Employee facing harassment on job

4 Comments

1. AnonymousJune 23,2025 at 3:42PM UTC

   I had a similar situation with one of my employees. We dealt with homeless/at-risk for homelessness persons, and were one of the only places in town that allowed registered sex offenders onsite. We had a dress code that required coverage from shoulders to knees for everyone (male and female), and closed-toed shoes (for safety reasons, as we often had to lift and move heavy objects and clean the space). One day, she walked in wearing a dress with spaghetti straps that looked painted on, did not reach even to her mid-thigh, and strappy cha-cha heels. Before she got through the door, I sent her home to change. When she gave me attitude, I wrote her up, reiterating that the dress code was for her safety.

   Most behavioral health workers in offices I've experienced (even in the reception area) wear scrubs or very conservative professional clothing, and therefore, I assume they operate with strict dress codes. If yours does, then she should have been given a verbal or written warning before it escalated to a threat by a client.

   About her recording events, that would be a huge HIPAA violation, and that alone could have cost her her job. She should consult a lawyer, but that particular "indiscretion" could tank any case she wants to bring, especially if the dress code is not laid out to the point that what she was wearing was in violation.

   Question: Was the client allowed to return or barred from services for their behavior? Depending on the type of clinic and the client's diagnosis, this could be an infraction that would justify a client's immediate discharge from service.

2. AnonymousJune 23,2025 at 4:12PM UTC

   The patient/client was referred to another behavioral firm.

3. AnonymousJune 23,2025 at 4:44PM UTC

   There are 3 thing going on here but does one cause the other? It doesn't make sense. A patient harassed the receptionist. But if it's a patient with behavioral problems, doesn't that come with the job? Then HR told her she had too tight of clothes on? What does that have to do with the patient? Then what does her video taping have to do with her clothes choice? Also, as a writer you are telling the story second hand, not from the person who it happened to. And who was in the room with HR. And I'm concerned how much you know but not a part of the release of this employee's employment. Who is telling you this? My thoughts, as you asked, is how are you a part of a story that you were not involved, and are you telling her story as was told to you? There are 2 sides, the truth and the lies. Anyone can video tape anything anywhere unless sited it is not allowed in this environment, so it must be in writing. If there is a certain dress code and she wasn't complying she was in contempt of something she probably signed off on. And finally, if she feels wrongly terminated, which it doesn't sound like it was wrong, then she can get an attorney. Otherwise, if she works in an at-will state, they can let her go if she's not a good fit. This isn't sueable. If she does see an attorney, she needs to get her story straight before she goes and talks with an attorney. Was there anything she could have done better to keep her job? As another poster wrote, many times these environments require scrubs which is highly common. Something just sounds off about this post.

4. AnonymousJune 23,2025 at 7:09PM UTC

   What else would you like to happen?