Hostile Work Environment at Universal Studios

Valencia, CA No one really knows how many workers are subjected to harassment because many employees are afraid of retaliation if they complain about their hostile work environment. These days it's not easy to find work elsewhere and all too often supervisors, managers and employers take advantage of their authority, even though they are violating the California labor law.

One such employee is Janet (not her real name) who worked as an accountant in a hostile environment for three years, until she had a nervous breakdown. Janet worked at Universal Studios for 11 years before taking nine months maternity leave. When she returned to work in 2007, her new supervisor started to make her life miserable.

According to Janet, her supervisor, let's call her Mary, harassed her from Day One. "She came into my office and pulled a list of names off my wall and screamed that we weren't using this billing list anymore, as if I had done something wrong," says Janet. "I had no idea why she acted this way??"I was startled. And it was strange that she didn't explain this new rule to me rather than yell. I had met Mary once; just one month before I went on maternity leave and didn't know her at all. She constantly put so much pressure on me and never missed an opportunity to criticize me. I never had a complaint before; everyone knows me as a hard worker and I did my job well."

To make matters worse, Janet's co-worker (there were only four people working in her department, including Mary) also added to the hostile environment??"and they were friends. Apparently, Allan (not his real name) has a history of drinking on the job, and Mary has a history of harassment, which Janet discovered from her former supervisor. Mary, who had worked at Universal for 30 years, even had a harassment lawsuit filed against her some years previously: Janet said Mary "came out on top."

Janet said that Allan often came into her office drunk. "I have witnesses who heard him call me a 'f**king slob' and 'f**king slut,' and they attested to that in a signed letter," Janet adds.

"By 2009 I found enough courage to talk with Mary; I told her she intimidated me and made me feel worthless and that I was also disrespected by Allan. 'You know that he drinks and you had better not report it or ever talk about his drinking on the job because it will backfire on you,' she said. I walked out of her office speechless and even more afraid.

"I went back to my office, put my head down and kept working. Then a few days later I spoke with my old supervisor and explained how I felt threatened by Mary. She told me that I needed to speak to HR. I didn't follow up on her advice because I was afraid of losing my job if I reported anything. Unfortunately my old supervisor won't speak against Mary either because she is also afraid of retaliation.

"But about five months later it became unbearable??"I went to HR shaking and crying uncontrollably; I was having a nervous breakdown. I told HR about Allan's drinking and swearing. She said an investigation would be forthcoming. It took her three months to get back to me. 'I find no evidence of him drinking,' she said. That was the end of discussion. As for my supervisor; 'Perhaps she could work on her management skills but perhaps you are oversensitive.' I didn't have the opportunity to respond??"she had another appointment.

"I was crushed. What do I do now? In an email to HR, I said if the harassment and intimidation continued, I would go higher up to seek help because I couldn't continue under this stress. She responded the next day and said we should talk further, meaning Mary, Mary's supervisor, and me. I didn't want to do that without my union's representation because this was going to mean more intimidation. I tried to contact my union but they never returned my call. So now I felt that I didn't have anyone on my side; fear gripped me even more.

"I have to say that after speaking with HR, M and my co-worker backed off but it started all over again after this 'cooling off time.' By November 2010 I knew I couldn't take anymore: it started affecting me physically...

"I found it hard to get up in the morning; I felt worthless because I couldn't get help anywhere. I went to my doctor with back spasms??"directly related to stress??"and I haven't been back to work since. He recognized right away that I couldn't return to work and wrote a note that said I needed to go on disability leave. He also referred me to a psychiatrist.

"I am currently on long term disability, seeing the psychiatrist and trying to get better so I can return to work. I requested to be moved to a different department but I was told by email from HR that I had to either go back to work with Mary or quit my job and re-apply. Technically I am supposed to go back to work June 1st but I can't go back to that hostile environment. In a perfect world, I need to work in an environment where I'm not afraid. Of course problems and issues arise, but nobody should have to work with fear."

