Steps Toward Workplace Civility Law & Could You Qualify for Disability Benefits?
January 25, 2010
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]
Episode #13: How to Never Give Up and Never Be Alone. An Interview with Our Forum Den Mother, Lulu
December 15, 2009
Episode 13 features an interview with our forum Den Mother and bully boss fighter, Lulu. Lulu joined our forum feeling alone and confused about how her long, stellar career could start crumbling when a much younger manager took over the department where Lulu worked. [Read more]
Bully Boss Survivor Marilyn Veincentotzs and the new Undercover H.R. Director (OnYourSide!)
November 30, 2009
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A Survivor’s Story: Marilyn Veincentotzs
Episode 12 features an interview with Bully Boss survivor turned author Marilyn Veincentotzs. Marilyn, who also goes by “Dr. Vee”, learned from “Work Laws Exposed” how to fight back against a bullying boss. Then she helped a good friend do the same thing. Then she took her expertise in organizational psychology and wrote a book, “How Organizations Empower Bully Bosses: A criminal in the workplace.”
Personal Help With YOUR Work Problems
In Episode 12 we also introduce a fantastic new resource for people who need help with responding to a bullying boss: The Undercover HR Person! That’s right, our forum stalwart and HR expert, “OnYourSide”, is actually named Mary, and Mary is now available to help you with workplace issues too. If you want help composing a letter to your boss, filing out a complaint form, preparing a timeline to use when meeting with HR, or completeing FMLA forms — then Mary is the perfect resource for you.
Hire Mary to Help You
Would you like help crafting a professional response to your boss, your HR Dept, or preparing a submission to the EEOC? You can hire Mary by contacting her at this address: mary@undercoverlawyer.com. Her rate is $50 per hour, and there is a 1 hr minimum. You won’t find more professional, personal help anywhere else at a rate like this. But her time is limited, so if you think you might need her help contact her soon before the limited spots are gone. mary@undercoverlawyer.com
Quick Tip Contact Info:You may be closer to qualifying for social security disability than you think. You owe it to yourself to find out just how close you are: www.DisabilityDigest.com
Want to know Marilyn’s complete story? Buy her book right here!
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Do You Know the 4 Key Steps to Taking Back Your Life from a Bully?
September 20, 2009
Question: What are the four key steps to taking back your life from a bully?
Answer: Listen to our interview with psychotherapist Dr. Ben Leichtling (pronounced Like-Ling). Dr. Leichtling wrote a book about how to take back your life from a bully, and consults with companies on how to eliminate bullying from the workplace.
Dr. Leichtling reveals in this interview his four key steps to breaking free of a bully. He also gives invaluable advice on how to deal with the mental and physical trauma that bullies inflict. This is one episode no one should miss.
Podcast #11: Interview With Dr. Leichtling
Dr. Leichtling was so generous with his time that we couldn’t fit all of his helpful insights and ideas into the podcast, but it was simply too good “to leave on the cutting room floor”.
So even more of this interview is available on the Members-Only Forum, which is just $1 for the first month (and no further obligation). You can join the Member Forum here: http://www.undercoverlawyer.com/academy/member_forum.html
The Quick Tip is a site where you can rate your boss, and check to see if your potential new boss has been rated by his or her employees. The site is: http://www.ebosswatch.com/
Find even more helpful info from Dr. Leichtling at his site: http://www.bulliesbegone.com/
Let us know your thoughts on the interview, and what physical and mental effects, if any, you have felt as a result of a bully in your workplace.
-Curt
P.S. The link for getting access to the full interview with Dr. Leichtling (for just $1) is here: http://undercoverlawyer.com/amember/signup.php
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Podcast #10: Bully Boss Creates Hostile Work Environment by Forbidding Bathroom Breaks!
August 12, 2009
Don’t Have iTunes on Your Computer? Free Download from Apple w/ easy install instructions.
Main Segment
In the Main Segment of Episode #10 we tackle the issue of “Bully Bosses Who Forbid Bathroom Breaks.” This craziness happens much more frequently than you may think. Can you guess who the primary victims are?
#1 Spanish radio station in Miami
The radio show I mention during the show is 98.3. My thanks to Frank, the Undercover Lawyer community member from Miami who got the book and called in to 98.3 to talk about it. Thanks Frank!
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When Your Bully Boss is Behind Closed Doors, Do You Want to Know What the Lawyers Are Telling Him?
