Hostile work environment and penalties

[zuasive]

Greetings, I'm in Columbus Ohio. I wasn't quite sure where to place this but considering the ramifications I suspect this will end up in a wrongful termination situation should I resist. Here we go.

My employer recently told me that I have to pay the difference of a business trip where the hotel stay was too expensive. I used my company card that was booked through the company. The difference my supervisor is giving me is $900. That same day they took my company card and threatened to fire me if I did not repay the difference. The problem I have is this; there is no clear written policy on much of anything within the company. Most importantly there is no written policy on a company credit card. There have been no spending guidelines and I have been told numerous times to buy what we need. Can they force me to repay this?

I suspect when I start questioning and fighting against this I will be fired. The company is already going through four wrongful termination lawsuits and I suspect they are traveling down a dark road. I have already been searching for new employment and I suspect I will be moving on very soon. The conflict I have is with doing what is right. Should I fight this and what grounds would I have other than the obvious. You can't make rules and the penalize people for them when they didn't exist before.

Thanks

 

[cbg]

Whether they can or cannot force you to repay this is based on facts you have not presented.

However, this is in no way a hostile work environment, which has a very definite definition that is not even remotely invoked here, and if you are fired over this issue it will not be a wrongful termination. Not even close.

 

[zuasive]

What facts are missing? Here are some things I can think of.

The company recently instituted company credit card reconciliation statements. With those statements you designate the charged area (materials, equipment, travel, etc.) Then you designate the location to be charged as we have eight locations and include receipts which I complied. All travel and lodging arrangements are made with local staff. These guidelines where only verbally communicated three months after the referred to trip I am being required to pay a difference for.

The hostile environment references specifically refers to verbal and emotional abuse in the form of entrapment and then name calling to which I am recording. Nearly nothing is put in writing.

 

[cbg]

Who made the reservation? When? For what purpose? Was it business related? If so, who else went? Who chose the facilities? What is the corporate policy on business expenses?

If you are not experiencing sexual harassment and/or illegal discrimination/harassment based on race, religion, national origin or another characteristic protected by law, you are not in an HWE.

 

[zuasive]

Who made the reservation? When? For what purpose? Was it business related? If so, who else went? Who chose the facilities? What is the corporate policy on business expenses?

If you are not experiencing sexual harassment and/or illegal discrimination/harassment based on race, religion, national origin or another characteristic protected by law, you are not in an HWE.

The reservation was made by the receptionist of the office where my supervisor is located. The purpose was strictly business related for work required on-site. I was the only traveler on this trip. The facilities were chosen by the same receptionist who was determined should make the reservations in the future. There is no written or verbal policy on business expenses. They are currently in the process of creating it or at least this has been verbally communicated to me. There are no written policies and nothing that I have signed.

Perfect, that helps me understand the hostility. It also helps me to understand the limitations of protection so thank you. So then emotional duress in the form of psychological and verbal abuse are not protected?

 

[Proserpina]

The reservation was made by the receptionist of the office where my supervisor is located. The purpose was strictly business related for work required on-site. I was the only traveler on this trip. The facilities were chosen by the same receptionist who was determined should make the reservations in the future. There is no written or verbal policy on business expenses. They are currently in the process of creating it or at least this has been verbally communicated to me. There are no written policies and nothing that I have signed.

Perfect, that helps me understand the hostility. It also helps me to understand the limitations of protection so thank you. So then emotional duress in the form of psychological and verbal abuse are not protected?

Alas, being an absolute jerk in the workplace is perfectly legal. Actually, now I think about it, that benefits society as a whole.

 

[cbg]

So then emotional duress in the form of psychological and verbal abuse are not protected?

No.

 

[tranquility]

So then emotional duress in the form of psychological and verbal abuse are not protected?

No.

While cbg is showing the reality of "hostile work environment" in a way to discourage the OP (Correctly, I might add.), the "no" I have to disagree with a bit. While not in employment law, I can certainly envision "psychological and verbal abuse" that arises to a tort. I suspect such extreme and outrageous acts are not here; but, we don't know the facts.

Bottom line, cbg is correct. I just don't like the categorical "no" as it implies the same for all situations and potential torts.

 

[commentator]

Hostile work environments are like reindeer. They do exist in certain exotic situations and climates, but not generally and most people will never run into one. In fact, if you are an employer, you are more likely to get prosecuted for physically assaulting your employee than you are for "hostile work environment." And believe me in many years of watching people get fired and quit jobs, I have seen some really unbelievable behavior on the part of employers.

This employee needs to be looking far and wide for another job, but I wouldn't quit this one until I had found something else. Then skip notice, just leave these jerks behind. I'd keep at it, do your job, don't fight with them, and let them be the driver of the action if they insist it's an either "repay us this ridiculous amount for something another of OUR employees scheduled for you or be fired" deal. Let them do their worst. I doubt if they would prevail if they sued you in civil court, which would be what they'd have to do to reclaim this money. And they know that if you are fired for an invalid non misconduct reason, you are quite likely to qualify for unemployment insurance and this will cost the employer some money in unemployment tax rates. So they'll be as ugly and threatening as they can be to try to provoke you to quit. That's to their benefit.

Most people believe erroneously that it is a very terrible thing to be fired. They think that it will go on their "permanent record" or something like that, and that they'll be ruined for life. That's not really the case. An employer can terminate an employee for any reason known to man, including the wearing of green socks to work today when they don't like green socks. This is legal in an "at will" state such as this and 48 others. And there are a whole lot of verbal threats and yelling and bad job assignments and viciousness that can go on without it being illegal, if it is not definitively a result of the employee being a member of a protected class in EEOC regs.

 

[cbg]

I considered adding, "in employment situations" but didn't want the OP to take off with that as meaning she still had some recourse for it under some other theory.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

The worst it can result in is a loss of work environment down the road when your value to the company is assessed.