Any legal recourse for a this kind of work environment?

[StartingLine]

Verbal harassment is hard to charge for without solid backup information or witnesses. Also, recording people in the workplace without their knowledge for personal reasons cannot be used in court.

If people harass her in email, great you can have that documented.

Otherwise verbal insults need to be documented at the time they took place as well as who was present and may be used as witnesses.

If my hunch is correct, your wife doesnt really hear most of the stuff being said about her and gets knowledge of it second hand which really cannot evolve into anything useful. Since she is looking for a new job it should only be a matter of time anyway. Providing her boss with documented incidents would go a long way in the actually doing something. Also, her boss is not HR, HR takes these issues more seriously than most bosses do thats what they are there for.

Also, you work there so what is your impression? I know many women including my own girlfriend who i love dearly can be a bit oversensitive and they often perceive people being meaner than they actually are. I am guessing people dont ever say this stuff to her face.

 

[bctbct]

Originally posted by: child of wonder
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Has she tried sleeping with her supervisor yet? 😛

I keed, I keed...:laugh:</end quote></div>

lol

This is the kind of guy her supervisor is...

He and his wife were going to get separated but then she got pregnant. His daughter was born about 3 months ago. His wife works until 6:00pm and he gets off at 4:30pm and picks up their daughter from her parents who watch her during the day.

My wife overheard him talking to his wife a month or so after their daughter was born.

"I'm sick of her crying. She can cry all night until you get home and I won't do anything about it. I don't care."

Not a quality person, to say the least.

I missed the part where you said no 🙂

 

[child of wonder]

Originally posted by: bctbct
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: child of wonder
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Has she tried sleeping with her supervisor yet? 😛

I keed, I keed...:laugh:</end quote></div>

lol

This is the kind of guy her supervisor is...

He and his wife were going to get separated but then she got pregnant. His daughter was born about 3 months ago. His wife works until 6:00pm and he gets off at 4:30pm and picks up their daughter from her parents who watch her during the day.

My wife overheard him talking to his wife a month or so after their daughter was born.

"I'm sick of her crying. She can cry all night until you get home and I won't do anything about it. I don't care."

Not a quality person, to say the least.</end quote></div>


I missed the part where you said no 🙂

For the record -- no.

:laugh:

 

[huberm]

Originally posted by: Bryophyte
Just because people lack tact, that doesn't mean they don't have valid complaints. That she is productive isn't necessarily the issue if she has inappropriate habits at work. If she's such a stellar employee, why is NOBODY standing up for her? You're looking at the whole situation from the perspective of a loving husband who listens to his wife. If she has a thin skin, she's probably looking for insult every time someone says a word.

Why does your wife need to answer questions in person? Is there a good reason for it? Why not by email or phone? Does her standing around someone's desk to answer questions and then chit-chat about non-work topics disrupt the people who are trying to work nearby?

are you implying that harassment is acceptable in certain circumstances????

 

[Laughingman12]

Ask your wife to call them a racist.

 

[bctbct]

Originally posted by: child of wonder


I missed the part where you said no 🙂
</end quote></div>

For the record -- no.

:laugh:

Okay I guess we can rule out the sexual harrassment angle, go for hostile enviornment.

She is probably better off dealing with this herself. If she stands up to them and confronts them most people would back off. She will still have a decent job, less friends, but its better than leaving if you anticipate she only needs it for a couple more years.

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
mention the term "hostile work environment" to HR and see how much they sweat.

Except legally, there's not much here that applies to hostile work environment laws. Kranky pretty much hit the nail on the head with his posts.

 

[OutHouse]

Originally posted by: child of wonder
I'm amazed HR won't do anything either. But, her office seems to be one of those places where everyone kisses everyone else's rumps and if you aren't in the "in" crowd then you're treated like garbage.

its time to leave. it sucks dude i know, i really hate environments like that it does nothing but create problems and work productivity really goes down the toilet. those other people who are making those comments are nothing but children in a adult world. they are jealous that she knows more and works more. let them have their petty little litter box its time for your wife to find a job that she can grow in and enjoy.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

I have no idea why people still let other people's comments get to them.. Absolutely none.. So they make snide remarks. Isn't it causing her to bleed to death? Then who cares??

Suck it up and move on. If it bothers you that much then get another job. Simple.

 

[Nutdotnet]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
mention the term "hostile work environment" to HR and see how much they sweat.

Not quite, hostile work environment only comes into affect under certain circumstances.

LINK

Saying, "your skin color resembles the dump I just took." would fall under "Hostile Work Environment."

Saying, "you don't work as hard as I do you're never seen taking any phone calls, all you do is sit around all day with a blank stare." would not be considered "hostile work environment."

Basically, until the OP's wife gets belittle on a protected-class subject the best she can hope for is that HR intervenes or that she finds another job.

 

[Bryophyte]

Originally posted by: huberm
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: Bryophyte
Just because people lack tact, that doesn't mean they don't have valid complaints. That she is productive isn't necessarily the issue if she has inappropriate habits at work. If she's such a stellar employee, why is NOBODY standing up for her? You're looking at the whole situation from the perspective of a loving husband who listens to his wife. If she has a thin skin, she's probably looking for insult every time someone says a word.

Why does your wife need to answer questions in person? Is there a good reason for it? Why not by email or phone? Does her standing around someone's desk to answer questions and then chit-chat about non-work topics disrupt the people who are trying to work nearby?

</end quote></div>

are you implying that harassment is acceptable in certain circumstances????

I did not say or imply that. What I am suggesting is that fault rarely lies with one side of an argument. Just because the coworkers are fed up to the point where they are completely forgetting their manners and not going through the proper channels to complain about her behavior, that doesn't mean that Mrs. c.o.w. is the innocent, injured party.

I reread all of the OP's posts and realized that everything added up to her most likely being one of those coworkers that everyone is getting fed up with. She has been repeatedly disciplined because her gabbing has become disruptive, and her boss and HR have gotten to the point where they have given up trying to shut her up and have decided to ignore her complaints of being ill treated. Maybe they figure that a little peer pressure will either result in her being easier to work around, or that she'll get fed up and leave and the situation will resolve itself.

Also consider that complaints, even repeated complaints, do not constitute harassment in MANY cases. At many workplaces, employees are expected to work out their problems directly with the people involved before involving HR (unless the person feels unsafe.)

My spouse works near someone who is very productive at his job, but he talks on the phone or to people in his cube constantly and LOUDLY, so *he* might be getting work done, but nobody within a distance of several cubes can get anything done. We're talking probably 50-100 workers with seriously reduced productivity, all because of someone who just won't STFU.