Pissed that I have to do remedial counselling with an employee who was reprimanded for harassing me.

[Anonymous]

I have very low tolerance for being falsely accused and threatened, so I’d be bailing for a new job as soon as I could.

[Anonymous]

I'd focus on moving yourself, OP, you have more control over that. Do what you need to in the meantime and document it all.

So sorry you are in this situation.

[Anonymous]

Favorite quote? What agency is enforcing this kind of BS nonsense? They should have transferred her away from being supervised by you. This is ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Honestly that’s concerning behavior in terms of potential to escalate to work place violence. I would be livid if I were you. Can’t on specifics as I’m not a fed but you are right be balking.

[Anonymous]

Well there’s a lot to unpack here, but even once you turn 40 you will not have an age discrimination claim, OP, because you are the YOUNGER employee.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why can’t you file a harassment complaint against her? It sounds like your agency does not have conduct guidelines and professional behavior requirements?

Btw being 34 is irrelevant. Age is a protected class under the civil rights act, meaning any time someone uses age in a discriminatory manner at work it is a violation of the civil rights act. This is no different than using anyone’s race as a reason for employment decision is illegal. Not sure what she’s doing would rise to discrimination though. The OWBPA gave specific layoff protections to workers over 40 but did not override that discrimination by any age is illegal.

This is all completely false. I’m a civil rights lawyer.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like you should have strongly supported her prior request for a new supervisor!

[Anonymous]

Why do you think she can’t be fired?!? frankly I’m sick of managers not firing people like this and just passing the buck. Not only is she not doing her work, but I see insubordination too.

In her performance write up, make the tasks she has to perform very quantifiable. “Produces x amount of reports a week” and when she doesn’t, put her on a PIP. My HR is incredibly helpful and supportive of PIPs. After 30 or 45 days of she’s still not working, it’s immediate firing. Who cares about the union? The union supports PIPs.

[Anonymous]

Ugh, OP, that sounds miserable and I'm sorry you're having to deal with this. It definitely sounds like psychiatric issues with her and it's completely, utterly ridiculous that you have to expend all of this extra energy (and have addedd stress) because of her. Favorite quote? Good Lord.

Just sending commiseration vibes and hoping that this awful situation can be resolved in your favor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do you think she can’t be fired?!? frankly I’m sick of managers not firing people like this and just passing the buck. Not only is she not doing her work, but I see insubordination too.

In her performance write up, make the tasks she has to perform very quantifiable. “Produces x amount of reports a week” and when she doesn’t, put her on a PIP. My HR is incredibly helpful and supportive of PIPs. After 30 or 45 days of she’s still not working, it’s immediate firing. Who cares about the union? The union supports PIPs.

OP here. She is on step 2 of 6 of progressive discipline. There's so many more hoops to jump through to get her fired. It's doable, but since she's in the "improvement period" after an oral reprimand I need to give her the opportunity to improve first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well there’s a lot to unpack here, but even once you turn 40 you will not have an age discrimination claim, OP, because you are the YOUNGER employee.

OP here. This is wild to me. If the roles were reversed and I was complaining to anyone who would listen (as she does), that she's too old for the position she would be able to file a civil rights complaint immediately.

[Anonymous]

Fed here. What are your workplace harassment policies? We have protected classes of course and specific rules related to that, but we also have anti-harassment training and policies. If you feel this is harassment looking into those is worthwhile.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why can’t you file a harassment complaint against her? It sounds like your agency does not have conduct guidelines and professional behavior requirements?

Btw being 34 is irrelevant. Age is a protected class under the civil rights act, meaning any time someone uses age in a discriminatory manner at work it is a violation of the civil rights act. This is no different than using anyone’s race as a reason for employment decision is illegal. Not sure what she’s doing would rise to discrimination though. The OWBPA gave specific layoff protections to workers over 40 but did not override that discrimination by any age is illegal.

This is all completely false. I’m a civil rights lawyer.

Lol. No you’re not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well there’s a lot to unpack here, but even once you turn 40 you will not have an age discrimination claim, OP, because you are the YOUNGER employee.

OP here. This is wild to me. If the roles were reversed and I was complaining to anyone who would listen (as she does), that she's too old for the position she would be able to file a civil rights complaint immediately.

Well it’s wrong so don’t worry about that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you think she can’t be fired?!? frankly I’m sick of managers not firing people like this and just passing the buck. Not only is she not doing her work, but I see insubordination too.

In her performance write up, make the tasks she has to perform very quantifiable. “Produces x amount of reports a week” and when she doesn’t, put her on a PIP. My HR is incredibly helpful and supportive of PIPs. After 30 or 45 days of she’s still not working, it’s immediate firing. Who cares about the union? The union supports PIPs.

OP here. She is on step 2 of 6 of progressive discipline. There's so many more hoops to jump through to get her fired. It's doable, but since she's in the "improvement period" after an oral reprimand I need to give her the opportunity to improve first.

Then you need to do so. She can be fired and if she continues down the current path, she will be.

I get that the situation sucks, but it is the situation. And while I agree that all the communication manager/psychological safety stuff is bunk, if you put your best foot forward then the burden shifts to her to show improvement.

I would object to talking to her in person versus email on the grounds that at this stage every interaction needs to be clear and documented. I'd invite the communication manager to be present for all in-person interactions to insure clarity and psychological safety for the employee being counseled.

You are being given tools to allow this person to build an ironclad case against themselves. Use them.