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Hostile Work Enviornment...help

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buckle774

Junior Member
What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?AZ

I am a mortgage broker and have recently just left one company due to many problems inside of it. At the company there is a lady who is clearly on drugs. It has been told to the employees that she wouldn't be working there anymore. When I finally resigned she was still working at the company and is still working to this day. It was rumored that she was on heroin by the sales manager who hinted at but they are trying to say it is cocaine now. We have asked many times what was going on with her and what her problem was because there were many times she would come into offices and ramble about nonsense and it wasn't to anyone's suprise she was on drugs. After explaining it was uncomfortable to work around her, the sales manager told me as well as other employees she wasn't going to be back for a long time. This lady is the owner's assitant so she does a lot of his dirty work. We were told that on a thursday night after she was sent home that day for being on drugs. She wasn't at work on friday, however she was back in the office bright and earl on monday morning and she is still working at the company. There was also a drug deal that has been talked about and clearly heard from one loan officer to her inside of the company a day at work. Heroin or cocaine it is very uncomfortable to work around someone who is on drugs as well as knowing she has been addressed and nothing has been done about it.
Another issue is a family that works in there. It is a husband, wife, and son. The husband is receiving unemployment from the company while also being employed. They have many tax people after them and the owner has clearly addressed they are liars and commit fraud but doesn't want to to fire them because he is scared of a lawsuit. He also told the owner that he needed five thousand dollars to bail his son out of some legal issues, and then found out later he used the money for a car for his daughter. He also tried to take a deal which another employee worked from start to finish. I didn't feel safe with my deals sitting downstairs not in a lock box with these kind of people downstairs when the owner even had many encounters with certain situations with them.
Another issue is an accountant we hired. This lady was said to have been using a false name and been bi-polar from the owner. She caused conflict and arguments with anyone and everyone she encountered. She didn't pay the employees on time and getting paid was harder than selling loans while she was working there. She ended up quitting from the company.
The sales manager has been defacing me ever since I have left the company. He has been telling some people that I wasn't a good loan officer and others mad hat I left because I worked my tail off and was good. Today he was on the phone with an employee who still works there. He told the loan officer that he is going to go after my bank account because he knows I have money in it. He then told a processor "If I see him outside of work....."Hinting as if he wanted to fight or bring a physical altercation to the table if he encountered me outside of work. He then told him that I sent an email to another processor who quit, trying to recruit her over here. I went into the office as soon as I heard these statements and declared to see the email and he said that he didn't say that when I have two people who will vouche that he did.
The last thing is that I have a 5% override as being a team leader over all the people who under me. They kept changing the dates from when it was going to start but then they finally put it in writing. The other team leader as well as myself have not been paid 1 penny on this team leader issue. There has been many deals close and fund from that date and we have never been paid.
Please respond back to me with any advice. Thank You.
 


cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
What you describe certainly sounds unpleasant but it is not a hostile work environment in the legal sense.

Unless you are being subjected to either sexual harassment or illegal discrimination under Title VII and related laws (race, religion, national origin etc.) it is not, legally, a hostile work environment.

Nothing you have posted gives you any immediate legal recourse unless the written agreement on the override (?) constitutes a binding contract.
 

buckle774

Junior Member
ok....

maybe not hostile enviornment but from what I have been told when a situation is brought to the table such as how it is uncomfortable to work around the lady on drugs, and nothing is done about the situation, there is something there.
also being defaced from someone in a manager position to other employees. And this being the reason for leaving the company rather than any other reason, I have been told there is a legal case there.
 

Sockeye

Member
buckle774 said:
maybe not hostile enviornment but from what I have been told when a situation is brought to the table such as how it is uncomfortable to work around the lady on drugs, and nothing is done about the situation, there is something there.
also being defaced from someone in a manager position to other employees. And this being the reason for leaving the company rather than any other reason, I have been told there is a legal case there.
If you have a case it would be in civil court, not under any employment law. I would guess it would be defamation of character and that's a tough one to win.

As far as "situation brought to the table", that may come from a discrimination or harrassment charge being raised and the company is obligated to investigate. There is no legal definition of harrassment or descrimination being met here.

It sounds like this is a good place to leave since it can't be around for to long being ran that poorly.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
from what I have been told when a situation is brought to the table such as how it is uncomfortable to work around the lady on drugs, and nothing is done about the situation, there is something there.

No, that is not correct. The employer only has legal obligation to take action if you are being subjected to either illegal harassment or illegal discrimination, which is not the case here. They are not obligated under the law to take action because you find something uncomfortable. No one owes you a stress-free workplace.

also being defaced from someone in a manager position to other employees.

The manager has the same right as anyone else to express his opinion. Unless you can prove (a) that what he said was false - not a difference of opinion, not a misunderstanding, not jumping to conclusions from insufficient evidence, but knowingly and deliberately false AND (b) that this false statement has been broadcast to an audience AND (c) that you have suffered provable damages because of it, you have no legal recourse. And to reiterate, the burden of proof is on you.

And this being the reason for leaving the company rather than any other reason, I have been told there is a legal case there.

I don't know who told you this, but I'll bet it wasn't a lawyer.
 

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