ok so my manager is white. i am an assistant manager who is also white. we have another assistant manager who is a minority. we have 3 employees who are minorities. this is the whole crew. if by any chance i word this question wrong PLEASE DONT TAKE OFFENSE. so my boss is always refering to the employees as a fing n or a fing mexican or whatever. this is not a case of the miniority taking things to heart to quick. she is always yelling at them and trying to intimadate them she does it to the customers too. she makes comments like well this race is ---- or that race is ----- i am not going to put what she says cause it is extremely racist, rude and very uncalled for. so me and the assistant manager have been trying to figure out how to deal with this. here is the catch 9. if we call corprate there are so few of us there she will be able to figure it out who did it and make thier life miserable till they quit from the harassment. I personally want to beat her a** but then i would get fired and they would still get fired for being a minority. so that wont solve anything. have you ever called the eeoc and when they investigate do they tell them they had a call or just send someone in undercover? this whole thing p*sses me off cause she is doing it to my friends.
I get along with all of them. and she is doing it to the customers which some i consider my friends. but here is the wierd thing. she seems to do it to the females. but she is sexually attracted to minority males and she is not doing it to the male worker we have. this just trips me out cause how can you be racist and attracted to the minority males? now i also have the problem since she is racist and i am also white they think i will be also. how do i show them tha tis not the case? how do me and the assistant manager get her fired for this before she fires the whole crew except the male? and how do we do this without putting our jobs which we need in jepordy? I am hoping in my mind one of them gets sick of it and beats her down she would deserve it. some of the things she says outloud where they can hear it just is appaling. we have started giving the customers corprates number so we are not the ones calling her in it is the customers instead. and we cant get fired for it. this is the only solution we could come up with. do any of you have any ideas or something that can help me and the assistant manager get rid of her. she has the authority we dont. if i was manager i would have fired her but i cant fire her but she can fire me. help please we just dont know how to handle this. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DONT TAKE WHAT I HAVE WRITTEN OFFENSIVE I HAD NO OTHER WAY OF DESCRIBING THE SEVERITY OF THE ISSUE.
EDIT toni v i like your answer but am i wiser to confront her and tell her this is bs or keep my mouth shut so we will have more ammo against her???
I actually had a friend that went thru the same thing. Her and her co-workers recorded their boss in the throws of saying horrible things over only about a 30 minute period. Sent the tape anonymously to corporate with a note. The boss was confronted and fired immediately.
Good luck,
DH
This is illegal in all 50 states. Call the state and find out which office handles discrimination at work. The manager needs to learn that this is not 1964 when we all had to put up with it. She has to be fired.
Please call Legal Aid and have them tell you what the law is and who might help you.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 covers racism, sexism, and discrimination in the work place.
document document document. if ALL of you team up against her, and record every single act of racism that happens, then ALL of you go above her heads - she WILL lose her job. coporate, or her manager, or whoever, can NOT let this stand. it is seriously illegal, not to mention, the company will be afraid of being sued if they let it continue (or they should be). i promise if you give it six months (or even three) and record everything she does, you will have plenty of ammo and you CAN get her fired. that IS how it works. you DO have a choice in this dear. all of you team up together. it will also make it easier to bear while you're waiting, if you know you all have each others' backs. is there any time when she is not around where the two of you managers could have a meeting on the dl? it shoudln't be too hard to get everyone on board. stand up. BE a leader. you are in a leadership role- act like it. you can do this!! (sorry, i'm not a minority, but i am a team leader at work. your title intrigued me so i had to read. glad i did) hang in there girl! you can do this!
PS, the other piece of advice i have - this is business dear. DON'T make it personal. she is breaking the law by treating her (YOUR) employees this way - she is also hurting business by treating customers this way. it HAS TO STOP. period.
If you feel you can confront her in a professional manner, but I still would be prepared to copy upper management.
