Good cause to quit in Florida?

by Anonymous

Hi,

I have a boss who is what I consider to be abusive in many different ways. Aside from the pounding fist on the desk and yelling and cursing, there are also other things. For example, awhile back we had a customer come in who was sexually harassing me. My boss was out of the office at the time but I told him about it later. The customer tried to stick his hand down my pants, tried to kiss me, etc. I told my boss I didn't want to be left alone in the office with him ever again. When the customer called to say he was dropping by with a payment, my boss told him to come by at a time he knew I would be alone in the office, thereby opening me up to more harassment by this customer.

He threatened to cut my finger off once for changing a customer's name in the computer.

He burps and farts like a frat boy all day.

He uses drugs nearby and the smell gives me a headache.

The office is a pigsty and he refuses to let me clean it. He will not bring in a vacuum cleaner and will not hire a cleaning service. The dust is extremely thick and I believe it is what is causing some breathing problems I am having.

I am wondering if any or all of this would be sufficient to prove good cause and be able to collect unemployment while I look for another job.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Hi Anonymous,

I'll leave the "proving" up to you, but just about everything you mentioned here would make me quit.

1. An employer has a duty to protect employees from sexual harassment not only inflicted by other employees, but the employer's customers, vendors, etc.

2. He's threatened to cut your finger off....did you feel physically intimidated??????

3. The filth, burping, and farting.....I don't know if that alone would be enough...did it look that way when you took the job?

4. He's using drugs on the premises? That's illegal and we are not expected to condone or tolerate illegal activities.

I suggest you read this part of the statutes and be sure to click on 448.102(1) link. It lets you know what you should do. If there is no higher authority than the pig....that may alter the extent of the efforts required by you. I suggest you put everything in writing, give it to your boss and save a copy for use when and if you need it.