by ann
(nashville tn usa)
In June 09 my boss was transferred, we got the worst manager in our district. He was degrading to the majority of workers, he belittled myself like I was a bad teenager for no reason. To make matters worse another employee was swapped with one of ours. She was verbally abusive even more than the manager. She had worked at 3 stores because of her inability to get along. My stomach hurt every day. I could feel my heart beating in my throat. I spoke to my district manager on 3 occasions of my distress and the third time I asked to take a job opening I knew of. I was told 2 weeks, give him 2 weeks, well, 6 weeks went by and by this time my boss knew of my disapointment so his aggression was worse he spoke hateful and smart every day.
I walked out one day called my hr dept and my district manager to say I would go anywhere. they wanted, but could not continue there. My district manager said I had to stay there. I said i cannot. The manger was taken out of that store less than a month after I left. The woman who replaced me is now looking to get transferred due to the behavior of the other transffered employee. I would also like to point out 4 other employees requested a transfer due to these 2 individuals.
Hi Ann,
Clearly, you must remain in contact with others still working there to know all that is still going on.
I think your mistake was walking off the job and then calling HR. A reasonable person would escalate the grievance to HR before quitting.
But given that you are still getting information about the going ons .. you can appeal and have witnesses testify for you at hearing.
But be aware that what has happened since your departure is not really relevant. What happened to you is relevant.
Broad general descriptions of how you were treated need to be narrowed to what was said exactly.
Everyone can probably tell a story about a boss or a co-worker who was hell to work with, but most people don’t quit.
When a person quits it falls to them to prove the treatment was beyond what a reasonable person would endure.
I realize that it is hard for a person depending on a job to rise above the emotions of their situation, but in fact, you must.
Unemployment hearings are very much like an informal mini trial. Presenting your case that you had good cause to quit based upon your emotional distress is not what needs to be done.
You must present convincing facts that any reasonable would have been emotionally distressed and that you first sought ALL reasonable alternatives including giving the employer opportunities to alleviate these intolerable working conditions.
You use the employer’s established grievance procedures and when they don’t work .. you file complaints with a government agency.
And all the while you are documenting everything .. conversations, complaint forms, emails, dates, times, responses .. to prove you gave the employer opportunity to correct “intolerable working conditions”.
I repeat this same theme over and over again in every answer I give. Because without a doubt, the burden of good cause for quitting a job attributable to the work is in my opinion held to a higher standard than an employer’s burden to prove misconduct.