Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Ugh, I feel for you. I've had two bosses like that in my lifetime, and unfortunately it's pretty much a no-win situation. The only thing I can suggest is to set up a formal appointment to meet with him (early morning of course) and without even mentioning the alcohol, just say that you are concerned with how he is making it difficult for employees to be effective in their positions, and that you'd like to work with him to develop a solution so the business will become more profitable.
We HAVE confronted him and he flat out denies the physical abuse (which consists of grabbing females by the arm to get their attention, usually to the point of bruising, not to mention the emotional trauma.) He may be so inebriated he doesn't remember. One girl walked out immediately after being grabbed, but the majority desparately need their jobs. He seems to sense that and won't touch the girls who'd most likely file charges. Whatever the case, discussing it with him has been futile. I try to console the girls when these incidents happen and explain to them how miserable he must be to have to bully a bunch of women to prove what a MAN he is; and that I would back them up if they chose to report him.
He's getting worse. Now he's begun to verbally humiliate some of the lower-paid men. I'm sure he knows how most of them would immediately react to physical abuse.
I really need to stress the point that the unemployment rate here is VERY HIGH!!! Unemployment benefits do not apply if you leave voluntarily and it could be months before a determination is made, unless somebody's filed criminal charges, and nobody will because they need their jobs.....so it's a Catch-22!
No advice for you, but that sounds like a nasty situation. Hopefully, something will happen to get him out of there before he hurts someone.
I had a boss in my past that was a doozy in a different way. He was a doctor in private practice who was having an affair with his nurse while his wife was dying of cancer. He and his chippie lived in an apartment above the office and would go up for trysts during the day, come down late (like 1+ hr) in the mornings with patients waiting, and smoke pot so that we all could get a buzz off the smoke floating around. His nurse hated me and took to sabotaging my job (which was front desk) by hiding patient charts and labs as they came off the fax machine. Thankfully, I was able to find another job and quit that one, but it was hellish while I was there.
I think you have a legal responsibility as a supervisor to ensure your employees are in a safe and free from harassment environment.
I'd report this to the labor board. You cannot be punished for this and retaliation is against the law. If retaliated against, you could win a nice hefty law suit.
I think you have a legal responsibility as a supervisor to ensure your employees are in a safe and free from harassment environment.
I'd report this to the labor board. You cannot be punished for this and retaliation is against the law. If retaliated against, you could win a nice hefty law suit.
What I have is a moral dilemma. If his victims don't file criminal charges, there's nothing I can do. Even if the labor board had the time & manpower to investigate, which is unlikely, nobody's going to speak up because they're afraid they'll lose their jobs.
Yes, retaliation is illegal, but can you imagine the hostile environment for anybody blowing the whistle? And meanwhile, the business would close and a lot of people would be out of work.
As far as a lawsuit, some employees might win a judgement for past wages for wrongful termination, but nobody can collect from a bankrupt company.
I guess it's a matter of time before he does this to the wrong person....
Dolphin: What an awful situation for you and worse for the patients! Is the guy still in practice?
What I have is a moral dilemma. If his victims don't file criminal charges, there's nothing I can do. Even if the labor board had the time & manpower to investigate, which is unlikely, nobody's going to speak up because they're afraid they'll lose their jobs.
Yes, retaliation is illegal, but can you imagine the hostile environment for anybody blowing the whistle? And meanwhile, the business would close and a lot of people would be out of work.
As far as a lawsuit, some employees might win a judgement for past wages for wrongful termination, but nobody can collect from a bankrupt company.
I guess it's a matter of time before he does this to the wrong person....
Dolphin: What an awful situation for you and worse for the patients! Is the guy still in practice?
No, I actually think you have a legal responsibility. Mind you, I am no attorney, but I did take a labor law class and receive an HR certificate with distinction (4.0 - big name university) so my gut and education tells me you DO have this obligation. Oh, and I worked in HR for five years many moons ago.
I don't know about the rest (but a hostile work environment is also grounds for a lawsuit - trust me, I went through all of this seven years ago). What I mean to say is I don't know if one gets anything from a bankrupt company other than unemployment and knowing one did the right thing. I'd call the labor board anonymously then. Press *67 on your phone before you make the call. It blocks your number and comes up as unknown (I'm so sneaky )
Last edited by mistygrl092; 01-06-2011 at 06:37 PM..
Reason: add thought and clarification
Dolphin: What an awful situation for you and worse for the patients! Is the guy still in practice?
Last I heard, he was still in practice, but was struggling with patients fleeing and personnel issues. This was about 10 years ago, when the nurse of his main rival rear-ended me one day. She filled me in on some happenings, and said he was really "losing it". Sad. No idea what's going on now.
Best of luck with your horrible employer. As much as I'd like to believe in karma, there are too many awful people that never get what's coming to them, and too many good people that suffer because of it. I hope your boss ends up paying for his actions and doesn't take anyone else with him when he does.
No, I actually think you have a legal responsibility. Mind you, I am no attorney, but I did take a labor law class and receive an HR certificate with distinction (4.0 - big name university) so my gut and education tells me you DO have this obligation. Oh, and I worked in HR for five years many moons ago.
I don't know about the rest (but a hostile work environment is also grounds for a lawsuit - trust me, I went through all of this seven years ago). What I mean to say is I don't know if one gets anything from a bankrupt company other than unemployment and knowing one did the right thing. I'd call the labor board anonymously then. Press *67 on your phone before you make the call. It blocks your number and comes up as unknown (I'm so sneaky )
I sincerely appreciate your advice, but you are not understanding what I'm saying. If I were to report him to the labor board, they would want the actual victims of his abuse to sign sworn statements. If any of them were willing to go forward, the owners would be so terrified of the ensuing legal action, they would close the business and EVERYBODY would be out of work. Some of these people make little more than minimum wage and live paycheck-to-paycheck. Do I want to live with that? No, I cannot.
It's like being back in the dark ages for some of the employees. They're busting their butts for $7.50 an hour, taking s***, and have nowhere to go. It's breaking my heart to see the ingratitude of the owners. The physically abused, all female, make substantially more, which is why they're reluctant to file charges. (No, this is not a strip club, it's a full service restaurant.)
And, to reiterate, unemployment here is realistically about 30% and will get higher soon because of early freeze.
Please consider all this and tell me: Would you do the right thing for a few who may or may not file charges or do the best thing for all?
Yeah, I worked for a large corporation which I could have sued and won and they would have paid out big bucks. In your situation, I just guess the best thing is to try to find another job and help your employees to do the same.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
)
