bullied into quitting

[cheeri0369]

What is the name of your state? florida

i was recently working as an office assistant at a small company. i was always being left at the office by myself while my bosses and co-workers were out on events or personal errands. i had requested a set of keys for awhile so that i would still be able to take my lunch break. my request was put off for weeks. i even let it slide that my boss's 3 year old and 2 dogs were at the office a lot (i consider unprofessional). but then one day i asked to go to lunch and my boss was annoyed and told me to be fast. now i am under the assumption that unless my work has a policy about it, i am entitled to an hour lunch break since i work full time. so i left for my hour break. when i returned i tried to discuss the situation in which my boss decided to include other co-workers to "back him up" and we ended up in a disagreement where he was literally screaming at me and cussing me out. then he stood up over me and yelled at me to f*cking quit, repeatedly. i felt so pressured and upset at his behavior that i did.

i am not sure about taking legal action, if even possible, but i was just curious to see what others thought. i work in a predominantely male workplace and i felt that my boss reacted the way he did because i am only 1 of 2 females there. the other female is the mother of his children, so that is a completely different situation. any opinions or advice? thanks.

 

[Beth3]

i had requested a set of keys for awhile so that i would still be able to take my lunch break. my request was put off for weeks. A reasonable request however Florida regulations do not require that you be provided with a lunch break.

i even let it slide that my boss's 3 year old and 2 dogs were at the office a lot (i consider unprofessional). I agree this was less than condusive to a business atmosphere but it's not up to you to decide whether or not to "let it slide."

but then one day i asked to go to lunch and my boss was annoyed and told me to be fast. now i am under the assumption that unless my work has a policy about it, i am entitled to an hour lunch break since i work full time. Nope.

so i left for my hour break. when i returned i tried to discuss the situation in which my boss decided to include other co-workers to "back him up" and we ended up in a disagreement where he was literally screaming at me and cussing me out. then he stood up over me and yelled at me to f*cking quit, repeatedly. i felt so pressured and upset at his behavior that i did. Your boss sounds like a real piece of work but his behavior was not illegal. You may not have picked the best time or approach to discuss the matter with him either.

i am not sure about taking legal action, if even possible, but i was just curious to see what others thought. I see no basis to take legal action. The boss behaved like a jerk and you quit.

i work in a predominantely male workplace and i felt that my boss reacted the way he did because i am only 1 of 2 females there. the other female is the mother of his children, so that is a completely different situation. I don't see any evidence that all of this happened because of your gender but rather because the two of you got into a dispute about your lunch break.

 

[cbg]

Well, first of all, you're mistaken that as a full time employee you're entitled to an hour break. No Federal law requires that you be given any break at all, and no Florida law requires that you be given any break at all if you are over 17. NO state requires that an employee be given an hour break regardless of whether they are full time or part time. SOME states require a half hour break, but again, unless you are a minor, Florida is NOT one of them.

While your boss acted unprofesssionally, so did you in deliberately taking a full hour when you'd been told to get back quickly. But unprofessional or not, he did not violate any laws.

You will need FAR more than simply your belief that he yelled at you because of your gender, in order to take any legal action. And frankly, even if you're 100% correct, one instance is NOT enough for a legal claim.

 

[blott78]

I always thought a lunch break was mandatory for full time employees in any state. I guess not although it is complete BS. There need to be more laws in place to protect employees.

 

[Beth3]

Or perhaps before you start asserting your right to take a one-hour lunch break every day to the boss, you want to ascertain the actual facts.

 

[cheeri0369]

thank you for the information. i just wanted to know the facts for certain. either way i guess i am glad i am no longer an employee for that man.