Is my food court workplace hostile?
Question:
I am working for a wholesale club in the food court, I have a co worker who I have really tried to work with and I just cannot do it. She is very hyper, so much so that a customer asked her to calm down because she was making him nervous. We each have tasks for closing the department at the end of the night, she is always jumping in and doing my job then talks to me like I asked her to do it for me?! She has told lies to the manager about me and he is on her side because, as he put it, shes a go getter (he doesn’t seem to see the sloppy jobs she does) and she is a friend of his mother(that’s how she got the job) He told me he is not anyone’s friend but she is the only one who has his home phone number. He also told her that he was going to have to fire another employee and I don’t know the laws in every company, but are managers supposed to talk to one employee about another? This company guarantees 24 hours a week to part time people, which is what I am, and each week I see she always has 26 to 30 hours and I have no more than 25, and also you have to take a lunch at the 5 hour mark, which is mandatory, so he gives me 5 1/2 hour days to make it look like I am getting 24 hours and in reality I am only getting around 22-23 at the most. I have closed with all of the other employees and we always get the job done with plenty of time to spare but every time I close with her we always go over, I can’t really explain why, she gets in my way and is verbally abusive, and lets you know without saying a word if she doesn’t like the job your doing. She was hired at the same time I was, but she has proceeded to tell me from day one what to do, like she knew everything. I have talked to management, and they say I just have to get along with her and that I must just have a bad attitude because she is so nice to them, well they don’t have to work with her either, shes a different animal when they are not around. I am trying to find another job (I actually have an AS in computer engineering) but right now there are few jobs to be had so I don’t want to quit until i have another, but I don’t want to dread going to work. I am getting physically sick thinking about it.
View the answer(s) below…
2 Responses to Is my food court workplace hostile?
Leave a Reply
Were you given an employee manual? If so, read it very carefully to find anything that’s being violated. When a company puts forth rules and they are applied unevenly, you can file a complaint with your boss or HR and cite the manual and hope things change. You really need to start documenting. Click here to download my free report to find out what you might be able to do.
While unpleasant, the situation does not rise to the level of a ‘hostile work environment" as defined by the EEOC – Equal Employment Occupation Commission. To be unlawful, the conduct must create a work environment that would be intimidating, hostile, or offensive to reasonable people. If you believe that you are being harassed to the degree that your work environment has become ‘hostile’ the conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile, or abusive and is based on discrimination against race, gender, age, religion or disability, you can make a claim against the company with the EEOC. Read more about it at http://www.eeoc.gov/types/harassment.html
Harassment is a form of employment discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, (ADEA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, (ADA).
Harassment is unwelcome conduct that is based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, and/or age. Harassment becomes unlawful where 1) enduring the offensive conduct becomes a condition of continued employment, or 2) the conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile, or abusive. Anti-discrimination laws also prohibit harassment against individuals in retaliation for filing a discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any way in an investigation, proceeding, or lawsuit under these laws; or opposing employment practices that they reasonably believe discriminate against individuals, in violation of these laws.
Petty slights, annoyances, and isolated incidents (unless extremely serious) will not rise to the level of illegality. To be unlawful, the conduct must create a work environment that would be intimidating, hostile, or offensive to reasonable people.
Offensive conduct may include, but is not limited to, offensive jokes, slurs, epithets or name calling, physical assaults or threats, intimidation, ridicule or mockery, insults or put-downs, offensive objects or pictures, and interference with work performance. Harassment can occur in a variety of circumstances, including, but not limited to, the following:
The harasser can be the victim’s supervisor, a supervisor in another area, an agent of the employer, a co-worker, or a non-employee.
The victim does not have to be the person harassed, but can be anyone affected by the offensive conduct.
Unlawful harassment may occur without economic injury to, or discharge of, the victim.
Prevention is the best tool to eliminate harassment in the workplace. Employers are encouraged to take appropriate steps to prevent and correct unlawful harassment. They should clearly communicate to employees that unwelcome harassing conduct will not be tolerated. They can do this by establishing an effective complaint or grievance process, providing anti-harassment training to their managers and employees, and taking immediate and appropriate action when an employee complains. Employers should strive to create an environment in which employees feel free to raise concerns and are confident that those concerns will be addressed.
Employees are encouraged to inform the harasser directly that the conduct is unwelcome and must stop. Employees should also report harassment to management at an early stage to prevent its escalation.
Employer Liability for Harassment
The employer is automatically liable for harassment by a supervisor that results in a negative employment action such as termination, failure to promote or hire, and loss of wages. If the supervisor’s harassment results in a hostile work environment, the employer can avoid liability only if it can prove that: 1) it reasonably tried to prevent and promptly correct the harassing behavior; and 2) the employee unreasonably failed to take advantage of any preventive or corrective opportunities provided by the employer.
The employer will be liable for harassment by non-supervisory employees or non-employees over whom it has control (e.g., independent contractors or customers on the premises), if it knew, or should have known about the harassment and failed to take prompt and appropriate corrective action.
When investigating allegations of harassment, the EEOC looks at the entire record: including the nature of the conduct, and the context in which the alleged incidents occurred. A determination of whether harassment is severe or pervasive enough to be illegal is made on a case-by-case basis.
If you believe that the harassment you are experiencing or witnessing is of a specifically sexual nature, you may want to see EEOC’s information on sexual harassment.