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View Full Version : I'm being bullied by someone w/a knife at work California


bulliedbypsycho
04-10-2007, 10:10 AM
At my workplace, a mom & pop business with less than 100 employees and NO human resources dept, I am being harassed and bullied by a new employee. I have been at the workplace for almost 5 years and am currently in a lower management position. A recently hired homeless man has been for the past few weeks harassing me and bullying me at work and although I have frequently complained to the management and also called the police, no one at work will take action.

Some of the harassment includes, but is not limited to:
** blowing kisses and winking at me ( we are both men)
** threatening to "open a can of whoop a$$ on me
** saying " you talking to me?" a' la Tony Montagnia from Scareface
** saying to me " i like to hunt White Rabbits" ( he's hispanic I am white)
** walking into a personal conversation I"ve had with other employees and yelling " you got something to say to me? Say it to my face!"
** management allows hiim to bring a pocket knife to work


each incident I go straight to management because I don't want to deal with it myself. I want them to document it. Each time they say "we'll talk to him when we feel like it"....so I never know if they talked to him or not. They suspended him once, but then the abuse got worse when he returned. The police came to my work and could not take a police report due to the fact that no crime has taken place, but I do feel as though SOMETHING is wrong here and somewhere there has to be a labor law that requires that I cannot work in such a hostile environment. If it weren't for the fact that we just had a baby, I would quit my job, but for financial reasons I cannot do that, but I do have several applications out and am hoping for a response.
Does anyone know if any type of labor laws are being broken? Are small businesses required to provide safe working atmospheres? We have no labor union and no human resources dept. for me to complain to. The business is Christian-based, but it's a for-profit company, and I am always being told that the bully derserved forgivness because it's the christian thing to do. Meanwhile, I continue to be harassed.
any advice or help is appreciated. thank you.

cbg
04-10-2007, 11:03 AM
Not all, or even most, of the items on your list qualify as illegal harassment. However, there are a couple that do, or at least potentially could. Since you have addressed this with managment and management either has not addressed it or has not successfully addressed it, your next step is to contact CA's DFEH.

http://www.dfeh.ca.gov/

Sexual orientation is not protected at the Federal level so if you are going to try to make a case based on your first item, you will have to go through the state rather than the Federal EEOC.

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