Employers tend to give a lot of leeway to high-level or valuable employees. But if a rogue boss’s behavior goes unchecked—and forces other employees to quit—you may have a lawsuit on your hands. In one recent case, the employer’s failure to rein in a renegade manager turned into a $600,000 mistake.
Boss’s Risky Business Style
Rosie Thompson was human resources director for Tracor Flight Systems’ Mojave facility. Tracor’s general manager, Donald Sullivan, had a brash managerial style and regularly yelled at employees, including Thompson. But after she cautioned him about several incidents in which his actions could have triggered employee lawsuits against Tracor, their relationship went downhill fast.
Thompson had run-ins with Sullivan over what she believed to be possible violations of anti-discrimination laws. Sullivan allegedly retaliated against an employee for taking maternity leave, disciplined female employees—but not male employees—for taking unauthorized leave, stated he “wouldn’t hire any handicaps,” and replaced a manager in his 50s with someone younger.
Thompson reported Sullivan’s actions to the HR staff at Tracor’s corporate headquarters. She claimed Sullivan retaliated by yelling at her, threatening to transfer her and singling her out for mistreatment. For example, Sullivan allegedly made Thompson handle the office switchboard during breaks, a duty no other manager was assigned.
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Their rocky relationship came to a head when Sullivan wanted to hire a driver immediately. Thompson told him Tracor had to post every job for two weeks because of a federal Department of Labor audit. Thompson called headquarters to alert them that Sullivan was threatening to call the Labor Department to complain about their “stupid-ass rule.” Sullivan then allegedly went ballistic, screaming at Thompson to the point that she feared he would strike her.
Thompson asked the corporate office to intervene but it didn’t. The corporate HR ombudsman said he was too busy to come to Mojave right away. And when Thompson suggested that Sullivan be sent to “management school,” the HR director told her that “it isn’t going to happen.”
So Thompson finally quit.
HR Manager Sues Employer
Thompson sued Tracor. She claimed she was forced to resign in retaliation for opposing Sullivan’s illegal employment practices. Tracor argued that Thompson’s problems with Sullivan weren’t outrageous enough to force a reasonable person to quit.
A jury sided with Thompson and awarded her $600,000, including $200,000 in punitive damages.
Intolerable Work Conditions
A California appeals court upheld the verdict. The court explained that an employee has been “constructively discharged” when the employer’s conduct makes work conditions so intolerable that a reasonable worker would be forced to quit.
In this case the court said the jury had sufficient evidence to conclude that Thompson had endured a continuous pattern of conduct by Tracor and its employees that constituted an intolerable work situation.The jury found that Tracor knew about the conditions and failed to act, and Thompson said she lost hope that her supervisors would come to her aid.
Step In Before It’s Too Late
Tracor’s failure to rein in its out-of-control manager proved very costly. Here are some steps to take to avoid similar lawsuits:
- Don’t ignore problems. Even if the offender is a high-level or valuable employee, take steps to intervene before a workplace conflict escalates to open warfare.
- Act promptly on complaints. If you don’t respond to reports that a manager may be violating the law, you risk not only a lawsuit but also punitive damages.
- Don’t punish the victim. In trying to correct a problem, particularly one involving a manager, you’re likely to make things worse by taking action that effectively punishes the victim, such as demoting or transferring the person to a less desirable position while the boss remains in place.