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Retaliation For Grievance

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CCHarmon88

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Maryland

I went to H.R with concerns of safety that included our work environment and an aggressive individual who we service. The individual I feel targets me I had multiple incidents which landed me in urgent care, my hand was also broken in two places, and I had a shoulder pull injury since last September. After I returned to work I was immediately placed back to work with this individual although we service 20 and I could be placed with others. I explained to my manager and coordinator I was in fear of him and was not comfortable working with him unless there were two staff my employer informed me they didn't have the money to double staff this individual and my hours would be cut if I didn't work with him,Although every other staff refused to work with him and that's why I was used all the time. I started experiencing extreme anxiety always scared I was going to get beat up literally, no one was looking to have him evaluated for a behavior plan. After he was kicked out of school and country transportation would not service him my job extended my hours to all day to do all day care. After a few weeks I put into writing I was completely stressed, burned out and experiencing more frequent migraines(diagnosed chronic suffer at 12years old) and I needed a change with a behavior plan or help with additional staff. After being pushed to the side for weeks and experiencing two severe panic attacks at work and getting injured again, I finally stood my ground and went to H.R to see what I could do to be listened to. The following schedule my hours were cut by more then half and a staff made a comment I was pathetic for running my mouth at the main office. I didn't tell anyone I went to H.R but staff know, I had also requested that same day I went to H.R FMLA forms to put in for my chronic migraine that was starting to take over my life again due to stress of work and being hurt and FMLA for the panic attacks to protect myself for the two days I left work by ambulance. After receiving the schedule I spoke with our manager who first stated he cut my hours because I was on light duty(from a injury by the same individual;although I was on light duty for 3weeks before and this was said 2 days before I got released back to full duty) and couldn't work with all individuals when I corrected him and stated there only one individual that applies too he then stated "Ok,honestly I spoke with H.R and don't have a "comfort level with you" and until I do your being knocked down to 20hours a week"(I was scheduled less) My hours were divided to relief staff and other days they canceled my individuals services and told their parents they were short staffed and no one was available to work with them. Does this sound like retaliation?
 


commentator

Senior Member
Aw, c'mon, do you believe the writer of this amazing run-on sentence actually is a union member? But it actually sounds like she may be a full time employee of a staffing service of some sort, not a contractor, that's the first consideration.

My question is, OP, did you get the FMLA approved, and when did it begin, if you did? When were you actually released from light duty? Were you on worker's comp when you were hurt, when your hand was broken, when your shoulder was hurt? Please, put a little more white space in your post. I've learned to do this, it's not really that hard.....

Every other staff in the place refused to work with this individual, he sent you to the hospital twice, and yet you continued to do so, without double staff or back up because they threatened to cut your hours. It sounds like you were selected because you were the most gullible worker they had.

School and country (sic) transportation kicked him out, so your hours were upped to cover him. Sounds like you accepted the new job assignment. You did not register your protests then, like every other staff member they had had done. You were the only person who would work with this client.

Puh-leeze do not go into a litany about how you just had to have this job, how poor you are, how scared you were that they'd fire you or cut your hours.... you accepted this client, performed this job for a certain amount of time, regardless of your stress level with it. It is my hard nosed belief that you have to be in charge of your own destiny, don't lay down passively and "let" the staffing officer of this operation destroy your life by giving you an unfair assignment.

Okay, so you complained to HR, which you should have been doing from the very beginning. Sounds like you were being manipulated by a bully, your immediate supervisor. But an HR is always available to any worker.

You have several options. You could quit this job, right now, before anything gets worse, before you work at 20 hours a week, and file for unemployment benefits, but from the sound of this, you've already worked the new schedule of 20 a week.That will make it harder to get your unemployment approved. It could mess up a possible worker's comp retaliation claim. So there's option B, don't quit the job, but file for partial unemployment benefits.

Now, at 20 hours a week, do you make less than you would make if you were filing for unemployment insurance for the week? What you do is after the first Sunday through Saturday week your hours are cut (regardless of when you'll be paid, or how they pay, unemployment always figures wage based on the number of hours worked Sunday through Saturday of the previous week times the amount you make per hour) you file for unemployment benefits, explaining that your hours have been cut. They'll notify the employer. You are fully entitled to this compensation, it is not illegal for you to file it. If they then opt to fire you, you'll certainly be approved for benefits. Then you start determining if you have a case for retaliation otherwise.

You do not go back with your tail hanging between your legs and beg your supervisor to let you have back your full hours, even though you're dying and having panic attacks and going crazy and you'll work with the awful client if they'll just let you have your hours back.

You are looking, I hope, for another job to replace this one all the time. The trouble with migraines and panic attacks is that they're both pretty subjective, can't really show them on MRI's so they're hard to prove as work related injuries, but you should certainly file for worker's comp for these new problems. Did you have worker's comp when you were injured by this client? That's the biggest question, because that's where retaliation would come in.
 
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