Legal Question in Discrimination Law in Wisconsin
Verbal Abuse at Work
The particular situation I have is I am subject to verbal abuse & spoken to in a degrading manner. On top of this I have a co-worker who has been employed at the same place almost twice as long as I have & when he/she is getting ready to go on vacation (one particular example) and situation occurs when a specific principal in the office want something done I am told that I "have" to disregard my normal job duties to do it because he/she is getting ready to go on vacation & doesn't have the time to do it. Many of these "tasks" can be completed prior to his/her leaving for vacation. I work in an office where we are grossly understaffed & have only two personnel in the department I am in. I have been employed there for +8 years & have been subject to this behavior for at least 5 of those years. Is this a moral issue where I have to make the decision that morally I can not condone this or do I have a legal situation here?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Verbal Abuse at Work
The first thing you need to do is complain to your supervisor, or if this person is the perpetrator, their supervisor. Before you can take legal action, you need to make the company aware of the problem and allow them time to correct the situation. You can make the complaint in person or in writing. If you make it in person, follow up the conversation with a letter confirming what was discussed in the conversation. That way you have something in writing. If the situation isn't remedied, you may want to discuss the case with a lawyer in your area that handles workplace harassment. If you do not know of where to locate an attorney, you can contact the local county or state bar association for a referral to an attorney in your area. Most attorneys offer free consultations so you can at least disucss the case with an attorney and find out what your options are.
I hope this has helped point you in the right direction.
Sincerely,
John Hayes, Esq.
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