Sexual harassment in the workplace, MY workplace, directed at ME

[Digit]

First of all, I AM actively looking for another job so I can get out of this situation. Sigh

I wondered why I was hired in the first place when my employer told me that he had a young man who made a perfect score on the employment test was hiring me, a 55 yr old woman instead. My spidey senses went off, but I was desperate for a job and took it. I also had some credit blemishes due to being unemployed I had to overcome on top of not being the highest scoring person.

He did not allow the young lady who held the position I was to undertake to train me, as my boss said, "She hates me".

Almost immediately my new boss, who is my age, began boasting how he could get a younger woman (as a romantic partner), yada, yada, yada. He would stand between my office and another "sub boss's" office and make these pronouncements, and then look for my reaction. My mouth tends to get me in trouble, and after enduring this nonsense for weeks on end, I looked up one day and told him to look under E in the Yellow Pages. He caught on right away and said he did not need to call an escort service.

As days went on, he would make sure to tap on my doorframe as he passed by my office trying to get me to look up. I wouldn't. I just kept on working.

I eventually moved my office to the other end which infuriated him.

He is making my life a living hell, dumping things on me which I have no way of knowing how to do since I was not trained.

He is constantly belittling me in front of my co-workers and making barbed attacks on my performance.

If I have a female customer come in to sign paperwork, he comes out and leers at them and when they leave he makes inappropriate comments.

This is not a great job...the pay is low, the commute is hell, and I will be canned anyway because I have not been able to do the job I was hired to do as I am cleaning up his messes. Oh, and customers are dropping like flies as they tell me he will not return phone calls or emails.

This guy needs to be removed. Period. The organization itself is not bad, but this guy is bad for business and I am the second woman who is about to leave because of him.
I did have a conversation with the former employee about him, and we have the same complaints. She is still with the company, but a different office.

To make matters worse, the Divison Mgr wanted to start me at an even LOWER salary than what I am receiving, so I fear going to him might hurt me.

Suggestions?
Oh, and I am taking a tape recorder to work. I would love to get him on tape saying how he would "DO" the other women in other offices....

:puke:

[Selatius]

1. Constructive discharge is illegal under the law

What the term means is the boss makes an employee's job so miserable the person quits. This way, the boss says, "Hey, I didn't fire him unfairly. He quit on his own." I believe the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission views this as a form of discrimination.

Call the relevant labor authorities and levy a complaint.

[Cocoa]

2. I would suggest you talk to a lawyer ASAP

the lawyer will advise you exactly what to do, maybe advise you whether your taking the tape recorder to work is legal or not. A recording might not be necessary, written notes made by you might serve as evidence, especially if that other employee can corroborate.

[Demobrat]

3. You are already doing what I would suggest.

Tape him - tape him - tape him! And take notes too. Write down everything he says that's inappropriate, when it happens - by HAND - NOT on the computer - and date it. Everything. Keep a diary. When/if you are let go go straight to an employment lawyer with everything you have. Start looking for one now. If you play your cards right you'll walk away with a settlement and he'll be cooling his heels in the unemployment line. Nobody has to put up with that shit anymore.

[Tunkamerica]

4. depends on what state you're in

you could get in more trouble than him if you tape him without notifying him.

[Demobrat]

12. She doesn't have to use them.

Anyway in most states it's not illegal to tape yourself so if she tapes conversations between her and her boss she's fine.

[PoiBoy]

5. Check this out...

http://starbulletin.com/2006/12/09/news/story10.html

I hope you stay strong and focused... this article might give you an idea of what's possible, depending on the state you live in... you will need to document everything he says to you... gather witnesses.. get a lawyer..

BTW.. it's not the money award that I'm referring to in this article.., it's the process and the timing of the employees actions that allowed her to prevail against the company and a highly regarded (per the article) manager.

Good Luck to you and Best Wishes..!

[blueknight]

6. if you have any friends there

or any others that are going through the same thing as you, or anyone you can confide in,tell them what he is saying to you.they could prove to be very valuable in the future. btw, what state you in?

[Digit]

8. I am in NC

Moving my office made it difficult to even SEE me unless he comes up to the front of the main office, and even then the doorway is angled so he can't see in unless he is purposedly coming to see me. Also now he is in earshot of the other two women whom I work with.

The office manager said she would like to report him for his negligence and the fact that we are losing customers directly because of him but she is afraid of repercussions.

As far as the sexual harassment, I don't know if she has ever heard what he had said to me as my office used to be in the back next to his.
But she does witness how he acts when women come into the office and the things he says afterwards. She also heard him saying how he would "DO" the other woman in the other office.

BTW, on Monday, he has an interview with a woman about 35 yrs old and even though he has not met her, he was suggesting she was the age of someone he could hook up with and how excited he would be to meet her, yada, puke, yada.

[SeattleGirl]

10. Who is the office manager afraid of, in terms of repercussions?

Your boss, or hers? I would definitely start taking notes -- date/time/incident -- but would check state law as far as recording him goes. And checking with an appropriate attorney would also be a good idea. Oftentimes, attorneys will do a free initial consult, so you wouldn't be out any money just to go talk to one.

I did that years ago when the manager of an apartment complex I lived in wouldn't stop harassing me (accusing me of doing something that the people who lived downstairs had actually done). I looked up landlord/tenant laws for Washington State, then went to consult with an attorney. I thought that I was in the right, and the attorney agreed. The attorney told me to write a letter to the manager, copy the property management company, and what to say in the letter. I did, and the guy never bothered me again (mentioning that I consulted with an attorney probably scared his nasty ass but good).

[Digit]

14. She is afraid of the Division Mgr

My boss is not technically HER boss, but the Division Mgr is the next chain of command for both of us.

[Digit]

7. I am not looking for a payout

I would be perfectly happy if he were replaced with a boss that treated me with respect and did his work as he is supposed to do.

A long drawn out battle is not my idea of a good time and would probably give me ulcers.

[Clintonista2]

11. If you make it clear that you are willing to take action

I'm sure something will happen. No company wants to be faced with the possibility of a sexual harrassment lawsuit. Like the above posters said, tape him, but be sure its legal to do so in your state. Up here where I live, you get into alot of trouble for that.

[purduejake]

15. What's the harm in secretly taping?

Hold onto them until talking to an attorney. My company has a strict policy against audio tapes, but if we catch somebody engaging in prohibited harassment with it, it seems to be a different story. Even my digital camera and cell phone has voice recording now... if you have that, you could "accidentally" record something.

[Demobrat]

13. I don't think it's anybody's idea of a good time.

But if you lose your job through no fault of your own you deserve a settlement large enough to tide you over at least until you find another job.

[applegrove]

9. I cannot even read. Get out of there now.