Can my boss make fun of me with other co-workers during work hours?
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Can my boss make fun of me with other co-workers during work hours?
For the past few years I have noticed my supervisor and a fellow co-worker whispering and pointing and laughing. It felt like it was about me but I never knew for sure. Thought I was being paranoid until yesterday. My supervisor wrote on a sticky note in front of 2 co-workers laughing and then threw the note away. I was suspicious of this and decided to get the note out of the trash and see what they were laughing about. She wrote, “I know those are not white shoes”. I was wearing white shoes. I kept the note.
Asked on March 17, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, North Carolina
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
With the one limitation below, your boss *can* make fun of you, whether during work hours or otherwise. That is, there is no general legal obligation that a supervisor be nice or respectful or polite or fair or etc. to a worker; bosses--and also coworkers--can be as nasty as they like, at work or after.
The only exception is that there is no harassment or discrimination based on a protected characteristic, such as race, sex, religion, disability, or age over 40. So if you think that you are being targetted for harassment due to a protected characteristic such as these, you should speak with an employment attorney; you may possibly have a claim for employment discrimination. Good luck.
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