July 21, 2009
In Episode #9 the Undercover Lawyer (Curt K.) reveals 10 things that bosses do to their employees that cause hostile work environment lawsuits. (Podcast Player below). Even defense lawyers get mad at bad bosses, because bad bosses cause lawsuits. This is explosive information that big business pays top dollar for; Curt himself regularly charges companies $1,000+ for “How Not to Get Sued” seminars that cover this same material! But now you get it for free, plus Curt’s explanation of how employees can use this information for their advantage.
In the Quick Tip Curt covers how the new Federal Bailout Program includes money that you get right now if you’ve lost your job. It’s the COBRA subsidy, which requires your employer to pay 65% of COBRA premiums, so that you pay only 35% of the premium to maintain health benefits after leaving a job. Before this you would had to have paid 100%. You can get more info here: http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq_consumer_cobra.HTML
JOIN THE RESISTANCE!
And the most exciting news, the Members Only Private Forum of the Undercover Lawyer Academy is now available for only $1 for the first month (and $14.97 per month thereafter).� This is a giant discount from the usual $47 per month that will go into effect in about 30 days.� But if you sign up now, you lock in the $14.97 price for life (even after the full Employment Law Academy opens with tons of powerful new content).
You can take advantage of limited time $1 offer by clicking here: http://undercoverlawyer.com/amember/signup.php
The Abusive Boss Who Lost in Court
February 2, 2009
Abusive bullying boss ruining your work? You need to hear about Joe.
Joe is a hospital perfusionist (the person who operates the heart-lung machine during an open heart surgery). Well Joe’s boss, a surgeon, yelled at Joe, cussed at Joe, shook his fist and threatened Joe’s job. Joe got sick. Literally sick. As in having to go to his doctor and get anxiety medication, dreading every single work day morning type of sick.
Joe didn’t just turn the tables on his boss, Joe freakin’ flipped the tables over. Here’s how:
The Bully-Boss Surgeon
Joe Doescher’s “boss” was a cardiovascular surgeon named Dr. Daniel Raess. Dr. Raess behavior included yelling, screaming, and swearing at Joe with “clenched fists, piercing eyes, beet-red face, [and] popping veins.” The final incident ended with Joe believing that Dr. Raess was going to hit him, but at the last second Dr. Raess screamed “You’re finished, you’re history” and he stomped out of the room.
The Anxiety Stricken Employee
Joe felt like Dr. Raess damaged Joe’s ability to do his job, his ability to interact with his wife and family, and caused him to suffer from anxiety. Joe was even diagnosed with a “major depressive disorder,” a “panic disorder,” and an inability to focus.
Joe Strikes Back
So Joe filed a lawsuit against Dr. Raess, alleging that Raess was a “workplace bully” who assaulted Joe and inflicted emotional distress. Joe’s lawsuit went all the way to the Indiana Supreme Court, who were keenly interested in the testimony of Joe’s expert witness, Dr. Gary Namie, the nation’s leading Bullying Expert.
The explosive result in this case made national headlines, but don’t settle for a sound bite explanation. See for yourself how Joe Struck Back, and how the result directly affects YOU.
Subscribe to the “Hostile Work Place Podcast” right now by clicking on the “iTunes” button below; OR scroll down to the media player and easily listen to Episode 8 through your computer’s speakers. No ipod required.
Raess v. Doescher, Indiana Supreme Court (April 8, 2008).
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Podcast Episode #7: Your Boss Can Be Liable to You For Creating A Hostile Work Environment Based on Age
January 3, 2009
Download PDF Transcript
In Episode #7, we discuss how your boss can be liable to you for creating a hostile work environment based on age. The main example we cover is Elizabeth Parks v. Lebhar-Friedman, Inc., 2008 WL 4449345 (SDNY) (Oct. 2, 2008). Parks’ worked for her employer, Drug Store News, for 26 years. Even after that much time with nothing but good reviews, Parks felt like her boss was trying to make life miserable for her and push her out. Her boss concocted excuses to “write her up” and criticize her work for vague reasons that no one could understand, much less act upon. Parks’ boss, however, wasn’t planning on Parks pushing back. To learn how she did it, and how she got some smoking gun evidence against her boss and other executives at her company, just listen to the show.
You can listen on iTunes by clicking HERE.
If you don’t use iTunes, you can listen by using the podcast player:
Also, the resource discussed in the quick tip is at: http://creditcard.westlaw.com/.
Can My Employer Do That? Part One By: Jenn S.
November 22, 2008
In a busy employment law practice, I field a lot of questions from employees who want to know whether an action taken by their employer was “illegal.” In the vast majority of cases, the action of the employer is not illegal per se, though it may have been grossly unfair, blatantly discriminatory, or in extreme bad taste. However, there are situations where an employer is acting illegally and quick action is necessary. The following are some common and some unusual questions from employees who call wanting to know, “Can my employer do that?”
