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Hostile work environment & potential for wokplace violence

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mick199

Junior Member
My Daughter is a restaurant manager for a large hotel chain in Atlanta, Georgia. As a manager, from time to time, she has to deal with insubordination from her employees when it arises. On the few occasions when she has had to discipline someone (and this is stringently done in accordance with corporate policy), the disciplined employee becomes verbally abusive and physically threatening to her. On one occasion, after being written-up, a male employee had to be physically restrained by security and escorted off the property. On a second occasion, a second male employee approached my daughter in a physically threatening manner and stood inches away from her while he brow-beat her in front of other associates. When she reports this to her supervisor and to human resources, they always sweep the threatening behavior under the rug and imply that the escalating tension and confrontation is due to some failure on my Daughter's part. Unbelievably, management suggests that the disciplined employee’s abusive and menacing behavior toward her is actually her own fault. Unfortunately, race has become an issue. No one ever wants to confront race issues and implement discrimination prohibitions when the claim is reversed from its usual application. My Daughter is Caucasian and 90% of her employees are African American. When she has to discipline an employee of a different race, the employee in question almost always charges racism. This is done in an attempt to escape accountability for their actions. Her management team continually side-steps the real problem (hostile work environment) and is unresponsive to truthful accounts of situations because they are extremely apprehensive about an erroneous interpretation that they might be taking racial sides against the disciplined employee.
I am truly concerned with my daughter’s safety!
Because her supervisors have taken a cavalier attitude toward the subject of a hostile workplace environment and possible workplace violence, I have counseled her to move to another hotel within the corporate organization. It is regrettable that she is being forced to continue to endure this abuse and to relocate because of the stubborn and frightened inaction of her management team.
Is there anything we can do to compel her employer to deal with the real issue of the great potential for workplace violence against my Daughter?
 


seniorjudge

Senior Member
mick199 said:
My Daughter is a restaurant manager for a large hotel chain in Atlanta, Georgia. As a manager, from time to time, she has to deal with insubordination from her employees when it arises. On the few occasions when she has had to discipline someone (and this is stringently done in accordance with corporate policy), the disciplined employee becomes verbally abusive and physically threatening to her. On one occasion, after being written-up, a male employee had to be physically restrained by security and escorted off the property. On a second occasion, a second male employee approached my daughter in a physically threatening manner and stood inches away from her while he brow-beat her in front of other associates. When she reports this to her supervisor and to human resources, they always sweep the threatening behavior under the rug and imply that the escalating tension and confrontation is due to some failure on my Daughter's part. Unbelievably, management suggests that the disciplined employee’s abusive and menacing behavior toward her is actually her own fault. Unfortunately, race has become an issue. No one ever wants to confront race issues and implement discrimination prohibitions when the claim is reversed from its usual application. My Daughter is Caucasian and 90% of her employees are African American. When she has to discipline an employee of a different race, the employee in question almost always charges racism. This is done in an attempt to escape accountability for their actions. Her management team continually side-steps the real problem (hostile work environment) and is unresponsive to truthful accounts of situations because they are extremely apprehensive about an erroneous interpretation that they might be taking racial sides against the disciplined employee.
I am truly concerned with my daughter’s safety!
Because her supervisors have taken a cavalier attitude toward the subject of a hostile workplace environment and possible workplace violence, I have counseled her to move to another hotel within the corporate organization. It is regrettable that she is being forced to continue to endure this abuse and to relocate because of the stubborn and frightened inaction of her management team.
Is there anything we can do to compel her employer to deal with the real issue of the great potential for workplace violence against my Daughter?

I am truly concerned with my daughter’s safety!

Then insist that she quit immediately and find another job.
 

mick199

Junior Member
seniorjudge

To seniorjudge:

Originally Posted by seniorjudge
I am truly concerned with my daughter’s safety!

Then insist that she quit immediately and find another job

This youg lady has 8 years invested in her career. She is also a homeowner. Your suggestion is that she give up everything she has worked so hard for(by quitting) simply because her managers don't have the guts to enforce zero-tolerance policies with regard to work place violence is incredibly short-sighted
 

seniorjudge

Senior Member
mick199 said:
To seniorjudge:

Originally Posted by seniorjudge
I am truly concerned with my daughter’s safety!

Then insist that she quit immediately and find another job

This youg lady has 8 years invested in her career. She is also a homeowner. Your suggestion is that she give up everything she has worked so hard for(by quitting) simply because her managers don't have the guts to enforce zero-tolerance policies with regard to work place violence is incredibly short-sighted
Okay, so you are NOT truly concerned with your daughter's safety.
 

Gadfly

Senior Member
Mick I have to ask how is it that these issues seem to come up so often and so violently? It seems there may be a shread of truth in what you daughter's bosses are saying. She should be managing these people who work for her to eliminate the issues.

