I am employed by a restaurant as a server. My questions are in regards to the actual legal definition of a "hostile work environment". Here are two examples of actions taken at my work by my employers.

#1

Maitre'd screamed at me whilst raising his hand and coming towards me.

#2

Chef yells out during service "you are f***ing everthing up".

Both of these incidents occurred with witnesses. I spoke to the General Manager after incident #1 and stated that I believed it to be inappropriate and that I wished that it would not occur again. He told me under no uncertain terms that he backed up the maitre'd 100% in his dealings with staff.

What should I do next? Or do I have a leg to stand on?

Please help :)

Robyn

Hi,

Sorry to hear about the problems in your workplace.
Sounds like you are going to have to "grin and bear it" or think about looking for another job.

While you are correct that you should not be yelled at and treated that way, there's not much in terms of labor law that can help you, espcecially since the General manager backs it up; most likely you will get fired if you pursue complaining.

I wish you the best.

Thanks so much for the insight... I am keeping a log of all the incidents, and will see how much further it will go, I just want to have all my ducks in a row in case one day I feel I have enough ammunition to let them know how they made me feel with a sound proof legal defense against their actions :)

Robyn

Yes, you are wise to keep detailed record. It may be you will need to file actual charges against them should the agressive actions escalate.

Your safety comes first, so proceed with caution; I am sure you will :)

Restaurants can be very aggressive and high-pressure places to work. The thing to note down is when these kinds of behaviors are not directly related to the situation: like if you really did NOT do anything to screw up an order or if the yelling has to do with something that is NOT related to serving food, etc.

Another thing to watch is how other waitstaff, who also make mistakes, are treated. If everyone gets yelled at, that is just the nature of the job. But if certain waiters or waitresses are treated gently even when they make mistakes, then you want to note those incidents down too, especially the ones that can be documented, such as having to void out a meal check because of an unhappy diner.

Over time, it is the pattern that will matter as much as any individual incident.

Delia,

Thank you so much for your response. I am taking notes and hoping that things will change. I really enjoy serving the clientele that frequents this restaurant. It is my extreme hope that things will become more pleasant as time goes on.

Robyn

The chef and the maitre'd behaving badly does not constitute a hostile work environment. Unless you are being singled out for this treatment because of your gender, then this is not sex discrimination.

I expect you're just dealing with a couple of high-strung people who can't control their behavior when they get stressed. Unfortunate but not illegal.

"hostile work environment" is not limited to sex discrimination.

You might also see a doctor about stress. When it can be shown that a company is deliberately singling you out and you are suffering measurably because of it, it may not matter whether there is a "labor protected" reason for the hostility. If you get a good solid medical opinion that you are suffering damage and that this damage would not be happening without the stress, and the stress is directly proven to be a result of this bad treatment, you should then see an attorney about that.

This type of complaint would be based on the causes and effects of the stress in your individual health, and not related to whether you could prove discrimination of any kind. If it can be shown that the stress is not a necessary part of the job, such as that another waiter who makes mistakes is treated more civilly, then you might be able to recover damages. This would be because the chef and maitre 'd could not claim they are also unable to control their own stress, if you could show they are controlling it when dealing with someone else.

Apart from filing complaints, you might also find it beneficial to enroll in some kind of assertiveness training or read some assertiveness books. These programs teach people how to stop sending the signals to bullies that say "it is safe to attack me". You'd be surprised how much of this behavior is just grown-up schoolyard bullies.

"hostile work environment" is not limited to sex discrimination. Yes, I'm well aware of that. :) But it's the most common form of HWE and she posted on the sexual harassment board.

Re the balance of your post, if the poster wants to claim an occupational illness/injury as a result of her employment, worker's compensation is her sole recourse and damages, including pain and suffering, are not at issue. The OP should also be advised that stress-related WC claims are quite hard to establish and you also waive all customary medical privacy when you file a WC claim.

That's why I said the doctor's results should be brought to an attorney. The attorney would advise on the details of privacy, likelihood of winning, consequences of fighting, etc.

It is not a bad thing to spend an hour with an attorney who advises against fighting, because a good attorney will explain the genuine reasons why the fight is not a good idea (if it is not) and will probably also suggest other remedies, such as mediating a solution or finding a way to protect one's resume while moving on, or suggest ways to "stay put" and be prepared for a winnable fight in the future.

Personally, I am going through a similar struggle.

I am seeing that nowadays, with elaborate computer programs tracking restaurant sales from the moment they go into the kitchen until the moment the customer pays the cashier, a waiter or waitress can have a LOT of ammo proving that harassment was undeserved, and even proving that the harasser has been falsifying reports, as is happening in my case.

In my case the harasser has threatened another employee by trying to convince that person that the computer records only show the end result of the sales and that person has been "stuck" with the harasser's unpaid sales slips. But I know that the computer program shows the starting point as well as the ending point of each person's sales slips, and so does the company. By taking just a little extra effort, the company auditor will produce the full pattern of misconduct by the harasser.

Something that everyone who has a job that is computer-tracked should do, is understand how your daily reports rank you. If you know that your daily performance reports are at least average, and you can tell a labor attorney that these reports are available to him or her in helping prove your case, he or she will be a lot more enthusiastic about fighting.

It also will protect you from being unnecessarily frightened by somebody who claims to be able to manipulate the data. You will remain calm and uninvolved with such a person if you understand the full process of computerized accounts.

i file sexual harssment on an co-worker and i feel like i'm the villian i have bend the problem i've be going this for months. I had a meeting to today and i felt like it my fault and i didn't do anything wrong but tell the truth this man touch me like he owed me what can i do. :mad: :mad:

Your employer cannot retaliate against you in any way because you made a complaint of SH but you have not provided any information to determine if that is the case. "Feeling" like the villain and having a meeting with your employer about your complaint is not retaliation.

This is not about the meeting I have docments of being retanliton. I've be going through this for months and I'm tried of Men at my job feeling that they can touch you anytime they want and you as a woman don't suppose to say anything just take it and this has be going on for years before me. I had a meeting with the EEOC at my job and I felt like I was wrong. I was the bad person when this man touch me and his friends are covering up for him, and I'm the one who is telling the truth and all the lies that's what get me. Now,I've lost 80 pounds for health reason the dogs are out if I don't say anything to these man they try to write me up for pity stuff. I have total stop speaking to my co-worker I'm sick of it. All want is respect but at my job you have woman who will sleep with these men for money i work for pulbic
transportion and I'm not like these women, my mother riase me better then that. So it's not about the meeting it's about my rights as a woman what about that. I'll say this I know how Anita Hill felt. :( :(

If your male co-workers are touching you inappropriately, I couldn't agree with you more that that constitutes prohbited sexual harassment and good for you for filing a complaint with the EEOC. I just don't see anything in your posts that suggests the employer is retaliating because you brought the complaint.