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  1. #1
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    Jan 2016
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    Default Can You Get Unemployment After Quitting a Job Where You Were Mistreated

    My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: Ohio

    I hope this all makes sense as I don't want to use names so it's a lot of "she" and "her"

    I recently quit my job of 11 months (job before was 2.5 years) because the office environment was so hostile, you couldn't even make it up if you tried. The Director and Office Manager was unbelievable. She always had double standards, made up lies (which she texted to me) that I told another girl in the office that I hate her, and that girl told the main boss... who then told the OM that she told him (she did this just because she didn't like the other girl). I knew the other girl didn't say that because I didn't hate the OM so I went right to the main boss and asked him. He said that neither ever happened. OM said the same girl was sayign thigns me and another girl didn't say just to get us mad at the girl she hates, saying that meetings were to be held by another girl for different reasons just to try to get us mad at her. She was constantly creating issues to try to get people mad. She even told the main boss the reason why one of the girls was fired was because me and the other girl she didn't like didn't like the girl who was fired. She was fired because the OM hated her! It was scary to know that she could make these things up, what could she make up about me?!

    She wouldn't take me seriously in meetings (the new girl started and became instant bffs with the OM. The new girl started treating me like I was stupid or "little" constantly belittling me to make it seem like she could do my job better ((which she IM'd to the OM saying "maybe I can just slide into another position. I'm calculating." referencing trying to get me out. She also would IM her that she would come back to my desk just to bug me)) and the OM said to me "you are little" thinking she was being cute because I'm petite.

    The OM would go on tirades about this, that, and the other. Things that weren't my responsibility became my responsibility, things that weren't my fault became my fault, the fact that I wasn't hired as a scheduler but was expected to do all scheduling tasks exceptionally at all times but when another girl who was hired as admin was floundering at scheduling, she made excuses for her. When a new scheduler was hired, she was making excuses for her poor work and literally telling her she didn't have to do things that we could have been cited for!

    Every issue was addressed with the main boss and an Administrator. We were told for MONTHS to wait it out. Finally they were going to fire her and the administrator pulled a favor card to get the director to not be fired. Less than a month later, she was finally written up for her continuous nonsense after was screaming and yelling about the girl she hates taking my position back because I turned in my notice. (Im sorry but if you're about to be fired, then you get written up... that should be your termination). The new girl was continuously rude and condescending to everyone in the office except the OM. She refused to respond to her supervisor when she IMd her saying "I don't need to respond to you." When the supervisor got mad at her and went to the OM, the new girl started crying and the OM tried to turn it on the supervisor. This was in the new girl's orientation period and she received a write-up... in an orientation period... She continuously didn't know how to do things she was trained to do and was somehow always let off the hook. She even flat out lied to the OM about a conversation I had with an employee to try to get me in trouble. Her tone with everyone was horrendous, arrogant, and bitchy.

    There were so many more issues, it would take hours to type. All of these issues were addressed with the main boss and administrator. Nothing changed. They claimed things did, but moving the Director across the hall was just geography. The behavior from her and the scheduler continued. Is there any weight to a claim since these things were continuously addressed but were left to continue?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
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    Default Re: Environment So Hostile, Hollywood Couldn't Make It Up

    Read this;

    http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/harassment.cfm

    then review your situation. If anything involved meets the requirements to have created s hostile environment as described in that publication make a post with that info. Dump the rest.

    from what I did read of your post, while things were quite hostile, I didn't see anything that met the legal definition of a hostile environment.

  3. #3
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    Jan 2016
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    Default Re: Environment So Hostile, Hollywood Couldn't Make It Up

    A determination of whether harassment is severe or pervasive enough to be illegal is made on a case-by-case basis." I doubt any was illegal. Just... I don't think I have words for it.

    Ohio has the "With Just Cause" where it would apply if "any reasonable person" would quit. Does it not fall under the blanked of "any reasonable person"?

  4. #4
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    Jun 2014
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    Default Re: Environment So Hostile, Hollywood Couldn't Make It Up

    You have to learn to get along with others, even with they behave badly. Not everyone has the advantage of working in a nice enviroment with people that behave like mature responsible adults. There are many people who need a job desperately and will take your job, ignore others and do the work. By the way, you can't believe everything you're told. It seems that you were told things just to get you worked up and it worked. You never go involved in the situations ? Did you ignore what others said and did ? How do you know for certain that the Administrator pulled a favor card ? Where you standing beside the Administrator when he did it ?

