Apologies for formatting, I’m on mobile.
I’m writing this on behalf of one of my parents in order to gain some insight into the situation. There’s A Lot going on, so this will be a long post. Names, ages, and further details will be excluded due to a lawyer already being contacted. Please do not share this post anywhere else.
TL;DR: My parent seems to be at risk of being demoted and/or fired from their current position. They have worked with this company (construction-related) for two decades. The issue at hand is insubordinate employees causing issues with management. My parent’s boss sent an email to one of the company owner’s asking what he can due to move my parent back down to an entry-level position from their current supervisor position due to giving their boss “headaches” over certain issues.
P – Parent
ELE – Entry-Level Employee AKA the main issue
MS – Main Supervisor, P’s direct boss
O – Business Owner
CL – Company Lawyer
Context: P has worked for them for two decades and started out on the field supervising material trucks and running jobs. They have worked their way up through the company into a supervisor position. Throughout the years, P has taken a loss in pay due to the 2008 recession and has been trying to earn back the pay they lost. Each time a pay raise has been requested, MS hems and haws over the issue and ultimately, nothing is done. Other employees at lower levels have received pay raises at regular intervals and now earn more than P does despite being in lower positions, including ELE.
When P was promoted, one employee in particular voiced their resentment of the change and directly said that they will never see P as their superior, and they they deserved MS’s own promotion more than MS did. Within the last few months, this employee went to HR with “ten complaints” against P over the last 20 years but could only actually name one incident when asked. That incident was discussed with P, HR, MS, and CL and no repercussions followed for either P or this employee as it was found that everything was handled correctly during the initial incident.
Over the years, P has dealt with ELE. They used to be at the same level until P was promoted. ELE’s main job is to supervise the job sites and manage the drivers on the job. It is an entry-level position within the company and most new hires start out there. They routinely set up jobs, dispatch trucks, and manage other duties that someone of their station has no authority to do. ELE has also been seen and heard making deals with drivers to make sure they get work, AKA they extort money from drivers in order to be put on jobs. If they don’t pay ELE, they don’t work. ELE pockets this money for personal use and everyone in the company knows about it, but nothing is done due to “no hard evidence.” There were anonymous letters sent to the company about this (one of which P has a copy of), but again nothing was done since the letters “did not prove anything.”
ELE asks to be placed on jobs that closer to their home, displaces other employees when they demand to be on certain jobs, allows only trucks/drivers that will pay ELE to be on the job, sets up jobs of their own accord, and routinely complains to MS and the project managers when they don’t get their way. ELE also has the reputation of being the company gossip and repeatedly pries to get personal info out of people. Just recently, P suffered a personal loss and took time off of work to deal with it. ELE pestered them about details as to why they were off work and when told “it’s personal, I don’t wish to talk about it,” ELE went to another employee whom P is close to in order to find out what happened. ELE does not respect boundaries, personal or otherwise. ELE has also been very vocal about what they believe they have the authority to do, to the point that they were given a “title” so that they feel important. Upper management admitted it was a move to placate ELE and that their new title holds zero authority.
All of this to say that when ELE is told “no” for valid reasons, they cry and scream until they’re given everything they want. They have cost the company money due to major mistakes and the money extortion from drivers. They get in trouble routinely for paperwork issues, incorrect numbers, and disregarding company policies. They receive a slap on the wrist.
Due to the complaints lodged against P from the other employee (the one who had “ten complaints”) and ELE, P has been enrolled in management classes. The teacher there has uncovered the shady practices of the company and does not understand why or how P has been given this much shit for doing the right thing time and time again. Now, near the end of classes, P saw an email between MS, CL, HR, and O asking “how can I move P back down to entry-level position, they have been giving me headaches for the past two days. I tell them to do one thing about ELE and I get push back.” P saw the email because MS insists they they use the same email account for all work-related emails. It is MS’s work account that they gave P access to. P has their own work account and again, has been told that they cannot use it and to only go through MS’s account. P believes this is so MS has access to everything and can know everything that is going on, even though P and other employees could just CC them on relevant emails.
P saw the email and contacted a fellow employee/friend who recommended they reach out to a lawyer ASAP. P is currently in communication with said lawyer and is sending them all the relevant info to get the ball rolling just in case P’s company moves to demote or fire them due to being a “headache”. The lawyer said it will be a day or two before they can get back to P.
With all of this info, does anyone have any insight into just what the hell is going on? Or what P can/should do to protect themselves? In the meantime, we are working on getting separate emails, phone numbers, and working on a resume to make the transition as smooth as possible. In my eyes, even if the situation is resolved and P is absolved of any wrong-doing, there’s no point to stay there with MS and ELE still employed.