California Labor Law—Hostile Work Environment

San Diego, CA The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin. The statute also covers the overall working environment, and makes unlawful a hostile working environment, which is also a violation of California labor law.

In fact, California is one of the least-tolerant states regarding discrimination and hostile work environment, as evidenced by countless successful California labor lawsuits. Robin (not her real name) is hopeful that she will receive some compensation from her discrimination and hostile work environment claim: she has been discriminated against by her former employer, who has clearly violated the California labor code.

"I recently got a job in a furniture store, but right from the beginning, my employer constantly criticized me in front of the customers," says Robin, who is Italian. "She asked me why my skin color was as 'dark' as hers. 'Did I mind growing up with darker skin color,' and many other questions regarding my personal life and background. Because of her constant badgering, I faltered at my ability to learn; I was always afraid of making a mistake. She would belittle me in front of others with derogatory questions like, 'Can't you see, get your glasses,' or 'Why can't you remember anything,' which only seemed evident that she was insinuating I was old (I am 57 years of age, which she constantly reminded me of).

"It got to the point where I became physically ill and unable to focus. Finally I walked out, but she even ran after me and up to my car as I was pulling away. Now I do not have a job. And I have a severe case of shingles from stress. What can I do? I need to work, yet have not worked at this company long enough to claim unemployment."

A hostile work environment can impact an employee's ability to perform his or her work effectively, which has clearly happened to Robin. For instance, the atmosphere at work can be made hostile by racial slurs or inappropriate joking. Robin has filed a claim with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, and her next step is to file a complaint with the EEOC and serve notice on her employer??"the person against whom the complaint was made. She is hopeful that a labor law attorney will help her, and soon.

Title VII of the statute states that an employee who believes he or she has been unlawfully discriminated against must bring an action against the employer within 180 or 300 days of the date the claimed unlawful employment practice occurred.

Pregnancy Penalty Violates California Labor Law

Sacramento, CA When Darlene was pregnant, her boss went out of his way to make her job uncomfortable, to say the least. Darlene says she was harassed, which is a violation of the California labor law, pregnant or not. But subjecting a pregnant woman to a hostile work environment is borderline criminal.

"When I told my boss that I was pregnant a few years ago, he began making comments that his wife was more experienced in HR and could do a better job than me," says Darlene (not her real name). "He said, 'Take as long as you want on your maternity leave because we don't need you back.' When I did take mat leave, he tried to take my position away and offer me part time work without benefits. When I objected, he said okay, I could have my job back. But when I returned, they took away all of my duties except payroll."

Darlene knew her rights, so she was able to get her job back after four months on maternity leave. By threatening not to reinstate Darlene after she returned, then offering part-time without benefits, and finally taking her duties away, at least three California labor laws were potentially violated as per the California labor code:

(d) Employee Status

The employee shall retain employee status during the period of the pregnancy disability leave. The leave shall not constitute a break in service for purposes of longevity and/or seniority under any collective bargaining agreement or under any employee benefit plan. Benefits must be resumed upon the employee's reinstatement in the same manner and at the same levels as provided when the leave began, without any new qualification period, physical exam, et cetera or other qualifying provisions.

"After he knowingly took away my duties, my boss would have meetings with my co-workers and me, basically to humiliate me," says Darlene. "He would ask questions in front of everyone, like, 'What do you do all day at work?' and 'What do you work on for eight hours?' In other words, he was looking for a way to terminate me without cause."

Unfortunately, Darlene's boss succeeded in ousting her, but only temporarily, because Darlene has filed a lawsuit against him and the company. "Because of the stress I had to take a leave of absence, but they terminated me within a few days," she says.

Adding insult to injury, Darlene says she just received a letter from the company. "Now they want to sue me for phone charges on a company cell phone they gave me, which I gave back when I was fired. Do they have the right to do this to me?"