    My point is that you need to learn to ignore things like this. Go to work and do your job and go home. If you want friends, find friends that aren't from work if your co workers act like this. How old are you ?

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Environment So Hostile, Hollywood Couldn't Make It Up

    Quote Quoting hatap
    View Post
    A determination of whether harassment is severe or pervasive enough to be illegal is made on a case-by-case basis." I doubt any was illegal. Just... I don't think I have words for it.

    Ohio has the "With Just Cause" where it would apply if "any reasonable person" would quit. Does it not fall under the blanked of "any reasonable person"?
    Of course it has to be made on a case by case basis but Harassment as you describe it does not create a hostile work environment in the legal definition.


    The term hostile is a poor choice since so many don't understand that it doesn't mean some guy is threatening to kick your ass. It means he is threatening to kick your ass, or even some other behavior, even an innocuous one, because you belong to of the protected classes of people as listed in the link I provided.

  6. #6
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    Jan 2016
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    Default Re: Environment So Hostile, Hollywood Couldn't Make It Up

    I get along quite well with others. The OM doesn't get along with anyone. The director let her behavior slide and told us to wait it out because she's pregnant. So he believes she "acts crazy" (his words) are due to hormones. I was not there when the favor card was pulled, we were told after the fact. He owed the administrator (his brother) a favor and he told us that the administrator requested her being saved be his favor.

    I don't rely on my coworkers to be my friends, I have friends outside of work. I don't mind if someone dislikes me, but I mind if someone is lying to superiors about work-related situations, trying to get people in trouble, trying blame me for tasks I had no part of, and, when a supervisor is trying to make you think they were told you hate them, that's a big thing. It's a big thing to have a manager in a position where you "hate" them, whether it's a lie they've made up or not. There is NO reason why a person in a position of power should behave in the same manner as the OM. She was told repeatedly to correct her behavior and nothing came of it. I know that no office is perfect, that no one will get along with everyone all the time. I am not naive. But when the past 7 people to leave an office in 2 years cite her as the issue, and nothing is done to correct the issue, the issue does not lie in me or the other people have given notice this week. It's down to the Director, Billing, and the just girl hired to replace me. It's not an issue of me having my panties in a twist because someone doesn't want to be my friend.) It's not unreasonable to expect even a slight degree of respect. And a new hire should never be allowed to tell their supervisor they don't need to respond to them when asked a question about a clients care.

    I can honestly say I never got involved in it. When I was dragged into something by her, I never got into it with her. There would have been no point. I went above her and to the main boss and took with me IMs or texts when available. I was always told he'd talk to her and just ignore it. Wait it out, it will get better. other employees nor is it just hormones. (there are only 6, often only 5, positions in the office aside from 3 family members. What's more, 2 more people have given notice this week. It's down to the Director, Billing, and the girl just hired to replace me. It's not an issue of me having my panties in a twist because someone doesn't want to be my friend.) It's not unreasonable to expect even a slight degree of respect. And a new hire should never be allowed to tell their supervisor they don't need to respond to them when asked a question about a client's care.

    I can honestly say I never got involved in it. When I was dragged into something by her, I never got into it with her. There would have been no point. I went above her and to the main boss and took with me IMs or texts when available. I was always told he'd talk to her and just ignore it. Wait it out, it

  7. #7
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    Default Re: Environment So Hostile, Hollywood Couldn't Make It Up

    I did not realize this was under the unemployment topic. While it still does not change the definition of A hostile work environment that does not necessarily mean you would be disqualified for unemployment.


    The best anybody will tell you is to apply. The worst that happens is you are denied. The state can consider the working conditions and if deemed truly unbearable they can approve your claim.

    Three things

    1 dont lie

    2 dont be so free with the verbiage as you have been here (as they used to say on dragnet; just the facts ma'am)

    well there was a third thing but I forgot it. When I remember it I'll be back.


