A TikTok video by @productivitywork shows a heated argument between an employee and her manager. It has led thousands of commenters to discuss workplace complaints and the vague role of human resources, or HR. The video includes an overlay that says, "My manager found out I reported her to HR for calling me stupid" and has over 157,500 likes already.
In the video, a manager named Janice confronts an employee who is seen making the video. The manager found out that the employee reported her to HR for harassment. The employee admits what she did and that she submitted a transcript of the meeting that this name calling happened in, as she felt bad being called "stupid" in front of her colleagues.
To that, the manager says that the employee ought to have dealt with the matter directly rather than reporting it to HR. She adds that by choosing to report the incident, the employee is proving that she is still behaving in the same way that was the reason for the initial criticism.
Then the manager told her that she would be fired.
The creator pushes back on the manager's decision, arguing that firing her would amount to illegal retaliation for filing an HR complaint. She also says that she has the right to submit valid complaints and informs the manager that the dismissal will also be reported to HR. She also mentions that if the manager stands her ground, she can seek advice from an employment attorney.
As a result, comments included various suggestions, including keeping a record of the conversations and getting in touch with an attorney. One commenter suggested that any future conversations with the manager should be recorded and shared with HR. Another maintained that the employee should have first spoken to the manager before taking steps to escalate the dispute.
However, the legal situation can be more complicated than what this specific TikTok video implies. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission states that its federal anti-retaliation protections usually apply whenever an employee carries out protected activity under federal equal employment opportunity laws. So they may report or oppose discrimination or harassment in the workplace which are covered by those laws, or take part in an investigation against the company's wishes.
Still, making an HR complaint does not make every dismissal illegal. The EEOC states that employers can still discipline or dismiss employees for valid, non-discriminatory reasons, such as poor performance or misconduct. Whether or not an action amounts to unlawful retaliation will depend on whether the action is linked to protected activity.
The EEOC also points out that all rude or inappropriate behavior in the workplace does not amount to illegal harassment.
According to the federal anti-discrimination laws, harassment usually has to be based on a protected characteristic or a protected activity and have to satisfy the relevant legal standard. Non-serious isolated incidents generally do not breach the federal harassment law.
