Bias in the workplace

[vtrupiano11]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas

On February 9, my boss sent out a mass email last night to all the employees for two reasons: 1. To request workers for a catering gig a private party hired our company to work. 2. To reiterate the importance in responding to job requests ASAP.

He proceeded to reiterate the importance by stating unless we were in medical or law school, he didn't care what reason we had to delay our response. I was offended by this remark as it minimizes any work that I do even though I'm not in either of what he mentioned. I expressed this to him & he responded with "I'm sorry you're sensitive to the fact that I didn't include it in my obvious list of higher education in an effort to make a grand, sweeping point.... I lead this company in the way I see fit, and if I have to use examples or jokes (like the reality show, which was clearly a joke), then I'll do so. If you don't like it, I appreciate the time you've given us."

The following morning (Feb 10), since I continued to feel disrespected and not heard, I resigned from the company. He proceeded to let me know that he had already removed me from Staffmate (website where we receive work requests) the night before.

I'm just curious if I have any legal standing here. Thanks!

 

[Eekamouse]

Standing for what?

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

It appears you are standing around looking for a job, with no grounds to collect UI. Of course since apparently your skill set is in high demand, you should be able to replace that job in no time without a good recommendation.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas

On February 9, my boss sent out a mass email last night to all the employees for two reasons: 1. To request workers for a catering gig a private party hired our company to work. 2. To reiterate the importance in responding to job requests ASAP.

He proceeded to reiterate the importance by stating unless we were in medical or law school, he didn't care what reason we had to delay our response. I was offended by this remark as it minimizes any work that I do even though I'm not in either of what he mentioned. I expressed this to him & he responded with "I'm sorry you're sensitive to the fact that I didn't include it in my obvious list of higher education in an effort to make a grand, sweeping point.... I lead this company in the way I see fit, and if I have to use examples or jokes (like the reality show, which was clearly a joke), then I'll do so. If you don't like it, I appreciate the time you've given us."

The following morning (Feb 10), since I continued to feel disrespected and not heard, I resigned from the company. He proceeded to let me know that he had already removed me from Staffmate (website where we receive work requests) the night before.

I'm just curious if I have any legal standing here. Thanks!

Legal standing for what? You did not recognize that your boss was clearly irritated to start with (hence his need to reiterate the importance of responding to job requests ASAP) and decided to irritate him even more by stupidly complaining about how he expressed his irritation. Then, when he clearly indicated his even greater irritation at your response, instead of apologizing all over yourself for making such a stupid complaint you decided to resign because you felt "disrespected and not heard"??!! Are you that young and foolish that you don't understand how the relationship between employer and employee works?

 

[PaulMass]

The sad truth is that you have no standing to sue for wrongful termination.

Employees and employers are under similar circumstances when it comes to performing work or offering work. You are under no obligation to perform any work. If you don't perform work, you don't get paid. If you do perform work, you get paid.

Similarly, the employer is under no obligation to provide work.

You can quit for almost any reason, including not liking your boss' attitude.

Your employer can fire you for almost any reason, including not liking your attitude.

There are certain exceptions, generally dictated by law, regarding situations where your employer cannot legally fire you. Those include discrimination, whistle-blowing, and contractual matters.

Since he may have terminated you before you resigned, you may qualify for unemployment. I suggest you apply, you have nothing to lose.

 

[commentator]

While I agree that a person has nothing to lose by filing for unemployment, a person who quit a job in this circumstance has very little chance of being approved for benefits. It is extremely doubtful that a person who had pulled this one, resigned because they felt they were not being properly respected and heard, would find they had been terminated by their employer without their knowledge, or that the employer would ever say an employee who resigned under these circumstances had been terminated.

I suspect the employer was a little surprised by the resignation, and if he has been in business for any length of time, is likely is not dumb enough to go around firing people on whim. Most employers quickly learn that if the employee quits, they're generally not on the hook for higher unemployment rates. If they walk in and terminate without a valid misconduct job related reason, then the employee is more likely to be approved for benefits. And most employers are much more careful about those costs than they are about protecting the feelings of their employees.

