Re: physical assault

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On 4/07/09, Hera wrote:
> please confirm for me that a supervisor slapping people on
> the arm can be construed as assault?It is done to shut you
> up usually so she can talk. Also if an HR rep witnesses
> this, is he obligated to report it? The HR person told them
> he was their witness. The offender threatened to fire the
> person if she went to HR. The supervisor has "hit" at least
> 4 people in this manner.

"please confirm for me that a supervisor slapping people on
the arm can be construed as assault? It is done to shut you
up usually so she can talk." Sure, but I assume we're not
talking about a slug-fest here. It she's just tapping
employees on the arm, that's a different matter than hauling
off for a hard slap and leaving a mark (not that I condone
her tapping or lightly slapping anybody on the arm.)

"Also if an HR rep witnesses this, is he obligated to report
it?" No. An assault is a criminal matter. It's up to the
victim of the assault to file a complaint with the police.
The employer may frown upon the supervisor getting
employees' attention in this manner but they aren't
obligated to take any action.

"The HR person told them he was their witness. The offender
threatened to fire the person if she went to HR. The
supervisor has "hit" at least 4 people in this manner." So
if the HR person already knows about this taking place, I
don't get it. Why hasn't he told the supervisor to knock it
off or told the head of HR about this bad habit the
supervisor has. If you want to report the slapping AND the
supervisor's threat to HR, then do so.