That is illegal, and if I was you, I would start to log all of these "insinuations", and possibly get one of your co-workers to be your witness. Even better, get a small tape recorder and place it somewhere were it will be easy to turn on as soon as his starts the harrasment, that way you will have his voice, a co-worker as a witness, and your writen log, then if he fires you, you have a lot of ammo against the company, and you will probably get a huge AMA lawsuit.

Take care,

Do you happen to work for a union? If not unfortunately your boss can fire you for anything he wants. You can get unemployment when he does fire you but other then that he can fire you, unless you work for a union.

I was a restaurant manager for years and even tho I did not I could fire any one for any reason it was called employment at will and if someone came in with 100 doctor notes I could still fire them because when I hired them I was under the assumption that I was hiring a healthy person who was going to come to work everyday. It is not fair I know and most business's do not operate like that they appreciated their employees. But do keep a log so if he does fire you, you can apply for unemployment.

Now some jobs have a human resource department and you can log a complaint if you are allowed so many sick days and you have not gone over them and he is giving you a hard time. I would try to explain to him what the situation is if you really like the job and want to keep it but if not it sounds like he is a jerk and you should be appreciated at your work

Yes, I was told I either had to quit or be fired from my last job. See if there's a number you can call of anyone higher up that can help you. Good luck!!

Thanks for your input! Tipper, my husband said the same thing! lol! I'm really gonna look into it.

Manny, I appreciate the heads up on this but I'm in WI ( I should have mentioned that ) and I know for a fact the labor laws here are designed to protect employees. I think you are right about being non-union and I don't work for a big company. I work in a neighborhood bar and grill with about 15 others total. THAT in itself may hurt me. Please don't get me wrong, you still give me something to think about and I appreciate it.

I think my boss thinks I'm gonna try to claim workers comp! This just shows how well he really knows his employees! Last time I looked, you can't "catch" endometriosis from working at a sports bar that serves food!!! LOL! What an idiot!

Another thing that happens alot are rumors being spread. It's my turn this time I guess and will have to deal with it. I've already been labeled, talked about, and stabbed in the back many times and not just by my co-workers, my bosses ( all 3 of them ) joined in with these "games". One of my bosses even came up to me while I was tending bar, in front of customers and asked, " ARE'NT YOU EVER GOING TO GET BETTER?!?!" It was so embarrassing I didn't know what to do and then I got REAL MAD and stewed over it for a couple days.

It sucks being kicked when your down, doesn't it?

I'm sorry this is happening to you. While it's not right for him to threaten you, he doesn't have to keep you either. Most states use the "at will" legalities for anyone not under signed contract. Not only does it allow your boss to fire you if he or she pleases to it allows you to quit if it pleases you to do so. There are cases where you can fight it but if you are absent alot you can be fired in most states. Your boss sounds like a very small business so alot of the rules big companies have to go by don't count for them. Good luck and feel better.

I think WI is also "at will" state so I would double check on that. There are different types of laws to protect like no sexual harassment, hiring minority's, OSHA, etc... but none designed to protect hiring and firing in little mom and pops places because they do not have a UAW to protect them.

He may not even fire you for absences he may say that he got a complaint from a guest or that he did not think you were doing your job safety or correctly he can pick pretty much any thing out of a hat if he wants to, again I do not think it is right just giving you what he can do and not do. There is no law to protect employees against job performance and if the boss says he did not think you were doing your job it is your word against his and he is the boss. I am sorry that there are rumors being spread this happens alot when someone takes off days because of illness other employees have to pick up the extra slack and get resentful and start to get mean and then it is a viscous cycle. I have seen it happen so much I can relate to what you are going through.

Did you tell him of the endo when you were hired? if so you may tell him that he was aware of this when hired and he may not be able to reprimand you for the absences

okay I went to business school in college, what you do is you say that they have to provide resonbile accumdations to dule with your disablity and if they refuse then you will sue under the amercians of diablity act. Now don't be afraid to sue because disablity claims are taken very seriously by courts and the courts are on your side, if you are on disablity that helps even more but all you need is a letter from your doc saying how you are disabled and you have your boss nailed. I am sorry he is acting like that

yeah and get a tape recorder and tape everything he says. that way you can play them back and screw them in court also go to the head of the human reasurces for your company and talk to that person they will normal understand how bad amercian for disablity act law suites can be and they will listen and take care of you and they are above your boss.

Be careful with the tape recorder certain states it is illegal to tape a person without their consent and you can end up in the legal trouble. Now they do have to provide for disabilities but having time off would not be one of them they would have to provide certain accommodations in the bathroom and structures to the building like a ramp with endo is not something you would need special accommodations to maybe a break every 4 hours but as a bartender you may not be able to do that because you do not want to loose any tips that is your bread and butter not the hourly pay.

why dont you sign up for fmla, that protects your job, when ever you have to call in due to your illness, it CAN be intermittent, not a big block of time, I checked.

SS, I like Honor's idea. I found this article about recording conversations, and it sounds like you can in Wisconsin. You can ask your specific question on this website:http://legallad.quickanddirtytips.com/the-legality-of-recording-conversations.aspx



Todays topic is recording conversations.

But first, a disclaimer: Although I am an attorney, the legal information in this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for seeking personalized legal advice from an attorney licensed to practice in your jurisdiction. Further, I do not intend to create an attorney-client relationship with any listener.

