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Boss Behavior
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I had a former employee call me about the boss that took my place. She said that he is harassing her terribly & she is now out on mental stress leave because of it. She told me that he pulled her
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Boss Behavior
posted at 11/5/2010 4:41 PM EDT
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Posts: 7
First: 11/5/2010 Last: 12/31/2010 |
I had a former employee call me about the boss that took my place. She said that he is harassing her terribly & she is now out on mental stress leave because of it. She told me that he pulled her into his office after a department meeting, kept raising his voice to her asking how her job hunting was going (she is not looking elsewhere), she said I'm not looking for another job, do you have a complaint about my present job duties, he said no but her attitude was unacceptible. This person is a union employee, she stated that he needed to quit yelling at her and if her job performance was fine then there was no need to be in the room with him, he continued to badger her, she asked for another person to be in the room, he refused, union employees are allowed to ask for another person, so she got up and said this conversation is over. She said he has badgered her for months and cannot take it so now she is out on mental stress leave. Isn't what he did totally unethical and unlawful? Couldn't this employee file charges againest him? He is telling her her job performance is good but her attitude isn't. I am not getting involved as it involves my former company, I am on good terms with my old boss so I am not getting involved but I am just curious about the legalities of this. This "boss" in my opinion is a bully and shouldn't be allowed to do what he is doing. When this person worked for me I had zero problems with her. She worked hard, if she was 5 minutes late for any reason she stayed 5 minutes past her quitting time or did not take a mandatory union break. I'm at a loss as to why this boss is giving her such a hard time. Just very curious to hear what others think of this situation. |
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Boss Behavior
posted at 11/6/2010 6:52 AM EDT
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Posts: 562
First: 11/12/2009 Last: 9/14/2011 |
If the employee is a member of a union, then the employee should be getting something for her union dues. She needs to get her union rep/shop steward involved in this. Exploring a grievance avenue is also an option that she's paying union dues for.
Does the company have a complaint resolution process? If so, she should explore that as well. There's typically not much recourse when it comes to a boss being a jerk. She can talk to an attorney, but I doubt there's little remedy there. |
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Boss Behavior
posted at 11/6/2010 8:08 AM EDT
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Posts: 1103
First: 3/16/2007 Last: 8/19/2011 |
aside from the possible CBA violation - and there may not be one, this boss is vigorously enforcing the rules. Generally an employee in a union only has the right to have someone present during an investigation (Weingarten). What you describe sounds more disciplinary and unless the CBA states differently the boss does not have to allow someone to be present during a disciplinary session.
Late is late and not taking a required break is also problematic. Companies in some circumstances can be fined if employees do not take required breaks. One persons "bully" is another persons no-nonsense boss. |
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Boss Behavior
posted at 11/6/2010 11:27 AM EDT
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Posts: 7
First: 11/5/2010 Last: 12/31/2010 |
He was not repremanding her for being late. I just used it as an example that when she worked for me she was very good about being a good employee and her attitude was fine. He called her into his office and badgered her about her attitude and was she looking for another job. For some reason he thinks she is but she is not. He told her that her job performance was fine but her attitude wasn't. She felt threatened and harrassed by him. This lead to her calling in sick for 3 days, which according to union rules only counts as one incident but on the third day the nurse from the company called her saying she needed an excuse from a doctor or she would be considered absent with no excuse which could lead to her being fired. She called her doctor for an excuse, the Dr. felt that she was under great mental stress because of his actions and wrote her an excuse to go out on mental stress leave. So this leads to a whole new issue. I am not getting involved, nor am I advising her but I am just very curious as to what the legal issues are here if any. |
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Boss Behavior
posted at 11/8/2010 3:23 AM EST
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Posts: 2146
First: 2/15/2006 Last: 9/14/2011 |
Absent them not following the CBA or other legal guidelines like FMLA, I don't see where she has any legal room to stand on. It is not illegal to be a jerk or to discipline your employee for looking for another job (even if she isn't!).
You are wise to stay out of it, especially since you are only hearing one side of the story. Like someone else posted, changing managers/bosses means that an employee must adapt to changes. Just because she was great based on your perspective does not mean the new boss will think so also. Nor is it required that he do so. If I were her, I would make his statements a self-fulfilling prophecy and start looking for another job on the quiet. |
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Boss Behavior
posted at 11/8/2010 6:30 AM EST
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Posts: 7
First: 11/5/2010 Last: 12/31/2010 |
Thank you everyone for your replies. My suggestion to her was to look for another job so hopefully she will do it. This guy is known to be a jerk, not liked by many, but has information power so I don't see him leaving or being fired. I am new to the world of HR so was just very curious to opinions from others in the HR world. Thanks again! |
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Boss Behavior
posted at 11/8/2010 10:56 AM EST
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Posts: 544
First: 9/27/2004 Last: 9/13/2011 |
I had a boss like that once and I survived his regime because he was such a jerk he eventually got himself fired. But if I had to do it over, I would have alerted his boss because he had the right to know what was going on and it may have saved us all a lot of stress.
There may not be a law against being a bully, but if he touches her or blocks her from leaving it could be a form of assualt. |
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Boss Behavior
posted at 11/9/2010 6:52 AM EST
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Posts: 2146
First: 2/15/2006 Last: 9/14/2011 |
Dave,
If you come back and read this, exactly what laws are you referencing? I am curious because I have not seen that point of view before. Nor have I seen any court cases that reference it. And while I don't think a complaint is a bad idea, it can be a career limiting move to go above your boss's head. And I am not so sure the employee would have any sort of retaliation protection that WC or discrimination/sexual harassment/whistleblower laws provide. |
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