After a resignation, when the employee applies for unemployment insurance, the burden of proof is on them to show that they had a valid job related cause to quit the job, and that they had exhausted all reasonable alternatives before quitting. Hopefully this OP does have a high demand skill set and will be able to replace this job soon. If this person continues to work in Texas, they will soon find out more about the way the workforce works, as Texas is quite an employer friendly atmosphere.

 

[cbg]

Legal standing? For what?

 

[vtrupiano11]

Legal standing for what? You did not recognize that your boss was clearly irritated to start with (hence his need to reiterate the importance of responding to job requests ASAP) and decided to irritate him even more by stupidly complaining about how he expressed his irritation. Then, when he clearly indicated his even greater irritation at your response, instead of apologizing all over yourself for making such a stupid complaint you decided to resign because you felt "disrespected and not heard"??!! Are you that young and foolish that you don't understand how the relationship between employer and employee works?

You're a complete idiot for not recognizing that what he said is offensive in the sense that he was minimizing other people's work just because they do not attend medical or law school. Just because he is irritated at the fact that his staff are not responding when they should be, does not mean he needs to be taking it out on other people. There is always a right and wrong way to ethically handle situations. A good leader/supervisor should be able to hear out their staff's concerns especially if the staff are feeling like their boss has a bias. I may not be an expert in laws & what qualifies for a suit as this is not my career field, I can recognize when people are not making the right ethical choices and how to handle their staff members. I now understand that there is no legal standing for suit, but that doesn't mean he wasn't ethically in the wrong.

 

[Proserpina]

You're a complete idiot for not recognizing that what he said is offensive in the sense that he was minimizing other people's work just because they do not attend medical or law school. Just because he is irritated at the fact that his staff are not responding when they should be, does not mean he needs to be taking it out on other people. There is always a right and wrong way to ethically handle situations. A good leader/supervisor should be able to hear out their staff's concerns especially if the staff are feeling like their boss has a bias. I now understand that there is no legal standing for suit, but that doesn't mean he wasn't ethically in the wrong.

Holy passive-aggressive, Batman!

Tell you what. When you find a law saying that "being mean = actionable" do let us know.

 

[Zigner]

You're a complete idiot for not recognizing that what he said is offensive in the sense that he was minimizing other people's work just because they do not attend medical or law school. Just because he is irritated at the fact that his staff are not responding when they should be, does not mean he needs to be taking it out on other people. There is always a right and wrong way to ethically handle situations. A good leader/supervisor should be able to hear out their staff's concerns especially if the staff are feeling like their boss has a bias. I may not be an expert in laws & what qualifies for a suit as this is not my career field, I can recognize when people are not making the right ethical choices and how to handle their staff members. I now understand that there is no legal standing for suit, but that doesn't mean he wasn't ethically in the wrong.

I don't even think there is an ethics violation here. Get thicker skin.

 

[LdiJ]

You're a complete idiot for not recognizing that what he said is offensive in the sense that he was minimizing other people's work just because they do not attend medical or law school. Just because he is irritated at the fact that his staff are not responding when they should be, does not mean he needs to be taking it out on other people. There is always a right and wrong way to ethically handle situations. A good leader/supervisor should be able to hear out their staff's concerns especially if the staff are feeling like their boss has a bias. I may not be an expert in laws & what qualifies for a suit as this is not my career field, I can recognize when people are not making the right ethical choices and how to handle their staff members. I now understand that there is no legal standing for suit, but that doesn't mean he wasn't ethically in the wrong.

I am sorry, but I know absolutely no one who would have been offended by what your employer said. I also know of absolutely no one who would have actually complained to their boss about something like that. As another post said, you really need to grow a thicker skin.

 

[Proserpina]

And seriously dude, we're kind of seeing exactly why it all happened.

 

[cbg]

This poster is not worth the time it would take to explain to him all the different ways he is being an idiot.

I'm pouring tea, and I have scones. Pro? Zig? LdiJ? Honey or jam?

 

[LdiJ]

This poster is not worth the time it would take to explain to him all the different ways he is being an idiot.

I'm pouring tea, and I have scones. Pro? Zig? LdiJ? Honey or jam?

I'll take honey thank you!

 

[Zigner]

This poster is not worth the time it would take to explain to him all the different ways he is being an idiot.

I'm pouring tea, and I have scones. Pro? Zig? LdiJ? Honey or jam?

Jam for me please