That's another question Darlene's attorney can answer. As it stands now, she is potentially entitled to the following remedies that are available for violation of the pregnancy disability leave law:

- Back pay
- Reinstatement or front pay
- Injunctive relief
- Reasonable attorney fees and court costs
- Compensatory damages for pain and suffering
- Punitive damages

More from the California Labor Code as it pertains to Darlene:

§7291.5 Responsibilities of Employers

Discrimination by employers because of pregnancy constitutes discrimination because of sex under Government Code sections 12926…
(a) Employer Obligations

Except as excused by a permissible defense, it is unlawful for any employer, because of pregnancy of an employee or applicant, to:

(6) discriminate against the applicant or employee in terms, conditions or privileges of employment, except for non-Title VII employers, as set forth at section 7291.11, subdivision (a)(1)(A), below;

- Harass the applicant or employee because of pregnancy
- An employee who exercises her right to take a pregnancy disability 13 leave is guaranteed a right to return to the same position, or, if excused by section 7291.9, subdivisions (c)(1)(A) or (c)(1)(B), to a comparable position, and shall provide the guarantee in writing upon request of the employee. It is an unlawful employment practice for any employer, after granting a requested pregnancy disability leave or transfer, to refuse to honor its guarantee of reinstatement unless the refusal is justified by the defenses below in subdivisions (c)(1) and (c)(2). If the employee takes intermittent leave or a reduced work schedule, only one written guarantee of reinstatement is required.

Hostile Work Environment—Violation of California Labor Law?

Los Alametos, CA There are many forms of a hostile work environment; sexual harassment and discrimination clearly violate the California labor law while other forms of California labor employment laws are not so cut and dry and may need a lawyer to determine whether your rights are being violated. Treena believes she has been "singled out" by her employer. "Sometimes it doesn't pay to be honest and play by the rules," says Treena.

"This past April there was an employee shooting at the hospital where I was working," explains Treena. "An employee working in outpatient pharmacy killed his manager, executive director and then himself. My job is to report to the command center and document everything when any incidents happen. I saw all the details of the event on security camera. At the time I was intent on doing my job and after the shooting my boss and I worked to coordinate crisis intervention counselors for about 5,000 hospital staff. I made sure everyone got counseling and departments were debriefed. But I couldn't get counseling because I was required to be in the office when the counselors were on site. There is no backup for me.

Instead, my boss was angry with me because I wasn't supporting her; I was too busy with this incident. In fact she was impeding my job.

Since then I have been very angry toward her and her manager because I wasn't provided with the assistance to help everyone and myself. I begged for help and couldn't get it. I went to the doctor for stress; I have lost more than 20 lbs, my hair has fallen out and I am emotionally unstable. When I complained of stress to my boss, I was ignored.

Now I am on stress leave. After the shooting I told my boss that I wanted to transfer to another department; we couldn't function as a team and I couldn't do my job. She said OK and wished the best for me. About one week later, the department secretary yelled at me twice and hung up the phone when my son called??"that was my breaking point. I felt that I was working in a hostile work environment and believe they have violated the California labor code. I never did get the transfer. Instead I was sent to HR for disciplinary action; I have never been in trouble in my life--I have almost 5 years of an unblemished record at this hospital.

I think if there is an opportunity where I make a mistake they will terminate me. Without warning. Isn't that a hostile environment?

I was talking with my pastor and he said I really have to see a therapist. I still want to transfer to another department and the position is still available. The director of that department was negotiating it but my boss won't allow it. I am hopeful that a lawyer can intervene and mediate this, and tell me whether they are indeed violating the California labor law…

I am seeing a therapist now but I am still very anxious and afraid. Even after the shooting I was in a situation where I was alone with someone who threatened to kill the staff. His father had surgery here and died of complications??"he was obviously very mad. And my boss knew about this incident but again, she didn't want to take care of the problem.

I believe I have been singled out because I applied for a transfer. Hospital policy requires that you notify your manager before requesting a transfer. It doesn't pay to be honest and adhere to the rules."

Are Hostile Work Environment Complaints Violations of the California Labor Law?

