Manic and Chronically Abusive Boss Traumatized Me

Hello Legal Community,

Please bear with the gory details.  One week ago, I had a horrific experience in the workplace that had me on administative paid laave this past week.  I know it's legal for a boss to be abusive but to what extent?  Please see the details of my situation below.  I greatly appreciate your input and advice in advance:

My chronically abusive boss (he has a recent history of reported abuses, harassment, and pssible conduct viloations which have not been addressed by the company obviously) and I had a philosophical disagreement as I was leaving work. He suddenly became manic and threatening towards me.He got in my face and said "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?!".  If you're a guy, you especially know that those "is fightin words" meant to initiate a physical challenge.  I was leaving the office for the day at that time and did not respond.  So he literally chased me some 100 feet to through three sets of office doors despite my pleas to him to leave me alone, all the way to the elevator door. He was clearly seeking a possibly violent confrontation. He got right in my face as I waited nervously for the elevator to come. I was scared for my well being but pleaded for him to get help and told him he was manic. His body language defined the saying "if looks could kill". His face was red, veins popping out, piercing eyes staring me down, and body clenched for battle. He's a former marine and they are trained to kill. Finally the eleivator door closed with him standing as close to the cab w/o being in it, he said two words to me which I think were "YOU'RE DONE". I reported it to HR that afternoon. Somehow in the confusion of 5 phone selection loops I ended up with a company W.C. analyst and told her my horrific story. She then informed me a WC claim will be filed & I'm not eleigible for company short term DI because of the incident happening at work. I told her my intent was to reach a HR person who could help me determine the correct action to take. She said, too late, you're only option is now WC since you reported this to me. The company WC insurance company has sent me forms to complete but I havent' decided to submit them yet since I would waive my lagal right to sue. It was THE most traumatic event in my quarter century of work. Also, I can't wait the long time it takes WC benefits to arrive. I live day to day. There is much more to this but based on the afore, what kind of case if any can I make for a significant potential settlement? My boss will be on vacation for two weeks starting Monday so I've agreed to return to work then whiile he's not present although just a couple of days before that is to happen, I'm still fearful and the unfortuante memories will forever upset me.. I haven't agreed to anything beyond that point. HR is still "investigatng" and won't give me a clear picture or status but I think theyre hoping things will blow over in the next two weeks. I don't feel that is a satisfactory course of actionThanks!

The WC person was incorrect - you can still talk to HR. ANd that's going to be a pretty tough WC claim to win because nothing actually happened except for the yelling.

Lynn. Thanks for your quick response. What about the mental trauma it has caused?  Are you saying because no blood was shed that no one would take this seriously?  HR has not let me know yet what or if they will do anything.  If they let things go status quo, is that really an appropriate response? That is, just to separate two persons apart for three weeks, who have a long history (regarless of fault) of conflict?  Would they really just hope this or something worse will never happen again?  Something doesn't seem right OR the laws in this case just favor the employer. After all, like eveyone says "people are lucky now just to have jobs period".  Thanks.

You do not get to sue your employer because he yelled at you, no matter how much "mental trauma" you experienced.

Nor do you get to waive workers comp and sue instead. If you have a workers comp claim, your ONLY option is to file it; it's not an either/or.

"Also, I can't wait the long time it takes WC benefits to arrive. I live day to day. There is much more to this but based on the afore, what kind of case if any can I make for a significant potential settlement?"

WC does not replace your salary it is only paid at 60%.  While CA is more liberal with regards to emotional WC claims they are still virtually impossible to prove.  I don't think you have a basis to make a case for anything.  Much less a settlement of any kind.  

"It was THE most traumatic event in my quarter century of work."

No one disagrees that you have a Class A jerk for a boss but I think you are being VERY over dramatic about this.  If HR won't rein him in then find another job.  Nothing in employment law requires that he not be a jerk.  He just can't do things based upon Title VII reasons.  In your case no Title VII reason exists since you readily admit you and he have  had an issue with each other for a while.  This is a personality conflict.

"What about the mental trauma it has caused?"

If you are trying to claim mental trauma in order to induce a settlement so you don't have to work the odds are slim to none on that plan working.  Mental health claims are scrutinized VERY closely and your life will be come an open book.  That scrutiny will give new meaning to mental trauma.

"Are you saying because no blood was shed that no one would take this seriously?"

No one said that.  What was said is LEGALLY they aren't required to do anything since it isn't illegal behavior.  It is perfectly legal to be a jerk.  

"If they let things go status quo, is that really an appropriate response?"

They may think so.  Legal and "appropriate" are often two different things.  They aren't required to do exactly what you want or to tell you what they did if anything since you are a subordinate to him.

They do not have to do anythi ng or let you know what they do.

You got yelled at. You've worked it up into a melodrama, but you need to get over it.

Wow! That just seems wrong and a double standard.  But if that's what the law specifically says, who am I to judge.  Thanks for the input.  I'll just see what others have to say as well.

Did you actually see a mental health professional after this happened?

If not, your WC claim is DOA.

Sorry about that Lynn. I  know its not against the law to be a bad boss.  I appreciate the feedback.  At this point, I'll just let HR complete thier investigation and try not to over-dramatize it.  Just want to explore all or most of my options.  Can't blame me for that, right? 

Yes, I contacted both of my ongoing MH providers within a couple of hours after it hapenned.  Both believe I have a case but only one belongs to the WC approved evaluators and I will be seeing him this Monday when he gets back from a personal leave. From what I understand anyway, WC is very hard to get anyway unless a brick falls from the ceiling and causes you to lose no less than 3 pints of blood.  The economy is bad and there are a lot of people trying to take advantage of whatever benefits are out there.  Can't say I blame them though. 

I'm not at the sueing stage yet.  And I understand its okay to be a jerk intimidating boss.  I guess my ultimate salvation is that I don't have to put up with whiners like me that complain about harassment snce anyone who complains about harassmnt is subject ot further harassment

However, as has already been explained, not all harrassment is illegal.

abusedemployee:

So he literally chased me some 100 feet to through three sets of office doors ... all the way to the elevator door. He was clearly seeking a possibly violent confrontation. He got right in my face as I waited nervously for the elevator to come.

If ever he blocks your ability to exit a room, or touches you, that would put everything into a different perspective.  Regardless, it wouldn't hurt to document incidents if they are recurring. The guy sounds a little bizarre.

Good luck.

"Yes, I contacted both of my ongoing MH providers within a couple of hours after it hapenned."

There in lies your problem.  If you had pre-existing mental health issues that will greatly reduce any claim you have.  They will merely say you were pre-disposed to over reacting and therefore it isn't a WC issue.

"From what I understand anyway, WC is very hard to get anyway unless a brick falls from the ceiling and causes you to lose no less than 3 pints of blood."

Not exactly.  If you suffer an obvious injury on the job WC readily takes care of things even with the bureaucratic hoops one has to jump through to get it.  The issue in your situation is you have a pre-existing mental health condition(s) and you do not have an injury.  

Your boss is a jerk everyone gets that.  The law does not require they address the fact that he is a jerk.  Start job hunting in case they decide they are not going to deal with him or he doesn't change.  You definitely deserve a better working environment I just don't see this rising to the level of a WC claim.