Recording Conversations
David wrote:
I am a concierge at a condominium. On occasion, a certain resident of the condominium has made false claims that I was rude to them in our interactions at the front desk. I would like to make secret audio recordings of our future conversations, so that if the resident makes false claims in the future, I can provide proof against the claim to the management. Is this legal?
Thanks David. Other listeners have written questions regarding the legality of recording telephone conversations as well. The answer to this question, and the answer to so many legal questions, is "it depends." This area of the law is not completely settled, and changes as our technology and notions of privacy change.
First, please note that this episode does not cover recordings made by government entities such as the FBI or local police. When government officials act, they are constrained by the Constitution and other laws. This episode only deals with the legality of recordings made by private citizens who are not working in cahoots with the government.
Is the Surveillance Legal?
Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (18 U.S.C.A. 2510-2520) generally provides that any person whose communication is intercepted, disclosed, or intentionally used can file a civil lawsuit. Many states have adopted the federal law, and some states provide greater protection.
Under most communication interception statutes, a two-step analysis is used to determine whether surveillance is legal. First, a court must examine the statute to determine whether the communication at issue falls within the scope of the statute. If so, the court then examines whether an exception might apply.
A two-step analysis is used to determine whether surveillance is legal. First, a court must examine the statute to determine whether the communication at issue falls within the scope of the statute. If so, the court then examines whether an exception might apply.In the first step, the most common issue is whether a conversation is private; most statutes only cover confidential or private communication. A general rule is that if the people engaged in the conversation can reasonably expect their conversation to remain private, then the statute protects that conversation. Courts normally consider telephone conversations to be private. Some exceptions include fellow members of a family listening by picking up an extension in the same house, and an employee using a work telephone to make a personal call.
Some in-person discussions are considered private, and some are not. For example, in one case, bugging a private house with a hidden microphone violated state law because the residents inside reasonably expected their conversations to remain private. By contrast, one court held that a private investigator who recorded a conversation while standing on a sidewalk outside a first-story apartment did not record any "private communication" because the conversation could be heard clearly from the public sidewalk through an open window. Another court held that a television station did not violate state law when it secretly recorded a conversation between an actor and a producer at an outdoor restaurant. The expectation of privacy analysis is very fact-specific.
Once a court determines that a conversation is private, and covered by the statute, then it will consider various exceptions. The most common, and most litigated, is consent. Federal law allows recording of phone calls and other electronic communications with the consent of at least one party to the call. Thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia have followed federal law and permit individuals to record conversations to which they are a party without informing the other parties that they are doing so. These laws are referred to as "one-party consent" statutes, and as long as you are a party to the conversation, it is legal for you to record it.
Consent of Parties
Twelve states require, under most circumstances, the consent of all parties to a conversation. Those jurisdictions are California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Washington. Be aware that you will sometimes hear these referred to inaccurately as two-party consent laws. If there are more than two people involved in the conversation, all must consent to the taping. The more accurate term is "all-party consent."
The situation can get hairy when a person in a one-party consent state calls and records a conversation with a person in an all-party consent state, but does not get that persons permission. There are several factors that go into which consent law applies. It is generally safer to assume that the stricter, all-party consent law will apply where either the caller or receiver is in an all-party state.
Often, notice will be considered sufficient to find consent. For example, when you call tech support for the laptop you just cannot figure out, the first thing you might hear is "this conversation may be recorded for quality assurance." Most courts hold that, if you speak after hearing this notice, you have given implied consent to the recording and cannot later maintain a civil suit.
There are a host of other exceptions based on legitimate business recordings, crime-tort exceptions, and exceptions for telephone companies. Those will have to wait for another episode.
An Answer
Returning to Davids question, the answer is that "it depends." First, the court would determine whether the resident could reasonably expect the conversations to be private given that they occur in a quasi-public place: at the front desk of a condominium complex. If the conversations are not considered private, then David may record. If they are considered private, then the court would determine whether proper consent would defeat the claim. If David lives in a one-party consent jurisdiction, then only he would need to consent to the recording, but he would need the resident's consent or knowledge in an all-party consent state.
Overall, be very careful before you record conversations with people. To be safe, always get the express consent of all parties to the conversation, and check with an attorney licensed to practice in your jurisdiction to help you wade through these issues.

SSWarning,

I live and work in WI as well. WI is a "at will" state, as others have stated you can be fired for anything and everything.And you working in a sports bar, I doubt you are unionized! As for the tape recording, in WI that would be legal. Our laws state that only 1 person has to have knowledge of the recording. Here is proof of the law: http://rcfp.org/taping/states/wisconsin.html (I'm a firm believer of proving what I say)

IMO, I would ask your boss's for a meeting. Sit down with them and discuss what your expectations are, and what they have in mind as well. I think that would be the best way to go about resolving this matter.

BBB

BBB, awesome! I also found that in WI is legal to tape someone, so this should help. What about EEOC? You can go through this website and see if EEOC will also cover you in your particular situation. This is the website:

http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/index.cfm

I agree with BBB. Sure you can make recordings and maybe sue for wrongful termination but there is a problem with that. A lawsuit is only worth what you actually lost (wages for a period of time) plus pain and suffering (what a jury thinks it hurt). Then subtract what the lawyer gets which is usually 1/3 and then subtract the expenses from your share. So after years of suing you might get some money...probably not big bucks.

You need to decide what you really want. If you want your job then talk to your boss. Explain what is wrong with you. Give him your doctors note that supports your problem. Explain that he can't descriminate against you because it's a "female" problem. Then clearly explain what you need from them. If you might need an occasional day off figure out how it can be covered. If you can't do your job you may have a problem because that's usually not considered a reasonable request. But if you can come up with a way to work it out it can't hurt to ask.

Then if they agree get it in writing. You have nothing to lose by talking to your boss. But if you don't talk to him you may lose your job.

I nailed someone once, someone falses reported me to child proection service once, they thought we were getting medical help for our daughter when we were, it was all a big lie. So I hide my video camara on them, sat them down right in front of the hidden camara and then showed the tapes to my lawyer. So I am all for recording someone for my benfit