"Is Employer's Abuse a Violation of the California Labor Law?"

Santa Barbara, CAJoy's employer hurled verbal abuse at her constantly, starting the first week at her new job until she quit four months later. "I'd like to know if he has violated the California Labor Law," says Joy. "In the meantime, a lawyer has contacted me and I am looking for another job. Even if there is no compensation for me, I would like the California labor board to stop his abusive behavior toward others."

"Joy (not her real name) worked in a veterinary clinic and one of the veterinarians—her boss—yelled at her for supposedly not reading a prescription label correctly. Joy says, "He grabbed me by the shoulder, called me into his office and yelled 'I am going to give you a math test' in front of all the other employees." Did Joy's boss cross the line of "poor management" to a violation of the California labor code when he physically abused her? Joy is discussing this issue with her lawyer...

"I actually took his math test—which he wrote by hand, there and then—and I passed," says Joy. "Then he asked me if I had graduated from school, to which I replied that I had. 'What did you graduate in, cheerleading?' he asked me. I just said 'No, I didn't graduate in cheerleading,' and walked over to my desk. I didn't want to anger him further, plus I wanted to keep my job.

He acted like an unreasonable crazy man. If I could reason with him, I would still have my job. And he constantly made 'beeping' noises like a truck backing up, when I moved from my desk, inferring that I was large.

I only worked there four months. The final straw was when I took an appointment from a client by phone and I wrote down on my boss's schedule exactly what she wanted. We always call the day ahead to confirm appointments--this client said she also wanted other procedures done on her horses but that would take longer and we hadn't scheduled more time. I wasn't the person confirming her appointment (I was on the phone during that conversation) but I believe she said, 'I guess I need to be more exact when I am telling someone what I want to schedule.'

So the vet knew it wasn't my fault and the client had requested additional services. While I was on the phone speaking with someone else, my co-worker explained the situation to him on the phone. He drove up to the office, slammed on the brakes and ran into the office, slammed the door and started screaming at me—while I was still on the phone with another client.

He assumed that I had done something stupid—again. He was right in my face and I was actually afraid that he would use physical force. After that incident he was always in my face, trying to catch me making a mistake. He really wanted to fire me. Finally I decided not to return—I was sick and tired of his brutal verbal abuse. This is the first job in my entire life where I just quit; I have never worked at a job where I wasn't appreciated.

The rest of the employees are completely cowed—it is an environment of fear. On the days he works, everyone treads lightly because the least little thing will set him off.

After four months of this abuse I had no self-esteem left and started to actually believe I was stupid. Now I'm almost afraid of looking for another job. I'm not sure what I can do about this. I don't know if he has violated any California labor laws. I'd like to know if there is any recourse, when your work environment is impossible, not through any fault of your own."

According to the California Labor Law, harassment and verbal abuse are illegal only when a person is discriminated against due to their age, disability, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, gender or other statuses protected by state or local law. Also, an employer may not retaliate against a person who is protecting his/her legal rights, such as filing a complaint of discrimination or filing a claim of workers compensation.

If Joy's lawyer can prove that she was discriminated against, Joy may have a case. If her employer used vulgar language that is usually associated with females, that language is discriminatory and therefore, illegal. Otherwise, her boss is just a colossal jerk and simply displays poor management behavior. If you believe your employer may be in violation of California state labor law and federal EEOC laws, you can find out more at the EEOC website. And, like Joy, you may want to seek legal help.