Latest news with #workplaceHarassment
South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- General
- South China Morning Post
South Korea voting video pulled after public outcry over workplace abuse and misogyny
A video encouraging South Koreans to vote in next week's presidential elections has sparked public outrage after it featured a male supervisor assaulting a female employee, leading to an apology from local authorities. Advertisement Gyeongsan, a city located about 300km (186 miles) southeast of Seoul, shared a 49-second video on its YouTube channel on Monday to encourage residents to participate in the election on June 3. In the video, a male supervisor is shown throwing a crumpled a piece of paper at a junior worker, Korea JoongAng Daily reported. Additionally, he pressed his finger to her forehead and hit her on the head with a file folder. Later in the video, she bites the supervisor's finger in frustration, with the caption, 'Don't bite – ask about the candidate's policies'. The supervisor then grabs the woman's hair after she teased him about his receding hairline, which was accompanied by the words, 'Don't pick on others – pick your rights'. Advertisement The video ended with the tag line, 'Don't take shots at others – focus on hope for tomorrow', but only after if it showed a colleague removing the woman's desk from the office after she was caught gossiping about the supervisor.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Yahoo
Idle Isle Café up for sale, former employees speak out
BRIGHAM CITY, Utah () — Idle Isle Café in Brigham City is the oldest continually operating restaurant in Utah. It has had different owners, but the name and building have always been the same. That may change, though. The building is up for sale, and it appears the current owners plan to take the name with them. For more than 100 years (since 1921), Main Street has been home to Idle Isle Café, but that piece of history may soon be lost to history. As the café closes its doors, some former employees are coming forward and saying it was a hostile work environment and that they're disappointed that the owners may be taking the name of the restaurant with them when they leave. 'They seemed to really be there for me in a way that I really needed at the time,' Chandi Wilkerson told ABC4. She worked for the current owners not long after they took over the café three years ago. That warm welcome, she said, didn't last long. Three injured after man accidentally shoots the ground at shooting range 'He started throwing utensils at me while I was cooking,' Wilkerson recounted. This is just one of a handful of examples she gave to paint a picture of her experience. 'Just throwing things. After that, I just couldn't take it anymore, and I didn't want to continue to work in a hostile work environment.' She's not alone. 'For me, it felt like there was nothing I could do,' Kearsta Bingham stated. 'I felt like I was being discriminated against for being pregnant, and I almost feel like I was being bullied to quit.' She said that while she was pregnant, her shifts were being cut because she was not 'physically capable' of doing her job, according to the owners. Not long after this happened, she said she quit. Brielle Grange was a teenager when she started working at the restaurant. She told ABC4 that she was always scared to go to work. There was one incident, though, that led to her quitting. It involved a melted milkshake. 'It made me scared,' she said, referring to the face her boss made at her. 'He looked at me and said, 'This is effing garbage,' and he threw it at me. It got all over my apron. It ruined one of my favorite pairs of pants because I couldn't go home and change at the time.' All seven women who spoke to ABC4 mentioned charged conversations. Some of those conversations were allegedly directed at teenagers. Ashon Veibell said it started during her job interview. 'He had made a weird comment to me about looking down my shirt because he had something wrong with his brain,' she stated. 'Like, it was a health disorder or something.' 'I've gotten plates thrown at me, rolls thrown at me, I was forced to go in a co-worker's car, who I was dating,' Katie Crowther recalled. She said she was 17 when this happened. 'They forced me into his car so that things could be done, but nothing happened.' A Facebook post gives some insight into the reason for selling the building. It says, in part: 'Selling the building wasn't an easy decision, but it is necessary. We received an offer that we could not refuse, allowing us to pursue our dream of expanding Idle Isle Café to new locations across Utah. We believe this gem is too special to stay hidden. We are excited to bring its home-style charm and commitment to quality to more communities and keeping the spirit of Idle Isle Café alive. The name, the recipes, and the legacy will continue – preserved, honored, and ready for the next generation.' Now that the café is closed, some employees who weren't treated badly are speaking out as well. 'I think it's very sad that they're keeping the Idle Isle name and not selling that too because it is a Brigham thing,' Brayden Edwards told ABC4. He said that during his time at the restaurant, he was a favorite and was treated well. However, he said he often witnessed what others were going through and wanted to speak up for them. Referring to his former employers, he added: 'They don't deserve to keep it wherever they go and use it for their next business plans.' 'I just want justice to happen, and I want all my coworkers who experienced all these things, much worse than I did, to heal from it,' Jetta Arbon stated. She said she was 14 when she was hired. She said she was not the target of bad behavior. 'I just believe there is a right thing to do, and that's why I spoke up about it now.' She said she was afraid to speak out earlier because she had friends still working at the restaurant and didn't want them to be targeted because of her words. When asked why the former employees are speaking out now, they all had similar answers. That of Chloe Harris sums up what the group said: 'These are the people who worked beside us for three years in Brigham, who ruined a staple restaurant of our community, it shouldn't be able to happen again, and it shouldn't be able to continue.' ABC4 reached out to the café to talk about the sale and is waiting for a response. Midvale man charged with assaulting his 17-year-old 'wife' Idle Isle Café up for sale, former employees speak out Exploring Utah's newest state park, UtahRaptor State Park Sunny Friday afternoon, but slightly cooler & unsettled weather for the weekend Three injured after man accidentally shoots the ground at shooting range Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Sighing at a work colleague in frustration is harassment: Software engineer successfully sues tech firm for discrimination over manager's 'exaggerated exhales' that left him anxious