Sacramento, CA Katherine worked at a nutritional supplement company for just two months, but during that time she alleges that management constantly harassed her and several co-workers. She also claims that they are losing "thousands of dollars" from unpaid commissions. Sexual harassment and several forms of discrimination are often obvious violations of the California Labor Law, but Katherine and her co-workers likely need an employment lawyer to advise them if their hostile work environment complaints constitute violations of the California labor code .

Unpaid Commissions
"Our company offers nutritional supplements by mail order and their tactics are legally questionable," says Katherine. "We get paid commission on how many customers we 'save' from canceling. When I was hired (October 1, 2008) I was told that I would be paid three dollars a save and was required to make 30 saves a month in order to be employed by the company. Within two weeks of being employed, they changed the minimum saves to 70 a month. They also changed the commission structure so that the employee was making less money. Then on November 1st, with the effective date November 1st, we received a memo changing the commission structure again where we would make less money; this happened two more times. Several of my co-workers lost hundreds of dollars in commission thanks to them changing the commission structure at the end of the month and backdating it to the beginning of them month.

We are also written up randomly even if we make their '70 saves' goal. I made 72 saves last month and was written up (and threatened with termination) for poor performance with my saves even though I met their written guidelines for how many saves were expected of me every month."

In the case Nein v. Hostpro, Inc.. filed 6/3/09 in the Court of Appeal in the State of California, the defendant argued that although commissions are wages under the Labor Code, contractual terms authorizing the commissions must be established before the wages are due. Katherine should study her contract: commission agreements need be carefully analyzed and drafted to maximize the likelihood that a court will uphold the language on which the employer bases its decisions regarding commission payments.

"We are often accused of things we did not do or threatened to be fired if we do not admit to them," says Katherine. " For example, someone left a note on my supervisor's desk. In order to find out who wrote the note, management called several employees they didn't like one by one into their office and accused them of writing the note. They threatened to fire them if they didn't admit to writing the note. This is just one of several things they've done to harass us."

Meal and Rest Breaks
"We are denied pay if we 'forget' to clock in from lunch and work for the hours," says Katherine. "It doesn't matter if the time clock malfunctions or not, they refuse to pay you for the hours you work. I have a memo from HR that states this. They will give people who they don't like "late" lunches. We work 8-5pm. If management does not like you, they will schedule your lunch at 3pm-4pm."

Employees must get a 10-minute break for every four hours worked provided that the work day is at least five hours long, and a 30 minute meal break if the workday is 6 hours or more.

In the State of California, employees can sue for violations of meal and rest break provisions going back a period of three years. In addition, it is likely that employees would be able to go back a total of four years under unfair competition laws. Previously, the DLSE ("California Labor Board") had restricted the claims to only a one year period. (During a five hour work day, an employee is required to receive a 30 minute break. During a ten-hour work day, an employee is required to receive two 30 minute breaks.)

Katherine says that she and several of her co-workers are losing thousands of dollars in commission due to their employer "backdating" the new commission structure. She adds that "management is clearly harassing several employees and myself, creating a hostile work environment. I have several employees who will come forward to attest to this. I also have work memos, copies of write-ups, and the employee handbook." Katherine is now seeking legal help.

Harassment by Women—A California Labor Law Violation

San Diego, CA: Camden claims he has " an obvious case of white male harassment" by two female managers. No matter if you're male or female, white or black, harassment is a violation of the California Labor Law.

Camden worked the evening shift for a telemarketing company. He believes he was harassed by the two women and used as a scapegoat by one of the managers so they would "save face". If that is the case, a California state labor law has been violated. It all started when the night manager, Wendy, blamed him for the entire group of telemarketers not reading their script properly--the group was supposed to read the disclaimer: "This call may be recorded for quality control," after every call.

"One night, because Wendy [the manager] was not there, everyone took a recess from the disclaimer due to so many people not speaking English over the phone," says Camden. "Eileen [2nd in command] was the manager that night, and if we were at fault then no doubt it would be her duty to accept blame for the occasion and fix the situation immediately, but she didn't do anything.