Can my boss tell me to cover my tattoos / cut my hair / take out a piercing? Freedom to express yourself is surely a great right in America. But, if you want to hold a job you’d best take note of your employer’s appearance standards. An employer absolutely can enforce rules about how you look – hairstyles and colors, jewelry choices, clothing styles, tattoos and piercings, makeup, shoes – it is all up to your employer, especially if your job involves interaction with the public. In a customer service-oriented position, your personal appearance speaks volumes about your employer, so it shouldn’t be a shock that your employer has a keen interest in how you look on the job.
One of the most common questions I’ve received is “How can my employer allow women to wear earrings but not men – isn’t that gender discrimination?” No, folks. In most instances, the employer can control how its employees appear to customers. Illegal discrimination might rear its head in relation to ethnic or religious head wear but it is a rare case, indeed.
Can my boss deduct my “mistakes” from my paycheck? Employees often ask whether their employer (usually a retailer or restaurant) can deduct accounting mistakes, such as a cash drawer shortage, from their paychecks. The answer is a resounding “NO.” If your employer ever attempts to hold you responsible for a shortage or damage to an item or some other loss by withholding any portion of your pay, you need to go straight to your state’s wage and hour unit to file a claim. The only time an employer can make deductions from your paycheck, other than your regular pay day withholdings, is if they have express permission from you in a signed writing.
Can my employer look through my desk or read my email? Yes. There is no “my” at work. Your employer owns it all and as such, has a general right to access areas that you might consider private. I often counsel employees that they should have no expectation of privacy in the workplace. Do not bring or keep things in the workplace that you do not want your employer to know about, and that includes thing in your email account, voice mail system, and those “secret” files you’ve got stored at the back of your desk. Your employer is not acting in an illegal manner by examining those things – anything that is located at work or is on an employer’s network is generally fair game. Therefore, keep your personal things personal and out of the workplace. Big Brother is watching you.
Can my employer tell me I stink? Seems like a crazy question but – I’ve actually been asked this. A woman called my office wanting to know if it was illegal for her employer to counsel her about her body odor. Coworkers had made several complaints to management about their odoriferous officemate and she had been told that she needed to take action to improve her scent. I’ve also had questions about whether an employer can ask an employee to abstain from wearing particular perfumes or colognes. The general answer is that an employer has a duty to make the workplace comfortable for their employees. So, if one employee is creating a smelly problem that adversely affects the rest of the team’s work environment, the employer is obligated to address and correct the issue. I would even go so far as to say that an employer could use progressive discipline to ultimately terminate an employee who refused to change their personal hygiene habits. Stinky is just not a protected class.
Can my employer fire me on the spot and not pay me what I am owed? It depends. Most states have a 24 hour rule for terminations, meaning that the employee must receive their final pay within 24 hours of an involuntary termination. However, some states allow for employers to make other provisions in their handbooks (such as not paying until the next payday). Check your own state’s laws regarding final pay to be sure of your rights.
WHAT QUESTIONS DO YOU HAVE ABOUT WHAT YOUR EMPLOYER CAN OR CAN’T DO?
These are only a few of the many scenarios that have been thrown my way by employees for legal analysis. What do you want to know about what your employer can or can’t do? Simply post your question on the forum, and I will answer in my next installment of “Can My Employer Do That?”
Podcast #6: 10 Tips for Anyone Facing Termination, Including Negotiating a Severance Package
November 10, 2008
Download PDF Transcript
If you want to listen on your iPod via iTunes, you can use this link (will open iTunes and take you to the podcast): http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=284065741 You can also listen through this website using the player below.
The primary message of Episode #6 of the Hostile Workplace Podcast is “You Are Not Powerless When Facing Termination!” This episode shows you how to fight back and try to keep your job, PLUS, we cover how to negotiate a severance if you decide to leave. Negotiating a severance would also apply to anyone who is facing layoffs at their company.
Tips 1-3:
Fight Back by utilizing protected classes and turning the tables on your supervisor.
Tips 4-7:
Slow the Process Down by knowing all your due process rights and using all of them.
Tips 8-10:
Even if You Decide to Leave, don’t just walk away; you have the power to get something out of the company, and ease your transition to your next (better) job.
The ever-popular “Quick-Tip” feature comes straight from our forums. A community member who is facing termination at his own job has a great tip for anyone dealing with an abusive boss.
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