Hostile Work Environment Definition
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Hey Grinch Bosses: No Holiday-Time Terminations!

No Holiday Time Terminations

No employee should be terminated after the first week of December until after New Years. This is because any employer who fires an employee during this period will be the embodiment of Scrooge in the eyes of a jury. There’s really no acceptable reason for an employee to get terminated during this holiday time period, outside of theft. And even then, if the employee was stealing in order to put food in the mouth of Tiny Tim, the employee still gets a pass. In other words, no terminations during December. Period. If the employee does something so incomprehensibly bad that they must be kept away from work, such as sexually assaulting another employee or stealing cash out of another employee’s purse, then a smart employer will simply keep the employee away from work through New … [Read more...]

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Your Comments: Does Living Through a Hostile Work Environment Feel Like Being a POW?

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So many of you replied to the my last article, about how living through a hostile work environment feels like living through a prison camp, that I decided to post some of the most insightful and heartfelt responses.  (I asked their permission too).  Some people think I went too far, but most of you were supportive of the point I'm trying to make: that feeling trapped by a bullying abusive boss leads to the same feelings of panic, desperation, and even PTSD that prisoners of war feel. The actual physical experiences are NOT the same. The feelings are very similar. Without further ado, here are the comments -- and please chime in with your own thoughts at the bottom of this post: From "Johnec" who works with former prisoners of war as part of his own job: "I work with former … [Read more...]

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Is a Prison Camp Comparable to Living Through a Hostile Work Environment?

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I’ve been wanting to write more, and post more regularly to this blog. Like lots of people, instead of working directly on my goal I’ve procrastinated by doing any number of different things that feel like they are related to my goal, but really aren’t. I’ve compiled lists of writing ideas, written out writing schedules, got a new writing program to use on my laptop, and the mother-of-all-time-wasters: “research.” In an effort to not waste so much time clicking from article to article on the web, I decided I would shut the laptop and go back to reading some full length books. But you got to start slow, right? Not just jump into reading dense legal reference books. So I thought it would be good to read a book about overcoming adversity, since so many of the people who visit … [Read more...]

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Has Your Bully Boss Said Anything This Stupid?

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Sometimes the stupid stuff your boss says is SO overwhelmingly stupid, that it's funny. And because being someone who is fighting back against harassment and bullies is stressful, I wanted to give you something to help you laugh a bit. I'm generally a serious guy, but sometimes you just need to laugh, you know? So, I hope this can put a smile on your face and give you the brief mental break that you need and deserve. So here's the list of 32 dumb things managers say included. 1. "Am I the only one around here with half a brain?!" 2. "I know my plan won't work, but don't disagree with me in front of others." 3. "I only say those things to look tough. I'm reshaping my image for advancement." 4. "I tried to e-mail you to tell you that my e-mail … [Read more...]

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The 12 Steps of “Restructuring” Jobs to Eliminate Older Workers

The 12 Steps of “Restructuring” Jobs to Eliminate Older Workers |

A bully boss will go to great lengths to terminate an employee they no longer want.  Frequently age discrimination, a kind of senior-employee-phobia, is the root cause. As both a defense lawyer advising companies, and in my role as the Undercover Lawyer advising individuals, I've witnessed the following pattern many times: 1.)  First Time Supervisor is in his/her 30's and nervous about being in charge of other employees 2.)  First Time Supervisor is intimidated and scared of employees who are in their 50's and 60's, but doesn't want anyone to know it 3.)  Employees in their 50's and 60's get micro-managed and nit picked by the First Time Supervisor over minuscule issues, which are the only issues the First Time Supervisor understands 4.)  Older Employees get sick of being … [Read more...]

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Video: Stopping Age Discrimination, How Two Women Did It

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Many of the people who utilize the phone conference I offer to book buyers tell me that they just feel bullied and picked on, but it's not because of any "protected class". But then I ask them how old their boss is compared to them. "Well, she's quite a bit younger than me, actually." Then I ask if she has any favorites? You know what comes next... "Why yes she does, and they are even younger than her." Finally I ask if anyone has been hired or fired from the department since this new boss took the helm. "You know one person was given a severance package and left suddenly... and he was even older than me. The boss hired one of her own friends from her old company as the replacement. Didn't even advertise the opening." Age discrimination can be blatant (yelling "You're … [Read more...]

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Video: Here’s the Only Way to Stop a Bully Boss from Giving a Bad Reference

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Is your bully boss keeping you under his or her thumb by giving you bad references, so that you can't escape?  Or have you escaped the abusive boss, only to find he is still trying to ruin your life by giving you bad references? Here is the one and only way to force the boss to stop sticking their mean words into your hopes and plans to move on.  It's simple, and I event give you a letter template to use.  Just watch the video (which gets right to the point).   If your story sounds at all similar, be sure to get my FREE "7-Secrets of Work Law" e-mail course. Learn how to fight back against a bully boss. Primary Email   Your email will never be shared, sold or revealed. If you need all the help you can get right NOW, … [Read more...]

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Age Discrimination Among the Unemployed, and Movement on a Workplace Harassment Bill

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Good News / Bad News The Illinois State Senate passed a version of the Namie's anti-bullying bill. The bill was introduced by Illinois State Senator William Delgado, who said "Being in an abusive work environment is intolerable. This legislation will finally give workers some means of relief from the abuse they may be tolerating in their work environment." At the time the Bill was introduced, it was written to apply to public and private employees, to make harassment from bosses and from co-workers illegal, and would have made managers and co-workers individually liable for bullying. The bill even went so far as to make it a criminal act for a manager to retaliate against an employee who complained about bullying. (Read more HERE). But you know how politics work. Business … [Read more...]

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Steps Toward Workplace Civility Law & Could You Qualify for Disability Benefits?

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In Episode #14 of the Hostile Workplace Podcast we review two recent cases, both of which point toward the federal courts gradual expansion of discrimination law, inching closer to requiring civility in the workplace. Ingrid Reeves v. C.H. Robinson Worldwide (11th Cir., January 20, 2010) Indergard v. Georgia-Pacific Corp., (9th Cir., September 28, 2009) We also have a highly informative interview with Brian Therrien of Disability Digest. We've featured … [Read more...]

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Is This Retaliation or Discrimination? Q & A with Derek D.

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Academy Member and book buyer Derek D. and I have been talking about how his bullying boss has gone over the line and started to infringe on Derek's employee rights.  Of course there is a long history, with the supervisor Trent taking a dislike to Derek back when Trent was himself a machine operator. After his promotion, Trent made comments that … [Read more...]