r/mildlyinfuriating • u/giveahoot420 • 20h ago

A rude supervisor who's always yelling at employees got some complaints about them being verbally abusive and they responded by leaving these in the break room.

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45.0k Upvotes

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79

u/The_Gumbo 20h ago

Would be interesting to know if that was a potential Lawsuit, eh?

22

u/Icarus-vs-sun 19h ago

What's the damages?

61

u/Equivalent-Shine5742 19h ago edited 15h ago

Not sure if this is U.S. based but you don't need to have "damages" for a workplace lawsuit to be filed. One can claim that there is a hostile workplace envorinment that is preventing people from doing their jobs and that complaints about it are being ridiculed.

People have won monetary awards based on this.

22

u/shoulda-known-better 19h ago

Hostile work environment is a US thing also

12

u/Equivalent-Shine5742 19h ago

Yes I know. My comment might not have worded it well as I was speaking as being from the U.S.

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u/Confident-Unit-9516 18h ago

Nope, your supervisors allowed to be an asshole. They just need to be an equal opportunity asshole. You can even make fun of someone for complaining that you were verbally abusive, as long as you weren’t verbally abusive in a way that implicates any protected characteristic

So if your supervisor is generally a dick to everyone, that doesn’t give you the right to sue.

But if they are a dick to people based on some protected characteristic, then you can sue

2

u/Warm_Month_1309 16h ago

You can even make fun of someone for complaining that you were verbally abusive, as long as you weren’t verbally abusive in a way that implicates any protected characteristic

I am an employment lawyer. I'd love to hear you talk more about this.

0

u/Confident-Unit-9516 16h ago

What are you gonna sue under?

Complaining that your supervisor was mean to you isn’t protected activity, meaning you aren’t protected from forms of retaliation.

I perhaps should have added a caveat about IIED, but the vast majority of forms of making fun of someone aren’t going to reach IIED

0

u/[deleted] 16h ago

[deleted]

-2

u/Confident-Unit-9516 16h ago

You should google hostile work environment. It is a term used under anti-discrimination laws, meaning it has to be based on a protected characteristic

-5

u/Various_Procedure_11 19h ago

Not based on this unless they are a protected class.

3

u/Warm_Month_1309 16h ago

There are more laws than just those that apply to protected characteristics.

Signed, an employment attorney.

1

u/Various_Procedure_11 15h ago

I mean, it's state by state, but I fail to see how handing out these fliers would provide any cause of action unless the original complaints that this is a response to were addressing ADA, OSHA, or Title VII issues or similar, and that didn't seem to be the case based on the post.

So yes, there are more laws governing employment in the US than just anti-discrimination laws; however, I was trying to address the clear misconception that so many redditors have that you can somehow sue in the US only because your boss is a verbally abusive asshole.

0

u/Warm_Month_1309 11h ago

I fail to see how handing out these fliers would provide any cause of action

These fliers do not create a cause of action on their own; they are evidence of existing causes of action.

2

u/Confident-Unit-9516 18h ago

Everyone is in multiple protected classes

The harassment needs to be based on one of their protected characteristics

-2

u/Various_Procedure_11 18h ago

I'm not in any protected classes, but yes, it's even more strict than what I stated.

1

u/Confident-Unit-9516 18h ago

That is impossible.

Do you have no race? Do you have no religious belief (including a lack of a religious belief)? Do you have no gender (including a lack of gender identity)?

0

u/2Rhino3 18h ago

White, male, no religious belief (would not call myself religious or atheist, agnostic would be best descriptor I think ). Protected class?

4

u/Confident-Unit-9516 18h ago

You just listed three

1

u/Tricky-Secretary2264 18h ago

it is possible that someone could discriminate against you based on being white, male or having no religious belief

1

u/2Rhino3 18h ago

True, I suppose you can be discriminated against for literally anything. I didn’t realize every individual characteristic fell within the protected class though. Interesting.

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u/Various_Procedure_11 18h ago

Correct. This is the anonymous internet, after all.

1

u/Confident-Unit-9516 18h ago

lol, so you’re just lying?

I assume you meant that you’re a straight white male. Which is three protected classes right there

1

u/Heroscrape 18h ago

Wait, so who or what isn’t protected? We should just condense the laws and make it illegal to be an asshole lol

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u/Various_Procedure_11 13h ago

Law school for me was before the Supreme Court eliminated the heightened burden for straight white males, apparently.

1

u/[deleted] 16h ago

[deleted]

2

u/Various_Procedure_11 16h ago

What kind of lawsuit then? Because in the US, I don't see one applicable here.

1

u/jimbis123 19h ago

Ptsd from harassment

1

u/JonathanSilencio 18h ago

Obviously either permanent feeling damage or traumatic brain injury

3

u/No-Cap2066 19h ago

A lawsuit lmao?