I think what might be best is for you, the assistant manager, and any other employees to ask for meeting. Consider it an intervention it might be the best thing that ever happened to her as well as others involved. I know how much folks need a job, but no one should be disrespected or fearful of speaking up when something is wrong.
Blessings.....Please keep us posted.
Start documenting every thing your supervisor does and says. (Date, time offensive behavior). If you are working for a chain restaurant such as Denny's, McDonalds, Chili's etc., send a letter of complaint to corporate headquarters, and copy the Labor Board and/EEOC. If you get no results and should you be fired, you and other employees would most likely have a good case against the company.
Many of the large chain restaurants have an online complaint form.
What ever you do, don't sink to her level.
Blessings.....
You need to take action. Document EVERY comment and slur in a journal. Go to Corporate's employee relations person.
The advice that said to let a minority do the calling--please ignore it!
Racism and discrimination in the workplace is an issue for ALL!
I don't think that having the customers call Corporate is the way to go.
YOU call. They will investigate. Show them your documentation. They will speak to all of the employees at your place of work.
I thunk to allow this to go on any longer is racism as well. Good luck.
What a very sad commentary on society that this question is being asked/experienced in 2011!
You can try contacting HR and explain the situation.
If they are smart (and not all HR depts are), they will conduct some periodic sexual harassment / sensitivity training which everyone (management and employees) will attend.
THAT way, everyone knows what is acceptable, what isn't and no one is singled out.
When employees are informed, law suits against the company are avoided and the company is ALWAYS in favor of that.
This is not acceptable behaviour for the workplace. With all due respect, though, you need to have the guts to deal with this head-on and not in a passive-agressive manner. I know times are tough and jobs are hard to find, but if you have done nothing wrong, then you don't have anything to worry about. You need to do the following:
1. Document everything and I mean everything. Nothing will get done if you cannot substaniate the facts.
2. Have a conversation with her about her offensive use of language. The first thing the higher-ups are going to ask you is whether or not you've had a conversation with her about this. If it comes to that, it should be of no surprise to her.
3. If things are not resolved, contact her company's HR office or Office of General Counsel. Again, you will need all of the documentation you have gathered.
4. If your company is negligent in dealing with the problem, then contact the EEOC. I would caution you against contacting the EEOC first. Both parties will question why you did not contact the company first if you choose to circumvent the system. Also, please remember that the EEOC exists to investigate violations of the law as they relate to discrimination. You need to be able to clearly show that employees in your workplace were discriminated against on the basis of race. Is she doing this to their face? Or is she making comments behind their backs? Have they been passed over for promotions or raises? There is a difference in the eyes of the law so you need to have your ducks in a row.
Also remember that the information you give the EEOC will remain confidential until the point in which they find you have legitmiate grounds for a claim. Then your information will be released to your employer. Again, if you haven't had a conversation with your employer about all of this, they will wonder why and will wonder what you have to hide. If you have documented everything every step of the way, you are golden! But you need to deal with this head-on and in a professional manner and not be afraid to take a stand.
If she is being this way to customers you could always alert cooperate as a customer. Something does need to be done. Good luck!
I think you are a great human being and a great friend, but I also think that these minority should be the ones taking the first step. I am not saying that you shouldn't do any thing, perhaps advice your friends on what to do like start speaking out ("Your comment is uncalled" or "Lets keep things professional at the office") and record the conversation, send a minority friend in as a costumer and recording, keep handing costumers the corporate phone numbers. On your side you can let her know you don't agree with her point of view and don't want to be part of it so please don't get you involve in racist comments.
At the end I think is important for your friends to stand up and defend themselves because this can happen in any other job and they may not as lucky to have a friendly hand that support them , you can let them know that when things get in your way (when eeoc comes) you will not lie and talk the true.
