I didn't want to quit but I felt that I had no choice.

The harassment started in April when I transferred from second shift to first shift. I was being harassed at work to the point where I felt that it was unsafe for me to be at work. There were three women, Jackie, Marcia and Donna, who made working there particularly unbearable. They were bullying me as a group by ignoring my work related questions and verbally attacking me by calling me stupid and ignorant on different occasions. I tried to ignore them because I needed this job, it was around, July that Donna, the most threatening of the three, became more aggressive. She would slam down heavy boxes next to my hand and if I asked for the tape gun she would throw it at me. She made it a point to tell me how tough she was and that I shouldn't mess (she used more vulgar language) with her because she could "slaughter me like a pig". Every day I was anxious and scared not knowing if she was going to flip on me or not, she was becoming increasingly more aggressive and I was afraid she would take things to a physical level. Then, on August 5th, I went into the Ladies room and Donna and another woman were in there. When I walked in they gave me dirty looks and started oinking like a pig and I knew what that meant. It was then that I decided to go to the HR department and make a formal complaint. (August 8)
On August 17th I was called into the HR department and that's when Beth Ann told me that she looked into the matter and Donna denied everything.
I was told that the incident was investigated and Beth Ann said "If you weren't you-- you know, if you weren't Kathy this wouldn't have happened. You come off very standoffish. Anytime I try to explain something to you you interrupt me." She basically said the women denied oinking at me and to be honest she doesn't care for me either and blamed me for these women's harassment. She then told me that maybe I should try to be nice to these women again next time that they're mean to me.
My supervisor was in the room as well and stated that I told one of those women they weren't doing their job right which was never said, when I described to him the exact incident, what happened, and who was witness to it he put his head down because he knew I had caught him in a lie.
Beth Ann never actually contacted the people I suggested who could verify the harassment- Misty, Jerry and Barbara.
Without actually resolving the problem Beth Ann then went on to discuss my FMLA which is a completely unrelated topic.
I left that room in tears.
I felt disappointed and scared still so I decided to get a hold of the corporate office. They looked into the matter for me, it took them a few days to get back to me but by then I had already decided to put my 2 weeks notice in because I felt I had no choice. I had asked to be switched to second shift and denied, the HR department was clearly going to be no help to me, and I would continue to endure these unprofessional, stressful work conditions. The anxiety and stress was taking a toll on me physically and I was concerned for my safety and well being.
On August 24th a woman from the corporate office named Linda called and told me that she thought it was best that I quit and I would not have return to work. She said she would pay me for the 2 weeks notice and she would give me my vacation and holiday pay. I didn't want to quit but I felt that I had no choice. I was getting no help.




Hi,

Of course your story relates the possibility of good cause to quit and get unemployment.

Harassment allowed to continue even after asking to be transferred to a different shift away from the harassers is an unreasonable reaction if you were as honest with HR as you were here about what was happening.

Allowing these women to do this to you could also be seen as retaliatory by the employer with an intention of forcing you to quit .. possibly because of the FMLA.

But of course, the most important thing I would still want to know about, since were talking about UI benefits .. is whether you can fulfill the burden of proof attached to every good reason to quit.

Was it attributable to the work? Yes, it was.


Did you exhaust all "reasonable" efforts to preserve the job? That's the eternal question.

What kind of documentation do you or did you have to fax to the claims rep for the investigation?

Do you have a resignation letter as specific about the specific events leading to your resignation quitting?

Did it mention Linda?

Any of those witnesses you told the employer about willing to act as your witness at a hearing about the level of harassment you were enduring?

Which state unemployment benefits program?

I'd like to ask everyone that reads this to put themselves in this person's place. Would you have quit when they did?

I know I wouldn't have merely because I know how unemployment works and I would have known the burden would be mine to fulfill and I would have been trying my best to eliminate any chinks before I resigned.

Would the employers initial reaction that there was no real bullying and harassment going on and that this person's personality was the root cause for the difficulties at work have made you feel this was so hopeless as to give up and quit?

Do you think that even if a personality is annoying that it is a sufficient rebuttal argument to "reasonably" justify such bullying and intimidating behavior by co-workers to continue?

Or, do you think the employer would now be culpable in the bullying now and that this person could argue they "felt" like no choice was left?

Will this argument still hold even though they tendered the resignation before hearing back from corporate Linda?

Knowing what I know about UI, I wouldn't have resigned until I heard back from corporate Linda.

It would have either been a solution .. such as a transfer or a refusal to help. I might of even upped the effort and filed an EEOC complaint to see what came of that.

It is after all another effort to exhaust.

The basic weakness I see in all this is that you quit before Linda could react.

If I were working on behalf of an employer and I learned that Linda was contacted by the employee prior to quitting, that's one witness I want at the appeal hearing.

She's the one that can testify that if she had been allowed .. she would have helped this person resolve the situation, but the person quit first.

Of course, I'm just doing some minor pre-speculation to look for a chink in your burden of proof. I usually stop at asking about supporting documentation and witnesses.

If I were the claimant, I would not mention the name Linda to the unemployment department .. I only know this because of what I use to do. I wouldn't be helping myself if I reveal the last effort I didn't carry though on.

Linda could testify that the claimant did not exhaust all reasonable alternatives before quitting .. she might expose the fact that this person gave up before Linda had the opportunity to help.

Speculating and identifying possible weaknesses should be one of the first step in preparation to win an appeal hearing ..

If I believe this to be fundamental, is it any wonder that I can rarely offer definitive answers.

Can I collect unemployment?

I hardly know what an unemployed person has on their side to benefit them, nor how well they will perform at an appeal hearing ..

Let alone what the employer will do.

I just know, details matter and what you don't say can be as important as what you do say.

And in this case .. I see a valid argument to be made for both sides ..

Throw in the leaning of a hearing officer .. and I'll tell you .. your chances are 29 percent you'll get benefits this year and 71 percent you won't.

Those are the statistics thus far at the USDOL.

This is why I recommend claimants having hearing reps .. because that's what so many claimants learn they have to combat once they get to the appeal hearing.

They specialize in unemployment hearings and the increase the odds of winning when there is arguable points on both sides.

They prepare for hearings everday. They present compelling arguments based upon the concepts of a states rules about unemployment benefits .. everyday.

They give you muscle at an unemployment hearing.

Even a hearing rep can't guarantee a win. They know all they can do is argue their best, knowing what they know to convince the hearing officer to find your version of the facts the most credible version.

Chris
Document, Document, Document.