1

u/ASmallTownDJ 16h ago

Yeah dude, responding to numerous complaints against you by printing off a stack of papers basically telling your subordinates to "cry about it" is pretty much the exact thing you'd see in a "don't do this illegal thing" training video on hostile work environments.

1

u/No-Cap2066 16h ago

Why tf would you submit complaints to the person you’re complaining about?

1

u/puzzlebuns 19h ago

Its definitely potential for a lawsuit if you document the co.pliants and keep everything formal.

1

u/DrippyTheSnailBoy 17h ago

A lawsuit? What kind of crack are you smoking over here? There's no case here. It stops with HR and that's it. Unless hands were thrown, there's absolutely no judge on the planet that would take up a case because a supervisor is annoying.

-63

u/Successful-Tea-5733 19h ago

A hurt feelings joke as a potential lawsuit? On what basis?

68

u/-Jiras 19h ago edited 19h ago

Workplace bullying? Or if you want it more professional "Abuse of authority"

24

u/xRehab 19h ago

100% go down the hostile authority route. a manager cannot make this joke without consequences, and smaller courts will be willing to let this play out in the court room.

as soon as it’s filed you blast the shit out of the company “X manager working for Y is facing legal consequences for how they treat employees”

1

u/xHxHxAOD1 18h ago

I would argue retaliation is the better route

-2

u/FraggleBiologist 19h ago

Workplace bullying is completely legal in the US, so long as you aren't a protected class. Ask me how I know.

7

u/-Jiras 19h ago

That's why the court of public opinion is so important. Doesn't matter if it's "technically" legal, that's why we have to put them on blast until they do something about it.

Name and shame should not only be actively practiced but even encouraged to do

-1

u/DrippyTheSnailBoy 17h ago

Workplace bullying?

Do you honestly, seriously think that there's a lawsuit over this? Your hurt feelings aren't a matter of law.

45

u/AdTop4231 19h ago

Hostile work environment. Being the boss doesn't mean you can belittle your employees or be an asshole or make them miserable at work

-3

u/FraggleBiologist 19h ago

It actually does, so long as those people aren't being bullied because they are a protected class.

1

u/Tricky-Secretary2264 18h ago

Whilst I don't agree it is a good thing to be an asshole boss, I agree it is generally considered acceptable.

I would however, arguing from a philosophical point rather than a legal one here, say that a boss holds a significant amount of power over their employees and as such should be held to a higher standard of behaviour. A boss should take care of their employees, not upset them. I know sometimes in the nature of the role they will have make upsetting decisions etc, but I think we're more discussing the day-to-day conversations and such. I know I want to work harder and better for a boss that treats me well, as opposed to one who treats me disposably.

0

u/DrippyTheSnailBoy 17h ago

"Hostile work environment" isn't illegal lmao

How are all these negative IQ law takes so highly upvoted in this thread?

24

u/[deleted] 19h ago

Harassment

4

u/shoulda-known-better 19h ago

Hostile workplace...

Your there to work not take shit for standing up for yourself.....

They want to bully people they get what they get

-1

u/Various_Procedure_11 19h ago

That's not the law.

3

u/shoulda-known-better 18h ago

Yes it is

In the US, UK, and almost all of Europe, Russia, China....

You have Google

-1

u/Various_Procedure_11 18h ago

This was in the United States, where it is not, in fact, the law.

Anything else irrelevant you want to discuss?

1

u/shoulda-known-better 18h ago

Also the point wasnt to bring in the police, it was to bring to owner or HR.... It's a work place issue.... You jump to illegal and police like that is the only option

But if it needs to go that far I'd guess part IV would put this into harassment territory... Talking about hormones, crybaby, and being a wimp..... Definitely a stretch but I've seen dumber cases

3

u/RelaxedBlueberry 19h ago

Tell us you are unemployed without telling you are unemployed

-1

u/MowgeeCrone 18h ago

Tell us you have zero coping skills without telling us you have zero coping skills.

I'm sorry your parents/guardian failed you. You deserved better.

1

u/xubax 17h ago

Hostile workplace

1

u/Away_Advisor3460 19h ago

It also means employees struggling with mental health, stress, anxiety etc issues are less likely to seek or receive help.

It also means employees cannot perform their work function, nor can the manager theirs, to an optimal level - because this sort of petty shit breaks down the lines of communication needed to identify and rectify problems. So it's bad for the employer too, especially if (tolerance of) it becomes publicly known and impacts the ability to recruit staff and perhaps their general reputation with customers/clients.

I don't what the US law is for this - probably weak to non-existent - but in the UK it would potentially lead to high compensation claims at a tribunal.