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told I would be fired by going to HR

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jdmsportbikes

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

A little background : I was verbally abused and physicality menaced by my boss back in May of last year,in front of two other employees. At the time I wanted to go to HR but thought I would be terminated for some made-up reason so I didn't do anything.
Then this past week I was threated with physical harm and death by a co-worker for a perceived thief ( he found his property where he left it).
I went to management to ask about filing a complaint about this co-worker with HR and was told that they didn't want me to do that and would like to take care of this "in house" by talking to him as he "has no history of this kind of behavior".
I tell them fine as long as it is in writing and in his file.
the next day I am called into the office to discuss what was done and was told that the co-worker was written up.
During the conversation I stated that after the meeting with the boss last May ( different than the one I was talking to but witnessed by this one) that I felt I should go to HR about the treatment but thought I would be fired if I did.
I was told by this manager that he was glad that I didn't because I was right I would be fired if I made a complaint about my treatment.

So I leave the office just beside myself with this admission of intent.
I must have looked distraught because another co-worked asked if I was OK and told him about my complaint with our fellow co-worker and he told me that he was also threatened by this same employee in front of others and made a complaint to management and this threatening co-worker was talked to about his behavior by the management I jut spoke to about the same thing and told that he had no history of this kind of behavior.

Anyway,maybe I'm just venting but is there anything I can or should do about this? I love my job But I think my co-worker is dangers and management is hiding this danger from other employees and HR .

If I do nothing and this guy physically injures someone am I liable because I didn't do more?
 


Beth3

Senior Member
Anyway,maybe I'm just venting but is there anything I can or should do about this? I love my job But I think my co-worker is dangers and management is hiding this danger from other employees and HR .

The curious thing is why your management wants to hide this employee's behavior from HR. I don't have an answer to that but they presumably don't realize that they are leaving the Company open to a cause of action called "negligent retention." In this instance, it means that the employee has a history of threatening violent behavior and management is aware of it. Should this employee actually follow through, they could be civilly liable for their negligence in keeping him employed.

Here's the thing though - you don't have a "protected right" to complain to HR about this. In other words, you could be lawfully fired for telling them what's going on. Only you can decide whether it's in your best interests to ignore that threat and contact them anyway. As a senior HR professional, I'd most certainly want to know about the entire situation but I don't want to be responsible for you losing your job if you decide to do this. If you do, you should also tell them about the threats made by management to terminate you if you go to HR. (If I were your HR person, I'd be furious about that as well as those members of management hiding this employee's behavior.)

You may want to contact HR anonymously (e.g. by an unsigned letter) and filling them in. I'm not a big fan of the anonymous notice but it may be called for in this instance. It also sounds like HR wouldn't have to dig too deep to investigate the situation.

If I do nothing and this guy physically injures someone am I liable because I didn't do more?

Absolutely not. It's your employer who has liability here, not you.
 
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cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
No, you are not liable. You reported it to management and it is now on their shoulders.

FYI, you do not get to determine what action they take (I tell them fine as long as it is in writing and in his file) and they have no legal obligation to tell you what action they take.
 

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