Sighing in frustration at a co-worker can now be classed as harassment, a judge has ruled in a landmark employment tribunal. Robert Watson broke down in tears after his manager repeatedly sighed and made 'exaggerated exhales', which the tribunal ruled amounted to disability discrimination. The tribunal, held in Southampton heard that Mr Watson worked for Roke Manor Research, the company behind Hawk-Eye, the cutting-edge ball tracking system used at Wimbledon, in international cricket and top-level football. He joined the firm in August 2020 as a software engineer, but struggled with poor timekeeping, difficulty focusing and distraction - symptoms later linked to his ADHD, which wasn't diagnosed until November 2022. After returning from four days off sick following his diagnosis, Mr Watson was confronted by a project leader, referred to only as DT due to national security concerns around the firm's defence projects. 'Something's got to change,' DT told him - prompting Mr Watson to burst into tears. The tribunal was told DT then continued to question Mr Watson's hours, his time at his desk and his work output - all while visibly showing frustration. '[Mr Watson] alleges that DT questioned [his] hours of work and his patterns of work and the time he spent at his project desk and that he expressed nonverbal frustration such as sighing and exaggerating exhales,' the tribunal heard. 'He said that over the next few weeks, DT made comments which made him feel anxious, questioned his working hours and patterns and [expressed] nonverbal frustration which he did not see him expressing towards anyone else in the team.' The judge accepted the effect this behaviour had on Mr Watson's mental health. 'Reactions from others verbally or as a gesture, can [have] a damning effect on his self-esteem and anxiety,' the tribunal noted. In one particularly upsetting meeting in December, DT reportedly told him he was becoming a 'net detriment' and even joked about his condition: 'putting your ADHD aside for a moment'. Mr Watson went off sick with stress in February 2023 and never returned. He filed his tribunal claim in May and was officially dismissed in January this year. Employment Judge Catherine Rayner ruled that the sighs and gestures amounted to unlawful discrimination linked to Mr Watson's condition. 'I conclude the reason for the expressions of frustration arose from things which themselves arose from [Mr Watson]'s disability such as his time keeping and working patterns and the fact that he was spending time away from his project desk,' she said. 'I accept that for DT there was a genuine source of pressure and frustration, and that the reason for that frustration was that in the autumn of 2022 [Mr Watson] was not able to fully contribute to the project work and that this had a knock-on impact on DT who was expected to pick up any slack. 'Whilst this does not excuse DT's behaviour or treatment of [Mr Watson], it does explain it. 'Had [Roke Manor Research] taken steps to identify adjustments required for [Mr Watson] at an earlier stage and provided both him and the project lead with necessary support it is entirely possible that DT would not have himself suffered with such work pressure and it is possible therefore that this discrimination would have been avoided.' While other claims of unfair dismissal and additional discrimination were dismissed, the ruling paves the way for Mr Watson to receive compensation with the amount to be decided at a later hearing.
Fast Company
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Fast Company
This new ruling cuts protections for transgender workers
Federal judge and Trump appointee Matthew J. Kacsmaryk issued a ruling on Friday that will significantly alter the protections that transgender employees are entitled to in the workplace. The decision impacts the current guidance on workplace harassment from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, in a move that reflects the agency's new priorities under the Trump administration and new acting chair Andrea Lucas. In the ruling, Kacsmaryk struck down a section of the EEOC's guidance that applied to trans and gender-nonconforming workers, arguing the agency did not have the authority to foist those guidelines on employers. The agency's guidance had stated that misgendering employees, denying them access to appropriate bathrooms, or barring them from dressing in line with their gender identity could constitute workplace harassment. Updates to workplace harassment guidance The EEOC had updated its guidance on workplace harassment last year for the first time in decades, following a major Supreme Court ruling in 2020 that codified workplace protections for LGBTQ+ employees. (Over the last two years, the agency has also fielded well over 6,000 charges that alleged discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.) But Kacsmaryk ruled that the agency's interpretation of the Supreme Court decision was too broad and imposed 'mandatory standards' on employers, contradicting the EEOC's claim that the guidance was not legally binding. Kacsmaryk also cited the 'biological differences between men and women' and said the EEOC's guidance 'contravenes Title VII's plain text by expanding the scope of 'sex' beyond the biological binary.' A new administration's priorities Trump had already undermined protections for LGBTQ+ workers in one of his first executive orders, which dictated that the government would only recognize two biological sexes. And even prior to this ruling, the new administration had already influenced the EEOC's priorities: In her new capacity as acting chair, Lucas said the agency would now focus on 'defending the biological and binary reality of sex and related rights' and complying with Trump's executive orders. Over the last few months, there have been several reports that the EEOC is dismissing lawsuits that were already underway involving allegations of discrimination against trans or gender-nonconforming workers. The agency is also reportedly de-prioritizing new charges related to gender identity and discouraging EEOC judges from hearing existing cases that are under investigation. (The EEOC has not commented on these reports.) Since Trump dismissed EEOC commissioners Jocelyn Samuels and Charlotte Burrows, the agency has lacked a quorum and been unable to make formal revisions to its guidance—including the workplace harassment guidelines, which Lucas had voted against when they were issued in 2024. Earlier this month, however, Trump nominated a new commissioner who would secure a Republican majority at the EEOC if confirmed, enabling the agency to revoke prior guidance and make other consequential changes to worker protections.
