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Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Violence in the Workplace

My husbands boss physically and verbally attacked him on Saturday because he was unable to work on Saturday, but requested his check for the weeks work. At that point he had already worked 62 hours from Monday – Friday, which he only receives his straight pay for all hours worked. (No overtime is ever paid).

After approaching me in my vehicle at the job sight, his boss got angry with me because I would not agree with him and make my husband stay at work, verbally (profanity +) abused me and fired my husband. When my husband bent over to pick up his tool belt he physically attacked him and it took 3 people to pull him off. My husband did not fight back and let it get broke up knowing the boss was totally in the wrong.

What do we do now?


First, you call the police and file charges. Yes, you do. People who just jerks should be ignored and avoided. People who physically attack other people should be arrested and locked up.

Second, you go to the Department of Labor and file a complaint about the overtime. I am presuming, based on the comment about a tool belt and getting paid by the hour, that your husband is legally eligible for overtime. (There are some IT people who are paid by the hour but not eligible for overtime. In this case, even if your husband is IT, let his boss prove he's not eligible for overtime.)

Third, no matter how bitter and angry you and your husband are at the situation (with good cause, I might add), don't let it ruin your life. Start pounding the pavement and look for a new job. Apply for unemployment. If it's denied--because his boss claims he was fired for cause--present a copy of the police report and appeal the decision.

I hope your husband can find a new job quickly and that his boss gets locked up.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Workplace bullies and crazy bosses are getting a lot of blog play lately. The Human Resource Blog [hrblog.typepad.com] has several interesting posts; one that includes a statistic that 45% of U.S. workers report laboring under a bully. What is described here is obviously way over the line, but it happens more than people may think. I couldn't agree more with your response to the situation.

Evil HR Lady said...

It's amazing to me how many workplace bullies exist and how many bosses of bullies ignore the behavior.

Anonymous said...

what amazes me is that no metion of calling the police immediately is made by "what do we do now?" Since when is a physical attack not grounds for calling the police?

Shannon Munford said...

Many managers and bosses are being held accountable for their aggressive behavior when company owners require them to complete anger management classes. Such a class is a great way to cover the company while getting help for valuable employees.

www.daybreakservices.com
http://angerarchive.blogspot.com