Vendor being harassed by host company employee

[michael2009]

I currently work for a vendor within an auto dealership. Within the last 30 days, an employee of the host dealership has continually and regularly harassed me on a day to day basis. In these forms of harassment, the said employee has singled me out from our vendor company in which I am the only Caucasian, he has verbally cussed me out in front of other staff and customers calling me a "dumb ****, and ****ing clueless." Also the individual has literally blocked me from performing my duties at this dealership. He regularly comes up to me throughout my work day and verbally assaults me in demeaning, disrespectful and degrading fashions. I have notified my supervisors of the issue, and I have also spoken with the appropriate parties of the dealership, after which, the individual provoked me into "telling on him again." mind you, in no way shape or form am I obligated to report to this individual as well as him having no reason to contact me. the work environment now feels hostile and unsafe. what should I do?

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state or, if not in the US, what is the name of your country?

 

[michael2009]

North Carolina

 

[cbg]

When you reported this to the dealership, what happened?

 

[michael2009]

When you reported this to the dealership, what happened?

I let the dealerships operations director know exactly what was going on, time dates witnesses etc, he then had a meeting with the individual after which he let me know it would not be a problem anymore, and if it is let him know. so the day after this, the individual (in front of other coworkers) said to me "hey theres ron (the operations director) go tell him I'm being mean and saying bad things to you". this was a formal complaint I requested through ron, and I also warned ron of my concern of retribution in which now seems to be taking place.

 

[cbg]

That seems fairly mild retribution. But I'm sure you promptly reported it to Ron?

What is it that you want to see happen? What is your ultimate goal here?

 

[michael2009]

That seems fairly mild retribution. But I'm sure you promptly reported it to Ron?

What is it that you want to see happen? What is your ultimate goal here?

to be frank and as cliché as it may be, I just wanted to be treated with the same dignity and respect as I output to everyone else. it has also come to my attention this morning that he has had previous allegations from other Caucasian workers. I reported it to ron and he said he would be talking to the dealership owner; I have not heard back from either of them yet. the main issue is he is literally blocking me from doing my work, for example blocking bay doors when I need to pull vehicles in and out and being cussed out and belittled for politely asking if I could move it back a bit so I can move the vehicles from the bays. my goal is to simply be able to perform my tasks in a non hostile and professional environment. the progress of my position is being hindered due to his actions, causing me to fear for my own position performance and employment security. if this issue persists, I intend to file a complaint through the state, my supervisors have been informed, agree and have offered aid through our hr department.

 

[commentator]

A complaint with the which arm of the state for what? Do you mean with the EEOC for his harassment on the job due to your being in a protected class? Are you the only Caucasian male he works with? Does he harass and belittle others on the job who are not Caucasian? Labor boards deal with union issues. Wage and hour deals with pay and overtime issues. Who do you think is in the "department of fair and harassment free workplaces? office of the state? Hint. There isn't one. If you are having this sort of issue, you do not "go to the state" you work with your company's HR department and your supervisors. I do not understand. You say they "agree". To WHAT? That they can't stop this person from behaving the way he is and that you should "go to the state" about this? They may be encouraging you to quit your job (knowing this will make it hard for you to get approved for unemployment) knowing that there's no state department you can complain to and force them to reinstate you and fix the situation.

 

[cbg]

Just so that you're clear; the employer's obligation is to make any illegal harassment stop. That's it. It's not to fire the offender; it's not even to make everyone treat you nicely or with the respect you think you deserve. It's to make any ILLEGAL behavior stop. No more.

 

[michael2009]

I understand both comments, from my research it inferred that a complaint had to be filed with "the state" if the issue cannot be resolved in house, basically a course of actions it seemed like. And the "agree" comment: I am the only Caucasian from my vendor in which I work alongside 8 other African Americans. In the last month numerous other Caucasian employees (4 others) have come in for meetings, consultations etc. and have stated he has in fact harassed them in similar manners; meanwhile he is being buddy buddy with my African American coworkers who have attested that he goes out of his own way to harass me. That is what I meant by the supervisors agreeing with me, this individual happens to be the ceo's daughter. She claims she was treated the same way when she was in town and agrees that is now at a harassment level.

 

[cbg]

You've reported it, which is the right first step. Now you need to wait and see what happens. If no further illegal harassment happens, the employer has met their burden and there is nothing to report to anyone.

 

[michael2009]

I completely agree, believe me I do not wish for this issue to escalate any higher than it needs to be. Again, I just want to be able to do my job, that's all.

 

[commentator]

There just is not any area of "the state" that deals with workplace harassment.

 

[justalayman]

Ok, you've explained all that went on with the dealer so,


What has your employer said when yiu spoke with them of the issue? Since your permission to be there based on a contract between your employer and the dealership and yiu say the other party's actions are preventing you from performing your purpose fully, one would think possibly your employer would be interested in seeing the situation resolved as well