Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Bullied at work by supervisor

I have been harrassed, accused, singled out, blamed unfairly, ignored, made fun of, excluded, lied to, taken the fall for something that was not my fault and asked to meet deadlines. I have been ordered at the beginning of the day and told that my deadline was by the end of that same day or I would be written up. Now I am being threatened and forced to resign. My supervisor knew my family and I were looking for a home. I asked specifically before going into escrow if I would not be rehired for the following year, I needed to know before we purchased our home. We were in an apartment and they assured me my job was secure. The day after we closed on the house, my supervisors told me they would not be hiring me back.

My experience has caused me one mental breakdown, psychiatric help where I have been placed on medications to be able to cope with the anxiety, fear, low self-esteem due to humiliating situations, migraines, sleep disorders, depression and suicide. I am a mother of 2 small children. I am not the person I was before I came to work for this school. My mental state has never been more unstable.

Can you help me?


Asked on 3/03/01, 8:42 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Michael Kirschbaum Law Offices of Michael R. Kirschbaum

Re: Bullied at work by supervisor

It is impossible to provide any answer that is helpful to you based on the facts presented. Some general considerations to bear in mind:

Employers cannot be sued because they are unfair, unreasonable or even uncivil. Naturally, you cannot be singled out because of some discriminatory or other illegal reason, but you haven't stated what you believe the motivation is for your employer's conduct. The way your question is written, it would appear that you have a yearly contract, renewable annually, which means that there is never any guarantee that your job will be renewed th enext year. However, you probably could not be terminated without cause before the expiration of the school year. You may have a claim for an verbal contract or some equittable rights, which is difficult to base a case on, if it is not confirmed in writting. If you are a teacher, there are some statutory rights you may have. If you are ill from the job, you may have a worker's compensation claim, or may be eligible for disability insurance. Frankly, considering the treatment you have been subjected to, you should be looking at employment elsewhere, then consider what legal options you may have against this employer.

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Answered on 4/30/01, 2:54 pm


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