D. P, The reason why I said that she should let them make the fist step is because if they don't want take any action when EEOc comes what is going to happen? I am not saying that she shoudl sit and do nothing, no even lie if she asked, but I really believe that the minority should make the first attempt. I have being in racist situations and for long my husband was there to help me and speak up for me, but the real change started when I speak up for myself. This people are very lucky to have D. as a friend and that she is willing to help them but you can't help who doesn't want to be helped.
I dont know what to say about that predicament. I wonder about you. Are you uncertain about YOU and your surroundings? Do YOU need help? You seem to ask about race, about "slurs"....is there something else going on? There seems to be a lot of posts about things. Do you need someone to talk to? I don't mean it in a rude way. Just want to know if you need help.
M.
I understand what you are saying. This type of behavior is not acceptable and Corporate needs to be informed. The company could so easily be sued by customers and the employees.
Is this a large business or a locally owned business? I guess what I am asking is this manager the owner?
If it is a large company, follow the steps for reporting her treatment of ANY employees regardless of the sex or ethnicity. No one should be harassed at any time at any job.
If you do not feel you can speak up to her and tell her to stop this behavior, report it ASAP.
My mother used to be the EEOC person for her company. She got the position because she herself had witnessed and been subjected to this treatment for so long, that she sent in complaints, examples and paperwork proving the behavior. They told her they liked her thorough reports.
Do not fear this person because she can fire you. That is the great thing about a corporation, there is always someone higher that her to appeal the decision to. A long time ago a manager fired me over something trivial and I went over her head to her supervisor and retained my job at another location.
You can report her. It sounds like things are already hell. You can also speak up for what is right, and tell this person face to face that you will no longer tolerate her HARASSMENT, because that is what it is. Tell her that you are prepared to go all the way up the corporate ladder if you have to change her behavior on this issue. Find out what the company's policy is on harassment and discrimination and present it to her in writing to show that you are serious about your claim. When you do report her, have everyone that you work with sign the letter of complaint (that includes the company stance on harassment and discrimination) you send to corporate, as well as any customers that agree. Good luck!
To Sara C: In the State of Texas you can. We're one of the states where as long as one person on the tape has given permission to tape, you can tape. As long as she says something, then she can record the woman without her knowledge.
I don't have much to offer other good luck hon! I can't imagine being in your position and hope you're able to keep your job while getting rid of the idiot!
I don't have any other advice, I just wanted to say that violence is not the answer to this problem hun. Good luck.
FYI: You cannot record someone voice without their knowledge to gain evidence against her. It can't be used as evidence and you could get into trouble.
Keep a log documenting what is said to whom. After you have a significant amount of documentation, you and the other assistant manager should report her to the corporate office.
If any of the other employees come to you with complaints, then you should encourage them to contact the corporate office letting them know you will support them.
Hey D., is it a smaller privately owned business or a large corporate chain?
It is legal to record yourself and other people. The difference in the law among the states is whether or not the recording can be used in court. In some states the person has to know that they're being recorded for it to be used in court. In others just one person needs to know.
Even if your recording can't be used in court, it can be used to document what is happening so that corporate or EEOC knows and can investigate.
I, too, recommend that you record her comments, be sure to write down the date and time and circumstances of the recording.
However, you don't need to make a recording. You can describe what she says and send that to corporate. I would start with the lowest supervisor above her and if nothing is done go up the chain of responsibility.
Hi D., This manager of yours, sounds like she's clowning around. I don't know how old you are, or she is for that matter, but you should definitely get together with the rest of the assistant managers, managers, have a group discussion and let her know that speaking in that manner is offensive and might get her into trouble if she continues. I would definitely give her a friendly warning. Tell her in a nice way that when people hear how she talks, for the position she's in is a bit distasteful. Let her get annoyed/angry because she will get defensive for sure. It'll give her time to think after you have left her office, and might appreciate this after a while. Explain to her that no one wants to lose their job etc, but needs to refrain from speaking that way. Also, documet everythig. Explain in detail how you did confront her etc. Wish you luck.
