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I don't think it was right to suspend you. Bravo to you for trying to help people, but, that doesn't mean letting people try to kill you and drunks don't know what they are doing at all. I have been the victim of drunk people and it is really scary.
We have had that happen at our company, under different circumstances, and that is how it worked. I guess it depends.
I think in this situation, they want to remove the OP from the circumstances so that they can do an investigation, as well as to protect the OP (and the business) from liability or further harm.
I feel for you Ron. That is a tough situation. I would have done the same. However, if protecting yourself meant that you hit him after he was down or had given up, I could see where they would fire you. If you just punched him once or twice, I am hopeful that you will be ok.
Nope, he did not give up, he kept coming. That's when I started to swing.
Even after I grabbed him, to get him to calm down, he kept swing and pushing me back. That's when I pushed him off of me and defended myself.
I gave the client every chance to walk away, not only that I went easy on him. I could have suspended him for many more days because it was not his first time.
I told him to stay out one night and come back in the morning.
I did everything to work with the guy.
Funny part is, earlier that day he was in an altercation and also the police gave him a citation for being drunk in public.
The police officer that took the report told me she came to a call about him a week ago.
We are not talking about a choir boy. This guy has history. The Director refused to remove the guy from the shelter.
It's hard to know what to say without knowing what 'The client was hurt pretty bad' means. If you crossed the line between being defensive and being the aggressor, they may be able to fire you for cause.
I don't think it was right to suspend you. Bravo to you for trying to help people, but, that doesn't mean letting people try to kill you and drunks don't know what they are doing at all. I have been the victim of drunk people and it is really scary.
Just 2 weeks ago on June 6th...........one client went off on me( because someone stole his cell phone) and I got 4 stitches and a mild concussion. He got lucky because I did not see him coming. He blind sided me.
This client should have never been in the shelter. He is a known sex offender and we SUPPOSEDLY do allow sex offenders.
I'm telling you guys, this shelter is a F**Ked up place to work.
I have tried so hard to find another job. The place is so dangerous and toxic.
It's hard to know what to say without knowing what 'The client was hurt pretty bad' means. If you crossed the line between being defensive and being the aggressor, they may be able to fire you for cause.
No I did not cross the line. I punched him enough to defend myself. Than others jumped in to pull us apart. I defended myself. I did not try to hurt or kill the guy. I cannot control how hard I punch someone in a situation like that. You do what you need to do to get they guy off of you.
As many of you know, I manage a homeless shelter. Before any of you start up, let me tell you, the guys that I manage ARE NOT choir boys. Far from it.
My shelter is the second worst in the City of Chicago. We don't deal with people that are down on their luck and just need a place to get back on their feet and move on, these guys have given up on life. Active drug users, alcoholics, criminals, gangbangers, you name it. It's a rough place to work.
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Last night at around 9pm, one of the clients came in intoxicated. I told him, he could not enter tonight because he was intoxicated. I was very patent with him, explaining to him why. This client has a long history of inappropriate behavior.
The program director is aware of his behavior but they continue to allow this guy( and many others) to live in the shelter. We deal with some problematic people to say the least. Clients pretty much can do whatever they want, as the old saying goes " the inmates are running the asylum", that applies to my shelter.
Well...........the client became irate that I was not going to allow him to stay because he was intoxicated. He stepped back and took a swing. I was able to block him and I grabbed him. He still kept swinging so I was forced to respond therefore I defended myself. The client was hurt pretty bad as a result of my defending myself.
I called the "big bosses up" after I called the police......bottom line, I was wrong for defending myself.
At my shelter, the clients can do whatever they want to staff and the staff has to put up with it, even getting physically abused. That's the message the senior management sends.
Therefore my boss called me today and suspended my until Tuesday. That's when I will know if I am fired or not.
My back is up against the wall. When things like this happen, they almost always decline you for unemployment benefits at my shelter.
I have no Idea what to do........
The justification for a termination, if that happens, depends on what policy and guidelines in your company's handbook. If they have one. If there's a standard operating procedure in dealing with hostile clients and you didn't follow it -- they may have a good reason to fire you.
However, if there were no such SOP and guidelines on dealing with clients in the similar situation you went through, then you may have a strong case. I would write down exactly what happened and explain what you did to defend yourself.
Just 2 weeks ago on June 6th...........one client went off on me( because someone stole his cell phone) and I got 4 stitches and a mild concussion. He got lucky because I did not see him coming. He blind sided me.
This client should have never been in the shelter. He is a known sex offender and we SUPPOSEDLY do allow sex offenders.
I'm telling you guys, this shelter is a F**Ked up place to work.
I have tried so hard to find another job. The place is so dangerous and toxic.
If the workplace is a very dangerous and toxic place to work in, then I'd check into your state law on how they determine eligibility for unemployment insurance. Before you do anything drastic, I'd research as much as I can.
The justification for a termination, if that happens, depends on what policy and guidelines in your company's handbook. If they have one. If there's a standard operating procedure in dealing with hostile clients and you didn't follow it -- they may have a good reason to fire you.
However, if there were no such SOP and guidelines on dealing with clients in the similar situation you went through, then you may have a strong case. I would write down exactly what happened and explain what you did to defend yourself.
There is a SOP and I followed it like I always do.
This guy out of the blue took a swing. He knows he was wrong. Even when the police arrived he did not deny anything. He encouraged me to press charges.
If the workplace is a very dangerous and toxic place to work in, then I'd check into your state law on how they determine eligibility for unemployment insurance. Before you do anything drastic, I'd research as much as I can.
I am working on that now.
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