Since we're talking about race - racist boss
deej
5,125 Posts
My friend has a racist boss and she's not really sure what the proper procedure is in this situation. Her work is in one of the dicier white urban neighborhoods in chicago, one that back in the day had lots of problems when they first started bussing in schools and when MLK came he marched thru this 'hood with supporters as part of a rally to end housing restrictions, which (alongside police brutality) was the major overt race-issue in chicago at the time. This was the area where white folks abused the marchers and cops under Daley stood idly by. Anyway, her boss is from this area and unsurprisingly still harbors some serious nasty tendencies.He would just say some subtle-yet-suspect stuff at first, which was annoying, but she really started getting upset when she realized how far his attitudes extended into hiring practices. She just started this job and is working as an office manager, and when looking through resumes of job applicants she was more or less directed to remove from the pile of potential employees anyone who is 'obviously black.' BUT she was not directed in so many words; the boss covers his ass, so when she handed him a stack of resumes that included some folks who were "obviously black" he would say things like "this person lives too far away" (for a west side address) or some other relatively 'innocuous' excuse to eliminate them from the pile.1st off, she's started looking for a new job; the first day when this happened she was telling me how sick and depressed she felt, and i agree with her that it would be absurd to continue working for someone like that. But what other steps should she take? Just get mad and curse him out when she quits? I can't imagine its easy to just report this sort of thing, since he is obviously doing this 'under the table' as is, and I'm pretty sure its difficult to actually catch him explicitly discriminating in a way that would hold up in court. And its just a relatively small local company, so its not the kind of thing that would get Dateline hidden cameras or something. Whats the 'right thing to do,' in this situation, the most practical steps to take?
Comments
The impression I get is that this guy is the big boss which makes it really hard to get anything done.
I documented my episodes of harrassment from my old job on here pretty well. the lesson I learned from it all is its hard to get anything done, despite laws against harrassment, equal opportunity hiring, etc. It really comes down to whether you can grin and bear it or not.
damn that was depressing to type
When your friend leaves the job she should tell the boss why she is leaving and that his behavior is unacceptable. A lot of time people don't do this, and the guy needs to know that people see through his bullshit.
edit: 15 or more employees, or federal, state, and local governments.
It could screw up her reference there, which sucks even more if she's been there a while...
It's sad but true, if lucky she'll be able to walk away with the experience and no negative marks against her
I gave 3 years of my life to the store I worked for before letting it be known that I don't appreciate other employees making comments and writing swastikas on the door.
there is now a 3 year gap on my resume
that comment coupled with your avatar makes that post
not hatin cuz i get a kick out of it...jussayin
Those avatars are actually some weird shit I started doing about a year ago.
On another note, working for a sexist boss is a pain in the ass.
eh, just give me as a reference. No one is legit on these things.
when people ask I just tell them those were my "college years"
besdies Being a record store employee doesn't seem to matter much in the world of television production
if it's not too late and it's still fairly fresh in her mind, i think she should write down all that has happened so far, with dates if possible, and continue to keep track until she leaves and then give it to everyone above him.
she could also submit a letter when she quits including the incidents and CC the higher ups and make them understand that she is leaving because of this and that it unacceptable that there is nothing in place at this company to prevent racist (and illegal) behaviour.
if he is one of the higher ups, she could call the labour board (does Chicago/ the States have such a thing?) and let them know her concerns with examples and report it to them.
the 'right thing to do' is a personal decision, however, i'm pretty sure doing nothing is not the right thing to do.