Legal Question in Employment Law in Tennessee

Question about hostile enviroment at work

Can I be fired if a lead hits me and I fight back? Can I legally be fired if the job has put me in a hostile enviroment and I have told them several times that I am having problems with this person and he is very hateful and hostile and very un-proffesional and my boss told me to just get along and ignored the situation.


Asked on 1/30/07, 9:21 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
James R. Becker, Jr. Becker Law Firm

Re: Question about hostile enviroment at work

The short answer to your question is yes, you can be fired for hitting a lead person at work. There may be some situations in which the hostile environment could be claimed to have provoked the attack and some situations in which you could claim that the punishment was discriminatory in view of how other employees were treated. However, in either situation, the case is typically difficult because as a general rule courts do not like issues of workplace violence.

If you feel like your termination was illegal and would like to consult about these issues, you can email me at [email protected].

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Answered on 1/30/07, 4:14 pm


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