What can my husband and his coworkers do about woman taking her "rights" too far

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   peeplesposted 11 years ago

   What can my husband and his coworkers do about woman taking her "rights" too far?
   
   My husband works in maufacturing. There is a woman there who abuses the system by using her female rights. She was passed up on a job because she was not certified and sued the company for sexism. She settled out of court. The next time the position came open they bypassed my husband even though he is certified and has more experience and promoted her even though she constantly is late and doesn't show up for work. She is now out on the family leave act for something that happened over a year ago. My husband and his coworkers are taking up the slack, what are their rights? USA

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2. 63

   Perspycaciousposted 11 years ago

   Perhaps file a complaint with the federal office responsible for the Equal Opportunity Employment Act.

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   Matthew Kirkposted 11 years ago

   Unfortunately I think this may also happen in the UK. The problem is that the company doesn't have any backbone to fight the court battle... Real shame, look up positive discrimination online and see what laws and acts your husband might want to sue the company through himself. They would genuinely need to prove why she was promoted over himself and his colleagues other than gender....

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   swordsbaneposted 11 years ago

   This has nothing to do with that woman's rights.  The settlement was probably part of company policy to avoid litigation issues (they might have had to pay more if they hadn't settled) and they promoted her to avoid another law suit.
   
   That is a failure of the justice system, not an abuse of her rights.  She was within her rights to protest not getting the promotion in the first place and even take the company to court, but if she truly was passed up because of her sex, then you are wrong about your husband being more qualified.  If she wasn't passed up because of her sex, then the fault lies with the courts and our legal system (no surprise there) for not slapping her down for making a fraudulent law suit.  She did nothing wrong unless she knew her sex wasn't at issue yet pushed it into the courts on purpose, and only she knows if that's true or not.

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   1. 93

      peeplesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      She was well aware that the job she applied for required certification. It said so on the job post and she has worked for the company for several years. She also goes around constantly saying she should get to do stuff different because shes female.

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      Larry Wallposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      If this is the case, it is an example of reverse discrimination and would fall within the suggestions I recommend in my complete answer.

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   Larry Wallposted 11 years ago

   There are a couple of things that could be done, but I cannot guarantee the results you want. Your husband and fellow employees could file a grievance with the company. It sounds like the company has a lawyer-written personal policy and a grievance procedure should be part of the manual.
   
   Secondly, they can complain to the U.S. Department of Labor, on several grounds, including the person not being qualified, sexual discrimination and possible OSHA violations, since the person is doing a job for which she is not qualify, she could cause injuries to personal or damage to the facility.
   
   Depending on the size of the company, if anyone has a rapport with a higher up supervisor, make sure he or she is aware of the issue.
   
   If the plan is unionized, definitely contact the union personnel.
   
   I was faced with a similar situation once. We had a secretary. Our vice president thought she could do no wrong. She got a promotion, she had some of her duties assigned to the other secretary and they were close to splitting the office in half. I was looking for another job. The woman finally quit and things returned to "normal." Never was sure what normal was at that place.
   
   Finally, your husband can hire his own lawyer. There should be no cost, if your husband is suing for lost wages--the lawyer's fee would come out of the settlement. If he loses there is no fee. Your husband probably would not lose his job, but he would probably never be promoted. Companies do not like lawsuits.
   
   Unfortunately none of the options I have spelled out for you are great. I would first try talking to someone in upper management, if that is possible--try to determine if the offending party has any "connections" with management. If that option is not available or does not accomplish anything. I would contact the U.S. Dept. of Labor. The wage and hour people do unannounced audits all the time and if they have a clue of something being wrong, they might be able to get it corrected.
   
   Good luck.

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6. 93

   peeplesposted 11 years ago

   Thanks for the answers. If this was a situation of her getting a job based on her skill I wouldn't care. It just irks me that my husband didn't get the job because they were too scared not to give it to her after her last lawsuit. It's a bad situation for the company because even if they are not at fault if she sued again and it hit mainstream media the company would lose clients and in turn people lose their jobs. She hasn't been at work for 3 months, so my husband and 3 others are pulling 60 to 72 hour work weeks to cover her shift. She can't even do her job when she is there and is always asking for help running the machine from a lower paid staff. I also feel bad for him because he's doing two jobs for the price of the lower paying one. I will look into what some of you have mentioned. Thanks again!

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