I am so infuriated. My mom works at an old folks home in Maryland. she has a hostile coworker whom she had to ask to do some of her work one day. the woman refused and long story short, she got on the elevator with my mom and jabbed her finger in my moms chest several times. my mom got out of the elevator and reported it to her boss, the maint. director.

well today everyone on maint. staff had a meeting about this. there were approx. 8 people there including my mom, this woman and her supervisor. as soon as my mom started to talk about the issue she had with this woman, the woman gets up and goes to her flailing her fists in my mothers face (although not actually striking her) in front of everyone. my moms supervisor did nothing. so my mom went to the boss of the entire building whom she had also told of the Original assault.

This woman told her that she wasn’t going to do anything to her and when my mom ask that she be written up the woman refused.

i am so angry i could just scream. i know that for treatment like this there has to be something like race or sex or mental abilities to be considered workplace harassment, but i just want to know what i should do. my mom loves her job and i would hate to see her quit or worse get fired because of this woman.

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By James Witherspoon

In the United States, one of our greatest national goals is inclusiveness. As a society, we believe in judging individuals on their merits rather than on surface-level details. We even have laws in place to prevent small-minded people from acting on their prejudices.

Unfortunately, even though these laws are in place, employers violate them with shocking frequency. According to some statistics, roughly 25% of workers believe they have been the victims of discrimination. Even more disturbing, roughly 75% of respondents believed that all employers engage in some form of discrimination.

When small-minded personal biases cause employees to lose their jobs, a terrible injustice has been committed. It is especially important to recognize when a termination is unlawful, and to understand the recourses that you have.

Some of the most frequently cited examples of unlawful termination concern:

• Discrimination. There are numerous federal laws in place which protect workers from being fired because of sex, race, color, age, nationality, religion, pregnancy, disability, or other considerations. If you have been fired and you believe discrimination is at the root of your dismissal, your rights have been violated.

• Retaliation. Individuals who have filed complaints against their supervisors or managers are protected from retaliatory actions, such as firing. If you have lost your job as a result of a whistleblower action, it may be beneficial to discuss your case with a discrimination attorney.

• Hostile work environment. Occasionally, a manager will try to create an oppressive or hostile work environment to force an individual into quitting. This is also illegal. If you have quit a job for such a reason, you may be entitled to compensation.

Unlawful termination is a serious issue in the United States, and must be addressed. To learn more, visit the website of the federal employment lawyers of the Vaughn Law Firm today.

James Witherspoon

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I would like to leave my current job as an Brokerage account payable clerk. I would like to resign ( I am currently in search of another position). THis job is very depressing. It is hostile and no one at this job is happy! They have been through six receptionists since i’ve worked there and I have seen five people hired into this office and three people fired! (remember I have only been here six months). Everyone who makes a mistake gets yelled at by a member of mgmt in front of everyone! They do not hesitate to yell at anyone. This is not how mgmt is supposed to be. My boss is depressed and she always takes here frustrations out on me. I will not accept that this is how the workplace is supposed to be. Everyone I talk to says that their job is not like this…..I would like to resign. But before I do, I’ve only worked with this company for six months. So my two questions are 1) What would my reason be for leaving this company and I only been here for six months when I interview for another position and 2) Should I resign with a nast letter(I really want to tell them how I feel) or a professional letter?

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I am the department head. I have two workers that do not get along with each other, but everyone else here, including me, likes both of them. They do not need to interact with each other, and do not. There are no problems that way.

My question is, one of the two workers has decided to collect money from everyone here at work, except from the one worker this person does not get along with, for our state lottery drawing. The worker who collects the money does this during the work day, and has a sign posted where everyone can read it to participate.

My answer to the worker who is not included is that “this is not work related, and I can’t make the other worker include you in this.”

I have a feeling that I am wrong, and I do not want any legal ramifications from this. I cannot ask anyone higher than me, as I am it. Are there any web sites you can direct me to that may offer me some guidance, or do you have any knowledge legally concerning these circumstances?

Serious responses only please, as I consider this matter to be a serious one. 10 points awarded to the best answer.

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In the past 3 decades or so, American courts of all levels have recognized that there is more than one type of sexual harassment. While quid pro quo harassment has existed for decades, hostile environment claims have been recognized much more recently. In even more recent years, there has been an expansion by the courts of claims of hostile environment outside of the realm of sexual harassment.

The majority of employers are well aware of the problems that are related to sexual harassment and hostile work environments. To combat this, these employers have adopted strict policies prohibiting sexual harassment that inflict rapid punishment when and if it is discovered.

Unfortunately, as recent court decisions have shown, an employer who tailors the anti harassment rules of the workplace only to sexual harassment leaves itself open to lawsuits regarding other forms of harassment in the workplace. Therefore, it is in any employer’s best interest to tailor anti-harassment rules to any and all forms of harassment.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, has taken the position that conduct constituting harassment on the basis on any protected class is unlawful. The EEOC has also decided that the same analysis used to determine if there has been a hostile environment for sexual harassment can be applied to cases involving any protected class. Protected classes, as defined by the various employment and anti-discrimination statutes and acts, include race, gender, religion, national origin, age, and disability.

There have been a number of recent decisions that conform to the position of the EEOC. For example, a recent lawsuit involving African-American and Hispanic employees suing their employer due to the racial slurs that existed in the workplace were able to pursue, and win, hostile environment claims on the basis of racial discrimination and national origin discrimination.

In addition, another court case found that an employer’s harassment policy was inadequate. The policy was inadequate because it only recognized and prohibited harassment regarding sexual advances and propositions and not harassment based on gender or other protected areas.

Some would think that common courtesy and general manners and etiquette would clue people in to the inappropriateness of their actions and words. Apparently, this is lacking. As a classic example, an employer lost a harassment or hostile work environment lawsuit following his complaints to an employee about a lack of availability on religious holidays. Following the critique of the lack of availability, the employer was clever enough to make a number of slurs against the employee regarding religion.

The Houston employment lawyers of the Ross Law Group recognize harassment in all forms and are prepared to legal actions to defend the rights of individuals to work in a stress free, harassment free workplace.

Joseph Devine

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