All of the above

[changeforthebetter]

(ARIZONA)I have a boss who is constantly badmouthing, belittling and cursing at me alone and in front of others. I have it writing via e-mails and his own handwriting as well as numerous witnesses and prior employees who have left due to his nature.
Upon hire, I was not informed of the criteria of bonuses - just that I was entitled to "x" amount semi-annually if the profit was there.. come to find out he bases a portion on personal performance and being new I was not up to speed, therefore he did not feel I should receive the whole bonus. When I questioned it, his reply was "when there are absolutely no errors, then there will be no deductions".. Our Human resource dept has said they disagree as he said this in front of them and also they were wrong for not explaining the process to me, they also counseled him on his language. They have both of us attending a weekly meeting w/a hr rep to work out the issues.. In my eyes, this re-hashes everything, he gets more tense, bad mouths and defends everything in there at my expense and we get no where. HR has told me that they appreciate my patience and would hope in an effort to cure him of his nasty ways that I would continue to attend these meetings until I find another position. I love my customers, they love me, I love my job and everyone else in the company loves me too.. I should not have to switch to make it easier for them nor should I have to work under this type of duress when I am not in the wrong. What are my rights???

[This message has been edited by changeforthebetter (edited November 05, 2000).]

 

[buddy2bear]

I'm sorry, but the handwriting is on the wall -- you said they said, "attend meetings until you find another position." Looks like that is what you are going to have to do. Can you transfer into another department to get away from this guy? Don't worry, this guy will get his -- and eventually so will the company. If HR cannot change his ways, then he will end up costing them a bundle, either in a lawsuit of some kind or in turnover.

 

[changeforthebetter]

I don't know if you are a lawyer or not, but what I need to know is legally what are my rights? Do I have a legal right in this if I were to seek help from an attorney? This man needs to be stopped AND HR needs a hard reality check if they think a weekly counseling session is rectifying this situation. Any thoughts would be great..

 

[buddy2bear]

No, I'm not a lawyer, but I do work at a Labor & Employment law firm on behalf of management. There is no law that I know of that says you cannot be mentally abused in your workplace UNLESS it is discrimination based on race, sex, national origin, gender, marital status, etc. If you are unsure, then call the EEOC and ask the information officer if you have a case. BUT, bear in mind, your HR department has already told you that they are looking out for your manager and not you. You can be fired for what they would call a "bad attitude."