Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Not sure if this is the correct category for this questuon and or incident that occurred being that much has happened with little actions taken. I am a forklift op or a loader/ weight distribution engineer at a manufacturer/pruduction facility. In whole is shipping and receiving to which can be a stressful job in many ways.. rather it be under pressure of clock to operating heavy equipment as well the accountability of co workers doing task at hand for a strong team.

For many years a senior co worker has not really put forth his share of the work and has gotten away with doing it. Has been many threats of firing him to which remain threats to this day though has been suspended and or sent home.It has made my job that much more stressful to the point i started taken logs of this individuals misconduct, absent days or simply his lack of work ethethics. Mind you again for years. I have turned them in to the foreman that has given up on talking to boss about situation. Nothing has been done and now to the point a co worker has talked to the owner. The owner agreed that if someone has issues is one thing but another if one doesnt work or fulfill daily task. At this point the co worker that talked to owner finds out the owner is aware of current situation with problem emoloyee and is very deep.

The following week was filled with employee missing work, leaving early and coming late. This again is a job that needs the whoke team to operate smooth and get deliveries shipped out in a timely manner. So finally the foreman approached us and tells us he cant tell specifically if details due to being very heavy and personal. I reply i understand you cant say but if its that bad maybe he should not be working. Foreman replies not sure if he will be here or action to be taken. This leaves the team in a huge thought of what has happened to be able to come and go as please or needs. The severity to be able to do such would be death or hospitalization and in either case shouldnt be at work at all. So now a few days of this continues of absence and when showing up does very little. The problem employee approached a co worker asking him if he wants to know what he is dealing with. co worker responds no i dont want to know and that if its that personal he shouldn't be telling it. The next day the problem employee confronts me with an odd question and I give him a shrug of notion that im not interested and he needs to do his job. He responds all that anger will be the death of me. So you bet i said something back i said all your stupidity over the years and lack of work ethics has gotten to your brain. We part and i continue to do my job. Shortly after co worker tells me that he sall us have a little argument and felt i needed to know that problem employee spilt his guts to him on what was going on and he didnt ask to hear it. I say what is it that makes you feel i need ti know. He tells me that problem employee attempted suicide. He filmed himself loading 1 round into gun and spun the cylinder put it to his head and pulled the trigger. At this point im very uneasy about the confirtation i had with him for 2 resons my life and his. This was in evening so no bosses arr around to talk to. I tell coworker he needs to go talk with boss to confirm alk this is true seeing he was directly told this to.

Coworker goes to talk with boss the following morning. He ask boss if that was true, boss responds yes it is. Co worker then exokains to boss that he had told me and felt i should know due to the fued i had with problem employee. Boss then says that is fine that he told me but both of us need to keep under hat and not tell anyone. This really blew me away and am very unsure of my safety and life. I then was waiting to see if boss was going to talk with le to at least find out what fued was about, he never did so i went in to go talk to boss but it was lunch time and i had to take mine and boss was not in office so plannned to talk with him after lunch.

im in lunchroom and another co worker comes in dude problem employee fell asleep or something and ran into a bunch of pallets and when approached was still out of it and seemed delirious. I said you have to report this to boss that he shoukdnt be on heavy equipment . he does report it and i find out he got sent to have a drug test.

So this is the situation to date of 11/20/2015. Monday im sure will find out what is the deal. But to me in either case on drugs or not shouldnt be working after all this.

1. Employee should have been terminated long before this situation occured and in not doing so made moral and attitude of rest of team very low and upset purhaps furthering the problem to grow into suicide attempt

2. Owner and bosses knowledge of what occured by watching the suicide attempt and not taking correct action

A. Not insisting employee take time off or turning employee in to police to obtain him from hurting self by putting him in a safe place

B. No drug test or evanuation of mental.

C. Allowing him to come back to work only after a weekend.

D. ALLOWING EMPLOYEE to drive heavy equipment in an environment that is very stressful.

E. Placing employee in environment with others that are not happy with him and expecting him to do work up to par

F. Not telling others of situation of suicide

3.I FEEL MY LIFE HAS BEEN JEOPARDIZED AT WORK AD WELL NOW AT HOME

A. Driving heavy equipment with an employee that doesn't have clear good mindset

B. BY not knowing situation having a fued with employee could of turned bad real quick

C. what i said may promote employee to attempt suicide again

ALTHOUGH OWNER AND BOSS ETC MAY BE TRYING TO DO RIGHT AND HELPING EMPLOYEE, REALLY THEY HAVE FESTARD THE SITUATION AND SAFETY AND OR LIFE OF ALL


Asked on 11/21/15, 1:49 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

I have read this whole thing and do not see a single question. LawGuru is a place to ask specific legal questions.

Read more
Answered on 11/21/15, 1:56 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Labor and Employment Law questions and answers in California