    3 Oh, try to keep emotions and feelings out of it as much as possible (see #2 above)

  8. #8
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    Jan 2016
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    Default Re: Environment So Hostile, Hollywood Couldn't Make It Up

    Thank you. I gave the above info here to try to let others could see into it the best I could, as if you were a fly on the wall almost. I know to make it more concise if filing.

    Two friends and I were having a discussion about it tonight and it just got me to wondering. I didn't quit with the intentions of filing. I'm fine for right now. Though if I could file, it would be nice. If I would win, it would be nice. Plus winning would really show them just the seriousness of the issues the past 9 employees felt who left; maybe finally sinking in that something truly needs to be done.

  9. #9
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    Default Re: Environment So Hostile, Hollywood Couldn't Make It Up

    The bar to quit and still qualify for unemployment is VERY high and generally involves ILLEGAL treatment that has been reported and unaddressed. IMO, what you have posted does not meet the requirements.

  10. #10
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    Jan 2015
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    Default Re: Environment So Hostile, Hollywood Couldn't Make It Up

    Your quote: "Im sorry but if you're about to be fired, then you get written up..." No, actually, that's not the wisest thing to do. It's generally better for unemployment purposes to let the company fire you. Sometimes you just have to quit, and I do understand that. You've gotten in a situation that is just untenable. But if you apply for unemployment under these circumstances, the burden of proof to show that you had a clear cut valid misconduct job related reason to quit the job is upon you.

    And as it has been said, the burden of proof that you are out of work through no fault of your own when you quit is very high. You can apply for benefits, it costs nothing to do that. But I sure wouldn't expect much out of it. Because the employer can always say, "She gave us notice and voluntarily resigned." It was your choice. And unless you can show that clear cut unresolved reason why you quit, IMMEDIATELY as soon after that thing happened that caused you to quit as is at all reasonable, then you probably will not prevail.

    What they will look at is what you are telling us here is a whole hodgepodge of miscellaneous things that made working there terrible... the boss didn't like me and I didn't like her, she lied, cheated, yelled, screamed and generally treated me poorly and unfairly. She wrote me up for a lot of false reasons. She yelled at me. She told others lies on me. Finally, she had me in the situation where I had been written up and threatened with termination, and so to avoid being terminated, I quit. Generally there's nothing illegal about hating an employee, treating them rotten and walking them out the door with a whole series of write ups and warnings. And that will probably lessen the chances they will get unemployment benefits even when fired, if they've covered their bases well enough.

    As it has been pointed out by someone else, whole lotta detail, a whole lotta personality conflicts and hurt feelings but no real outstanding cause for you to quit except that the job stunk. And it just worked out the best for you to resign. But once you make the choice to resign, you must, in order to receive unemployment benefits, prove that you are out of work through no fault of your own, that you tried to resolve the problem before quitting, and that nothing was done to resolve the situation, so that it was really unbearable and any reasonable person would have determined there was nothing to do but to quit.

    A very valid example that comes to my mind is the awful bad terrible dreadful loony manager of a department who finally went completely berserk and threw a staple gun at one of her employees she was berating. This person had been working for and complaining about this person to higher management for many months, but when the stapler flew (though it missed) she walked out, resigned, filed her claim for unemployment benefits and was approved.

    But it has to be almost this serious. Also, your action in response has to be pretty much immediate, too. As in, she did this to me and that to me, and then finally one day I decided I just couldn't take it anymore, without any new precipitating incident or action on their part doesn't fly too well. It's called the "I quit today because he boss slapped my face last February" argument. You stayed around since then and put up with it? Why?

    I do understand. I have worked in very bad environments, and have had some very bad supervisors. I have also had to advise friends to quit jobs sometimes where there was just not any clearcut cause or chance of their being approved for benefits. But when I was working in the system, valid reasons to quit were like when your paychecks were bouncing, when your boss was chasing you around the desk, throwing things at you, yelling and cursing at you, the working conditions were unsafe, you were being asked to do something illegal or dishonest....not just that you were working for a terrible person in a bad environment.

    If you kept working after the incidents happened, it appears that you were accepting them up to that point. You let her get enough on you to write you up and get a history of progressive discipline against you. And then you resigned. It was necessary, but probably you won't get approved for benefits.

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