manager can threaten bodily harm and cuss me with no problems?.. what if this happens again? because im sure it will.. i have searched for new employment and it isnt easy in my area.. i already work 40 miles from home.. and i do have a reason to quit because i feel as if she can attack me at any time being there is no closure in this situation.. this all just seems so wrong to me..

Let me correct myself, of course you can quit.

And, when you apply for unemployment, they'll agree with your reasoning and approve your claim.

And, we'll all be seeing Santa Claus (or receive many gifts) if we've behaved ourselves this year!


There, feel better?

Is that what you wanted me to say?

Great!


I'm happy, you're happy!!!

 

[esteele]

Unfortunately, in this instance you do not have great cards to play. You could resign arguing that the employer "constructively discharged" you by failing to address the manager's threat of physical violence. You cannot assume, however, management will corroborate your version of the salient events. Management may contend that it sufficiently addressed the situation by counseling the manager, you were never in any immediate danger, and no further threats took place. Or management may deny that the parking lot threat ever occurred. Consequently, it is far from a "layup" that you could successfully obtain unemployment insurance benefits based on the underlying facts.

In light of the foregoing, I would recommend you stay at your job. Based on what you posted, you did not do anything wrong here. Why should you leave your position and have to make do in the short run on unemployment benefits?

If you remain at work, you should keep a private record of everything that has taken place or will take place concerning this manager and you. If your supervisor threatens you again, you should report her to management and to the police. If management fails to respond effectively to your complaints and this supervisor continues to threaten you and/or actually assaults you, you may have a more compelling case to obtain unemployment insurance benefits based on a constructive discharge theory. Moreover, you may then have grounds to pursue civil relief against the company.

 

[cbg]

FYI, masantha, in employment law the term, hostile work environment, has a very specific meaning. What happened to you, while unpleasant, does not meet the legal definition of an HWE.

It is up to the employer what, if any, discipline to take. Since what occurred was not illegal, the employer was not obligated to take any action. There are NO circumstances where the law requires an employer to fire someone. Nor are they required to tell you what action they took. Just because you didn't see the manager do anything and they didn't fire her doesn't mean that she wasn't reprimanded, or a warning put in her file. Unless you are in HR and have access to her personnel file, you can't possibly "know" whether they took any action or not.

I'm not saying that what happened was not wrong - it was. I'm not saying you don't have a right to be upset - you do. I hope that your employer did take some kind of action. But I'm not seeing any legal action you can take or any laws that the employer violated.