On a second occasion, a second male employee approached my daughter in a physically threatening manner and stood inches away from her while he brow-beat her in front of other associates.
How is it she allowed this to happen? I understand she has 8-years invested, but maybe she needs to seek out some guidance on how to handle out of control employees and resolving workplace issues such as this. If her solution is to run to her supervisors when these incidents happen,then those reporting to her will see her as a weak manager and take advantage of the situaton.
 

seniorjudge

Senior Member
Gadfly said:
Mick I have to ask how is it that these issues seem to come up so often and so violently? It seems there may be a shread of truth in what you daughter's bosses are saying. She should be managing these people who work for her to eliminate the issues.

How is it she allowed this to happen? I understand she has 8-years invested, but maybe she needs to seek out some guidance on how to handle out of control employees and resolving workplace issues such as this. If her solution is to run to her supervisors when these incidents happen,then those reporting to her will see her as a weak manager and take advantage of the situaton.
Mick is pouting and won't talk to us anymore since we won't agree with him.
 

CarrieT

Member
mick199 said:
To seniorjudge:

Originally Posted by seniorjudge
I am truly concerned with my daughter’s safety!

Then insist that she quit immediately and find another job

This youg lady has 8 years invested in her career. She is also a homeowner. Your suggestion is that she give up everything she has worked so hard for(by quitting) simply because her managers don't have the guts to enforce zero-tolerance policies with regard to work place violence is incredibly short-sighted
Mick, I can certainly understand your concern for your daughters safety, however seniorjudge is correct in principle, altho perhaps a bit abrupt. The problem is that there really is not anything you can do to FORCE management to take any kind of action.

I also have to agree with gadfly, as if there are continual repercussions associated with her management style (whether its corporate policy or not) perhaps it would help for her to take some management skills classes. Thats not to say she is an ineffectual or incompetent manager, but rather maybe for that type of work group, some alternative means of achieving the same basic disciplinary measures might be discovered that would satisfy both the corporate mandates as well as the core need for discipline. It might also be a case of the essence of 'respect' not coming through clearly enough. I dont really know - those are just thoughts.

However, as far as quitting. There are many times when a person invests years of his or her life into a career and then finds themselves unable to continue for one reason or another. Sometimes theres a clear pathway and open door elsewhere, other times not. Maybe in your daughters instance, this is one of those times when difficult as it may be, the time has come to move on.

She could certainly put out feelers in her industry for similar positions in other hotel chains or other hospitality areas. And because of your concern for her well being, it would be a good thing to help her find other alternatives.

Your care for her and obvious support is admirable.

Carrie
 

seniorjudge

Senior Member
CarrieT said:
...Mick, I can certainly understand your concern for your daughters safety, however seniorjudge is correct in principle, altho perhaps a bit abrupt....
Thank you; this is not the mollycoddle forum. I appreciate your kind words.
 

CarrieT

Member
seniorjudge said:
Thank you; this is not the mollycoddle forum. I appreciate your kind words.
Of course its not :)
HOWEVER... it seemed that the OP was getting hot under the collar and the actual (excellent) advice which you were giving, was getting lost in the heat of the fire :)
Sometimes, people only hear what they want to hear (No!! never!! can you believe that????? !!!!!!! :D ) and cant seem to understand that the information being given was sound.

This is also not the deliberately provoke forum either (WHAT!!! did I step into the twilight zone!!! Eeeeeeekkkk!!!!!!:eek: )

At heart Im a wave soother... lol

Apart from that, Ive been in the OPs daughters position and had to find an alternative career - difficult as the situation was. :)

Carrie
 

CarrieT

Member
Gadfly said:
yes, but Dr. Phil's style cuts right through the BS and gets to the core of the problem.
You are absolutely right!

It makes it crystal clear for those of us on the OUTSIDE. However, for the one IN the situation - all it does is confuse matters by causing them to become defensive and then misfocus thus ending up arguing the perceived 'attack' on themselves, rather than seeing the excellent advice being offered :)

This forum is a wonderful means of providing people with legal information who otherwise would not have the financial ability to obtain it. But sometimes delivery OF that information is key to it being EXCELLENT advice which is USEFUL, and EXCELLENT advice which is DISREGARDED for silly and preventable reasons.

The entire point of the forum (my belief) is to impart legal advice/information. NOT to browbeat people into feeling stupid for asking a question nor inept in the handling of their lives prior to asking :)

Carrie
 

Gadfly

Senior Member
The entire point of the forum (my belief) is to impart legal advice/information. NOT to browbeat people into feeling stupid for asking a question nor inept in the handling of their lives prior to asking
Sorry, but I didn't see that when I read the terms of service.

causing them to become defensive and then misfocus thus ending up arguing the perceived 'attack' on themselves
there in lies the problem and maybe the problem with the work situation too. And where does it say that dealing with the fact that someone screwed up should conveyed to them with peaches and cream?

Oh gosh sweety it's too bad that you don't know how to handle mean people and there is no way that just because you are a manager you should be able to respond to the situation and handle it. Oh, poor thing life is just so unfair to you. Do you want some cheese with that?
 
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