My name says it all. I live in missouri. My employment is at a small business a total of 6 employees, including the manager. The manager is the owners son. The managers job is to look up and order parts. There are 3 technicians that go out into the field and 2 secretaries.
My job is to first get all the messages off the phone, print all of the work orders off from various contractors, schedule all of the work orders (within a 50 mile radius, no certain days), take service orders as they call, and also reschedule after getting their parts in. The other secretary files all the claims and takes calls I cannot (when I am on the phone). Each technician goes a different direction daily. My job continued to grow to the point where I hang the ticket in the order the technician does the call which also includes getting it on the scheduler in the computer and writing it on the board. The same original ticket comes back when the part comes in so I draw a line through the date and time when i reschedule.
It was only about 4 months ago the owner started making put each ticket in order. If one ticket was out of order i get screamed at. To the point of spitting in my face. Constantly screaming at me if the order was not right. It is almost impossible to make a mistake. He would put them in a different order just to yell at me. Every morning was the same thing. Especially getting screamed and cussed at on a daily basis. It is not f–king rocket science. Use your f–king brain, all of this in front of the other employees. I have only missed 1 day for being sick in almost 2 years, having another part time job on satday and sunday. I started recording with my smart phone. In missouri you only need 2 persons consent in a workplace. My doctor knew as well. I had to start taking a low dose of xanax to calm me down before going to work. My hair started falling out. I have insomnia from worrying if I missed putting someone on the board or scheduler. I had 52 recordings and 80 daily memos until one day he seen my recording screen up. 2 days later my phone disappeared off my desk which is next to his. One of the technicians seen my phone, I just showed him the screen full of prints from my granddaughter before I wiped it off. All my concrete evidence was gone except 1 horrendous recording. I still have numerous documentation on random paper. My boss went to los vegas the day after my phone was gone. He came back and you could tell, each day, he read and heard more of the information. My work week went from 40 to 24. He told me through texting it was to prosper his business. He told the other secretary, in a private meeting, it was to help me get more rest to focus. Now each day I dont know what to expect. Im scared to go to work but I cannot quit without having another job. Also, I am 50 years old and have degenerative disc disease. No one will hire me now. Please someone help me…
Hostile work environment is always worth following up on. One of the lawyers my wife worked with specialized in employment law on the “company’s side” and it was the accusation they feared the most. I’m PA and your mileage may vary but check with your county or state bar associations and run it past a couple names.
But don’t write yourself off short when it comes to looking for another job. I bailed from my last place at 56, with a cranky ticker and after a stroke, and I picked up a new gig in three days of actually trying. And I am talking basic employment and not some sort of advanced high-paid form of work. Some companies are willing to take a risk on us older folks if we’re willing to take a shot with them.
I have no advice about dealing with your idiot manager, but at 62, I was just hired by a company that seems to value experience over age. Not to mention work ethic - I hear complaints about the younger hires spending too much time on their iPhones during work hours, or just not making any effort.
Incidentally, from your situation, it sounds to me like your manager wants you gone, but he doesn’t want to deal with an age discrimination claim, so he’s making you want to quit. I could be wrong, but that was my first impression.
I think you should see a mental health professional, because I don’t believe that your perception of events as described in the OP matches reality.
Do you think people are talking about you behind your back? Laughing at you? Watching the recordings from your phone? Are the other employees working together to mess with your job?
Missouri does not strike me offhand asa state that is going to be all that sensitive to employee rights. I think you need to transition to another job ASAP instead of putting your energies into going after your current asshole manager. It appears you’re on the exit ramp anyway at your current job, focus on getting a another job while you are still employed.
The reason I wanted to know is my wife was an attorney in MO for 20 years. Depending on which part of the state the OP is in we may have some specific recommendations.
Overall the OP is well advised to be looking hard for new work. Whatever remedies there may be in law they will be too little and way too late. But there can be a lot of satisfaction in seeing a real jerk get his comeuppance.
OTOH, maybe the OP is confused / crazy as suggested by others above. We shall see.
I may not be able to give you the news you want to hear. From my research (and IANAL), while employer bullying is a growing problem in the US it is neither illegal not grounds for a lawsuit.
The first thing you should do is see if your cell phone carrier can find your phone. I assume they can even if someone swapped out the SIM card.
The second is to see if you have a case under age discrimination since you are over 40.
[QUOTE=A real attorney]
Although legislation exists in more than 10 states (including Washington as HB 2142 and SB 6622), there currently is no federal or state law that explicitly and generally outlaws “bullying” at work or “hostile” work environments. Instead, laws (such as Washington’s Law Against Discrimination, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, American With Disabilities Act, Equal Pay Act, and so forth) prohibit discrimination and harassment (including sexual harassment) in most workplaces.
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