Wendy was at home monitoring us--we weren't supposed to know. She was doing this because she did not want to be there in the evenings, and was basically abandoning her position as manager of the new campaign. Towards the end of that evening, Eileen was getting yelled at over the phone by Wendy and then she came over to my desk and told me to punch out because I was in trouble.

Because Wendy needed to rely on Eileen, I was the fall guy, I was blamed because Wendy didn't want to blame the manager. But why me? Perhaps because she felt that I had a strong character that was influencing the rest of the group; meaning that I am a 42-year- old white male who should be held responsible for others. I was accused of being the ringleader in the vice.

The next day Eileen wagged a pink slip in front of me saying I was that close to being fired. Then she started freaking out on me; she went on a rampage and started yelling at all of us. I told her that we needed someone else here in the evening.

She called the owner to get permission to fire me. I tried to reconcile??"I know she was about to pull the trigger. That evening I was trying my best, but I was working on a slow computer with cheap headphones. I was being monitored by Wendy the entire time; I got one call after another that started with, ' I don't speak English,' so I said, 'Thank you and have a good evening'. Wendy lost it. She dragged me into the conference room. 'Why aren't you probing the customers?', she screamed over and over again.

She backed me into a corner and sent me home. I knew I was fired. They confuse at-will employment with at-will harassment. They can do anything they want to get you fired. The end justifies the means. They can set you up and there is no legislation in the California labor law that says you cannot do that.

I talked to someone at the Department of Fair Housing and Employment. He couldn't do anything but send me a letter with alternatives. Then I went to the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC). They just listen to your complaint and do nothing. So now I have to wait three months to make an appeal to the California Employment Development Department. In other words I have no income right now. I would have dropped the entire issue but for the fact that I am broke, so now I am going to seek legal help."

"Referring to my Weight is a California Labor Law Violation"

Lodi, CA Loretta started working at a childcare center early this year and loved her job until the new owner took over. She says he made a lot of changes that could jeopardize the children's safety and health such as removing a safety gate that protected them from the storage rooms where cleaning supplies are stored. And he also made changes that went against the California Labor Law.

"This new owner removed the gate because 'it didn't have to be there' and he also said that if I properly supervised my children, a gate wouldn't be required," says Loretta. He created a hostile work environment for Loretta from that day forward and worse...

"I properly look after the children; they are my responsibility and I do a good job," says Loretta. "To be honest, I have never had this much trouble with a job in my life. The previous owner gave me a letter of recommendation and she gave a copy to the new owner.

He is very rude--another incident happened. I was talking to a parent and without thinking, I sat down on the table, still talking. He came into the room and yelled at me, in front of the parents. ' It is unprofessional to sit on the table and you can break it, do you have $300 to repair it? He was alluding to the fact that I am overweight. He told me that he would take $300 out of my paycheck if I break the table. I don't think he can do that.

'You are going to break the leg of the table,' he said again. I waited until the parent left, already after hours. I took aside the sight director, a co-worker in charge of staffing, and the owner. I explained to him that he was unprofessional and rude and that if he had a problem with my work, he should have taken me aside.

He then told me that he is the boss and he is the one who signs the checks. 'Aside from the fact that you are the owner, don't disrespect me in front of parents,' I said.
Again, he reiterated that he is the boss and I have to do things his way.

It's not going to work his way. He said that nothing negative should ever come out of my mouth so I walked out. I told my co-worker that I cannot work under these conditions and I quit--I am still so stressed out with this guy.

I have been working at day care centers for 14 years and I've never had a problem with anyone. I have never walked off a job. I am in contact with my co-workers and they agree that he is rude. He installed sliding locks on all the doors to prevent children from getting into the classrooms. I couldn't unlock it; I had to get a can opener to pry it up so it would unlock. What if there was a fire? What if someone got sick? We would be in trouble.

I asked one of the women who works there if that issue was ever addressed. But the new owner told her, If the door is locked, the parents need to knock on the door to be let in.' But what about getting out? What if it gets stuck again?

