Possible termination. Harassment too?

[RR55]

I have been dating a man who is also a fellow employee. We split in Jan. as he had left bruises on me before, was very controlling, and was stalking my family and I. The police have been out to his house at least 3 times before as he has gotten into some nasty physical fights with male neighbors- so he has quite a temper. He also beat a mans vehicle with his baseball bat.

Yesterday we had a dispute at work, and my ex made a huge scene in front of my boss, and fellow employees. I apologized to my boss for the scene, and thought the whole thing had blown over. That is until I heard from another employee that my boss told everyone that either my ex, or myself, would have to go- as he doesn't want us fighting. Alright, I understand that, however I was not the one yelling and slamming things around. this is not the first time my ex has done this. He was angry with me another time and sprayed me in the face with a pressure washer hose- which left me soaked, and I had eye irritation for 2 days. When I confronted my boss about this(back in November), he just laughed.

Now on to my boss. He has a very bad habit of bad mouthing his own employees- almost daily. I got word from the assistant manager yesterday, that my boss is openly talking about what happend. In fact, he has his facts so mixed up and is now starting a nasty rumor, that is so wrong. Even though this happened 1 day ago, it is ALREADY affecting MY job. Employees are treating me awful and I'm really feeling like I'm being pushed into a corner. My boss has bad mouthed me before, so this isn't the first time.

I know this sounds petty, it really is. However, I do not feel like I deserve to be fired. I have done nothing wrong. My ex however has gotten into heated arguements with other employee's before- one of which involved telling someone else to "go to hell". He has sued two of his former work places for racial discrimination- and won. So I think my boss is very hesitant to fire him, as he doesn't want to recieve the backlash. My ex will do whatever it takes to have me fired. He is not a nice man. Back when we were dating, he told me that if I ever cheated on him, he would have to kill me. Now I should mention that he hasn't been bothering me much until yesterday, but now that he's soo angry, I'm afraid of what he will do.

If I am fired, can I take any sort of legal action against my boss...or my ex? What steps should I take to protect myself against my ex?

 

[cbg]

Against your boss, no.

Against your ex, possibly. But whatever action you can take against him will not fall under employment law. Consult local counsel.

 

[IDprotector]

This is my personal advice, not legal advice.

Consult with an attorney, and also your local domestic violence groups. Since he is violent against people and bashed a car with a baseball bat, then he's dangerous. A DVIS group or ladies protection group might help you get a protective order with the filing fees waived or possibly paid by him after the hearing.

An employer has a DUTY to provide a SAFE work environment free from hazards, fear, and threats. You were injured by the high pressure water hose and an infection or damage from the high pressure could have blinded you. A very angry man who can EXPLODE and do physical injury to body and property is a LIABILITY to the business and the employees, IMHO.

If a lawyer states these facts in a letter and asks the business to protect ALL the employees, not just you, then it puts the business and manager on notice, ands sets them up for a large lawsuit if this hot head hurts someone or makes working conditions for you unbearable or UNSAFE, since he has threatened to kill you for various reasons.

Let us know how it turns out.

I've been a member of a paid-in-advance legal plan for over 23 years, so I can get letters written on my behalf and virtually unlimited advice from a law firm who has a duty to provide the best researched answer. A lawyer giving free advice has no duty to research their answer, just give the best advice from the top of their head. However, don't get me wrong, I trust that advice better than from a non-lawyer.