Legal Question in Construction Law in Massachusetts

Sorry to hear that you have been threatened at work, to feel unsafe at a place that you spend most of your days is really unfortunate and unsettling. Without having more details as to your work situation, including whether you are at an open shop company or with a union it is difficult to provide a specific response. If you are with a union, your best avenue for protection is to go to your union rep, file a report and they will back you up. If you are with an open shop (meaning non-union) employer, things are a bit more complicated.

Outside of the work environment, you can always report the threat to the police and saving the voice mail would be very helpful to their report. The police would then take some action, which may either deter further thratening behavior on the part of your supervisor, or inspire a more severe reaction from him or her (depending on the type of person you are dealing with). As a practical matter, a report to the police may make things uncomfortable with everyone else at the job, and an unwise employer may terminate you for some made up reason that we all know is retaliatory for your report of the threat. If you were terminated following your report of the threat, the law will provide some protection to you and you may be able to succeed with a claim for wrongful termination.

Short of the scenario stated above, if you truly feel threatened by this individual and are not comortable with the support you are getting from the hierarchy at your company, you could quit and then seek unemployment compensation. Your employer may object to your receipt of unemployment compensation because it would view your leaving the company as a voluntary departure, however, your response would be that the threats created a hostile work environment resulting in a "constructive termination." There is no guarantee that you would succeed on your unemployment claim, and with today's job market this is a very big risk, but obviously your own safety has to be paramount to receiving a weekly paycheck.

I'd be happy to discuss your situation with you in more detail. Please understand that the above is really just a short outline of the issues and does not constitute legal advice.

Regards,

Ryan D. Sullivan

Bodoff & Associates, P.C.

120 Water Street

Boston, MA 02109

617-742-7300 ext. 207

[email protected]