I'm not the only one he has shown his temper to. He has anger management issues. I just want this man to know that I have rights and he cannot talk to me this way; if you are going to continue talking to people this way, it is never going to work, especially in a childcare facility. And what about the kids? My first priority is to protect the children under my care and the second is to protect my rights.

What bothers me the most is that I had to walk away from these children not knowing what is going to happen to them. I am so emotionally distressed and can't do anything for them now. I filed for unemployment but they don' t know if they can grant it to me because I quit. I'm out every day looking for another job but the bills are piling up, which is stressing me out even more. It isn't fair that I can't get unemployment.

I have sent an email to a co-worker at the center and to the childcare licensing center, voicing my concern about this man and his new safety installations and more.

I also have a letter from one of the co-workers regarding regulations that are going on. She reiterated the same issues that I had; the fire extinguisher was removed and she found it on toddler bathroom floor. Nice! She also said she has a hard time working with him due to his short temper and he has openly chastised her in front of staff and parents.

I don't know what I can do to change things but I would hope that it doesn't continue this way. He has created a very unhealthy environment for the children and the staff. Six other workers are looking for another job that I know of. I would really like this guy to get a talking to! At least understand that creating a hostile environment and discriminating against an employee because of her weight is a violation of the California Labor Law."

California Labor Law: Hostile Environment

Los Angeles, CA "I was a stockbroker and financial advisor for 35 years and survived well in this male-dominated world," says Gwen, "but one year away from retirement, the brokerage firm Wachovia forced me to resign and left me without medical benefits." According to the California Labor Law, Gwen believes she is within her rights to file a wrongful dismissal suit against Wachovia.

Gwen (not her real name pending a potential lawsuit) is 64 years old and quite a stockbroker celebrity in Southern California??"she was an exceptional stockbroker. She has also put up with "a lot of BS" and withstood the heat of the brokerage business. "The reason I survived is that in dealing with the male psyche of this profession, it has pushed me to be smarter, brighter and better than most of the men I have dealt with," says Gwen. But the corporation got the better of her.

"I was employed at Wachovia as a senior VP and investment officer," says Gwen. "Like many firms, it pays politically correct lip service on its website, HR publications and training programs to encourage and support women and minorities but in reality it is all propaganda to cover their butts. They really don't support women in the business, in fact they discourage them. But I was hired because I had a good book of clients and the guy who hired me respected and admired women (they fired him a few years later).

I was doing well but the market crashed in 2000--2001 and along with that, my husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Then my parents became ill. For the last seven or eight years, I was the primary caregiver and sole financial support of them and my brother. A lot of pressure was on me. My energy level and ability to do high-key investment seminars for women (my main job) diminished and consequently, over a five-year period, with a combination of market conditions and demands on me, my business did not grow. However, I kept the firm informed at all times.

But Wachovia made it difficult for me to continue my work. They took away my private office and put me in the bull pen with the trainees. In December of 2007 the branch manager gave me a probationary letter which I was forced to sign??"if I didn't sign, I would have been fired on the spot.

The letter said that, 'Over the next three months, you must bring in half a million dollars a month in new assets or you will be terminated.' Nobody else was given that letter and it was impossible to achieve in this kind of market. The other brokers in the office were glad just to keep their existing clients. In other words, it was a procedure to protect themselves from my wrongful dismissal.

(By the way, some brokers were making more than me at this time when I was down, but others were making less. And all those brokers had partners to help them??"I had a family to support.)

They kept on raising the bar: I am a year away from retirement and they pulled this on me. I walked away with no medical insurance; no life insurance that I paid into for 10 years on my husband. I would have been eligible for social security benefits but now I have to wait more than a year and I'm not even eligible for health benefits yet.

If they hadn't pressured me, I would have been better able to do my job. That letter made me physically ill; it was like a 90-day freight train bearing down on me. How could I perform in an environment like that? It gave me insomnia and my doctor had to prescribe meds to stop my stomach spasms from so much stress. I filed workers' compensation the day I left and that is still ongoing. They are fighting me on it, but my attorney is optimistic and we are going to court in a month."