Set up for failure

[hatinit]

I have been set up by a new supervisor who has told me, "I don't have to fire you, I can just make it miserable enough that you will leave." He is succeding. He has not spoken to me in over two and a half months-- He is my immediate supervisor! Now, his boss recognizes this, and just keeps telling me to keep doing my work and I don't have anything to worry about. However, my supervisor has given me a workplan that is unique to the agency (I work for a local government agency)-- no one else is being, or has ever been, held to the standard my supervisor is holding me to.

So, should I quit and sue? If so, what do I sue them for? Should I wait until he tries to fire me, and fight it? Should I continue to suffer? I have a pretty good amount of documentation that I think proves that he has a personal vendetta. What should I do?

 

[HomeGuru]

Have a chat on your day off with an attorney that specializes in employment law.

 

[loku]

I am not going to disagree with Home Guru in this, but I would like to add a little explanation. You may be able to prove constructive wrongful termination (explained below). If so, you would have the same rights as if you were actually wrongfully terminated. However, this is a fairly sophisticated area of law, and I would agree with Home Guru in that I suggest you speak to a local employment law attorney before you do more than complain to the agency about this. Following are the general rules of law applicable to your situation:

Under the rule of constructive wrongful termination, you do not have to be fired in order to have the ability to sue an employer for intolerable working conditions. If an employee can prove that an employer created intolerable working conditions in an effort to get the employee to quit, and these conditions were known by the employer, or intentionally created by the employer, then the employee may pursue a constructive wrongful termination action. I believe this principle would apply to public sector employees. The remedies available in a successful constructive wrongful termination action are similar to those in a suit due to actual wrongful termination.

A public sector employee is usually protected by "due process". An employer must give an employee notice of the reason for being discharged, the opportunity of a hearing to contest the discharge, with a decision rendered by an impartial third party decision maker.