Does this seem like a hostile work environment?

[sonoma1993]

Originally posted by: Robert Munch
Question.. got a friend that's dealing with a somewhat hostile work environment which for the most part it's verbal abuse coming from the president of her small roofing company that she works for. What would you do in these two scenarios if your boss called you at work from his cellphone and began saying this "I didn't get my fucking voice mail on my fucking phone so I am in a fight with my wife b/c I didn't get her fucking message that my daughter needed to be pick her up and now she missed her fucking track meet and you need to fucking figure something out with this phone or I am canceling the hole thing with verizon and they can take me to court. this is fucking bullshit.' shortly after he then disconnects the call. Now mind you she only ordered the company phone through Verizon on her bosses behalf and does no troubleshooting for any phone issues that her boss may receive as this is not apart of her job responsibility.

Secondly, a few days later her boss then walks into my friends office yelling/cussing blaming her about her VP's mistake regarding a new company laptop that had to be ordered online. Her responsibility was to pick out a adequate company laptop for internal usage and then pass this information to the vice president so that he can then place the order online. She then follow's up with the VP a week later asking if the laptop was ordered and VP responds back he'll get to it later. This goes on for a few weeks with the VP basically saying that he'll get to it later. Things come to a head when the laptop finally arrives 3 months later and her boss now calls her into his office and began to verbally cuss her out and flail his arms up and down asking why did it take so long to get this new laptop. His office door is open and the VP is in the office with them as her boss is basically yelling the word fuck every other sentence while he is scratching his balls and pushing all the blame onto her. She then says the VP was well aware of what was required and asked the VP every week the status of this work laptop that had to be ordered. Her boss promptly says i don't care....


What would you do in this situation if you had to deal with a boss that cusses you out at work twice and it seems these types of confrontations are becoming more frequent and sounds like it's turning into a hostile work environment. Would you say something or let it slide and look for another job?

Thanks.

sounds like the asshole owner I used to work for. I used to get yelled at by him over the most stupidest things.

 

[SuperSix]

Tell her to quyiot - but she better be careful - she may end up unemployed for a ooooong time.

Now - if you are being a whiney bitch - looking for someone to justify a bullshit lawsuit, then end yourself.. now.

 

[nakedfrog]

Buy a couple Annoyatrons from thinkgeek before you quit, too...

 

[Fayd]

Originally posted by: sourceninja

Originally posted by: dabuddha

Originally posted by: sourceninja
If my boss ever says Fuck, I'll assume that it is an acceptable word to use in the office. I would then use the word fuck with every customer I delt with.

This.

I could just see me calling the old ladies who have worked here for 25 years and saying "I've heard you are having a problem with the mother fucking website I built. What's your fucking problem?"

The would probably die.

by all accounts except my own, my grandmother swears like a sailor.

you might get more than you bargained for.

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: SacrosanctFiend

Originally posted by: guyver01

Originally posted by: SacrosanctFiend
Noting that I already covered sexual harassment, protected classes and retaliatory actions (sorry for failing to mention threats), please show me where I was wrong in my previous statements with specific court cases, preferably those relating to simple verbal abuse that reached Circuit or above.

I'm not a lawyer, nor a HR representative... so i wouldnt even know where to begin to find 'case law' ... but as someone who did recently go thru a 3 day corporate provided "harassment training" .. Hostile Work Environment CAN be defined as a boss being rude, yelling, or annoying. . . it does NOT have to be just sexual in nature.

If you are a lawyer, or a HR Rep, then i challenge you to provide case law stating where a court ruled that being cursed at by an employer is 'acceptable' behavior.

Wow...this is based on a 3 day corporate training...Jesus.

Your company may call "rude, yelling, or annoying" a hostile work environment, but I have yet to see a circuit court uphold a hostile work environment claim that wasn't based on sexual harassment, discrimination, or threats. In fact, I haven't seen one get passed a motion to dismiss.

Please note you are asking me to prove a situation that I've never even seen go to court. The burden is on you, bud.

Workplace harassment law is a speech restriction of remarkable breadth. It goes far beyond slurs, hardcore pornography, repeated vulgar sexual propositions, and the like, and can suppress, among other things,


On its face, harassment law draws no distinction among slurs, pornography, political, religious, or social commentary, jokes, art, and other forms of speech. All can be punished, so long as they are "severe or pervasive" enough to create a "hostile environment."

 

[mjrpes3]

Originally posted by: SacrosanctFiend
I never addressed unemployment, nor did I address leaving with "good cause." I addressed the claim of "hostile work environment" as it pertains to employment law.

I noticed that but thought you weren't being that precise, because the whole point of this tangent seems to have been whether it would be possible to get unemployment benefits if you quit because of verbal abuse. Whether verbal abuse actually falls strictly under the term of "hostile work environment" seems inconsequential outside of a forum for lawyers. People were just wondering about the former.

 

[Red Dawn]

A roofing company huh? Well do somnething that'd he'd understand as a Roofer. Next time he yells at you take a rigging axe and threaten to cut his balls off. Might get you fired, might get you arrested but I can assure you he won't scream at you again:thumbsup: