Hostile work environment.. need advice (long)

Update:
MIL went and talked to the administrator and her manager. They basically told her that the woman, "Jane" I'll call her, is just that way. And that was that. The manager is Jane's friend and it was so obvious that she was not going to reprimand Jane in anyway. So it was back to business as usual. Jane and the other woman went back to treating MIL like dirt. MIL can't stand it there anymore and is looking for another job.

MIL spoke with "Mary", the woman who left because of Jane. Mary's story sounded a lot like MIL's but MIL said it sounded like she had it even worse. Mary had documented everything too and she is still thinking of pursuing legal action.

MIL is going to apply for another job tomorrow. Hopefully that works out. She has been stressing out about this stupid job. She doesn't need to work, she just does it because she wants to and so they have extra money to travel (to see us OOS) with. Whatever she does, she wants to be happy while doing it.

Thanks for your responses!

--------------------------------------------


Not for me, for my MIL.

She started a job at a busy clinic in a small town early this past Summer. From the get-go, two women have made things very hard for her, one worse than the other. During training sessions, they pretended to train her but wouldn't actually let her do anything. She brought it up to the manager and the manager arranged another training but never reprimanded the women. Luckily, MIL is pretty smart so she figured out a lot of things on her own.

A couple months ago, they told MIL that she would be working in the basement doing filing from now on. MIL was told when she was hired that she'd spend most of her time at the front desk. MIL went to the manager again and said she was leaving if that was the case. The manager said she was such a good employee and she wanted to retain her so she worked with her on it. Those women hated that. When MIL worked at the front desk with them, they ignored her. They would ignore her or snap at her in front of patients.

MIL went to the manager again about their attitude. The manager called in the worst of the two women and asked her about MIL's issues. That woman flat out told MIL that she did not like her. She didn't have a reason when she was asked why. She was screaming at MIL in the room.

MIL recently heard from a friendly employee that those women drove out the last woman to hold her position. Whenever that previous employee's name was mentioned, they both snickered and made rude comments.

The manager is friends with this woman and this woman has not been written up for any of the grief she has caused MIL or the previous lady that worked there. MIL is taking it up a level to the administrator. She has documented everything. She wants to keep working there, but not under these conditions.

What rights does she have? What should the clinic do in this case?

Thanks if you made it this far!

Message edited 11/16/2008 11:22:28 PM.

Re: Hostile work environment.. need advice (long)

I don't know anything about her "rights," but she should keep going up the chain until the situation gets resolved. Clearly the "mean" woman has jsut gotten away wth her nasty behaviour and is threatened by your MIL.

I hope it works out, it sounds like a nasty situation to be in.

Re: Hostile work environment.. need advice (long)

If I were here I would file a formal grievance against her colleagues and start the wheels in motion to have them either put up on a formal warning, or a disciplinary.

Whatever she does needs to be in a formal situation, everything documented and with a witness of her choosing.

Re: Hostile work environment.. need advice (long)

Re: Hostile work environment.. need advice (long)

Re: Hostile work environment.. need advice (long)

I can only offer some for your MIL.

I was in an almost identical situation a few years ago. In the end I looked for another job but I always wondered what I should have done differently...

Re: Hostile work environment.. need advice (long)

i can relate to this, though the experience was with one person - my boss - not two ladies who weren't my line managers. the complaints i had were justified (I had been written up for a b.s. reason) and so I went to the VP of HR about it. She agreed it was b.s., ripped up the report from my file and had a chat with my boss. Things didn't get better. A few months later, my boss's boss scheduled a call with everyone (one on one) who reports to someone who reports to him so when things didn't get better, I told him about the situation (and he already knew a bit from HR.) He spoke to her about it. Things still didn't change. So when it came time to do self-reviews of ourselves, I wove these problems into my review. Still no change. I tried to talk to the VP of HR again and she dodged my phone calls. Two weeks later I was let go, and it had nothing to do with my performance or company funding and everything to do with my boss figuring out a way to push me out the door AND get the head honchos to agree to it. In some ways, and I hate to say it, your MILs situation sounds a little bit the same, especially if these women have pushed another lady out already.

Re: Hostile work environment.. need advice (long)

bump for update

Re: Hostile work environment.. need advice (long)

That's very frustrating. But glad to hear she is looking to get out.

good luck to her.