Hostile Work Environment

Rockie

Situation: I have had a couple of instances of a female physician treating staff with less than courtesy. Yelling at staff, demanding that her coffee, etc. be at a certain temperature, etc. When she gets upset with a staff member (nurse, etc.) she will turn her back to them when they come into a room, ignore them when they speak to her, talk about them to other staff members, etc.

The upshot is the employee feels this is a hostile work environment. While I agree, this is a horrible environment, I don't see where any discriminatory conduct has occurred - the physician is a equal opportunity tyrant.

My question is: when we address this with the physician, what are the repercussions for her if she tries to retaliate against this employee with even more outrageous behavior? What if she makes the environment so horrible that this employee is forced to quit because of it? i.e., constructive discharge? Surely there are some implications and/or legal consequences.

Anyway, I need to talk to this physician as soon as possible and any comments or advice you have would be greatly appreciated.

Parabeagle

Lawyers can be the same way, I empathize with you. Follow your policy for issues such as this. Even though none of the physician's hissyfits transgress into the victim's protected class statuses, I'm sure you must have written down SOMEWHERE that all employees are to be treated with dignity and respect. The physician is basically disrespecting the employees. And I think that your victim would have a pretty decent case for constructive discharge if he/she is retaliated against for complaining about this clearly inappropriate behavior.

Don D

But, chances are, in your at-will state, constructive discharge will equal nothing more than a chargeable UI incident.

Theresa Gegen TX

If that employee is smart enough to come up with a legal term like "hostile work environment", she will probably be smart enough to determine that it is based on something illegal (age, race, gender, etc). And yes, women do harass women sometimes.

Legally, your company could also be liable for the claim of "intentional infliction of emotional distress" or "outrageous conduct". Not to mention some type of contractual claim based on a promise in your policy that an employee who complains would not be retaliated against.

If the physician's conduct is really bad, talking to her might not be enough to solve the issues. You could take a more proactive approach and call in some help from specialists who deal with communication issues in the workplace and management, etc. The physician's behavior is actually making her and everyone else around her less productive. And since medical support is one of the few fields that still has a strong demand, if action is not taken you can expect to loose some valuable employees.

Good Luck!