Case Study - “Gun Threat”

Author :Channagiri

The Incident

On Friday afternoon, several employees reported to their supervisor that an employee told them that he was going to bring in a gun with a silencer and shoot someone.

Incident Response

Immediate action was required. Therefore, the Incident Response Team was not activated.

Investigation

An employee who had worked for the company for over 25 years became upset with rumors being spread by coworkers. The employee told a group of coworkers that he was going to bring in a gun with a silencer and shoot someone. Several coworkers provided statements to that effect. When interviewed by the Corporate Director of Security, the witnesses denied making any such statements. The employee was interviewed and freely admitted to making the statements; however the employee indicated that he did not mean the threats seriously. The employee just wanted the other employees to stop spreading rumors.

Conclusion

Intimidation or the threat of violence violates various laws. In this case, the employee was not charged criminally; however, the matter was handled administratively.

Items for Consideration

  1.  It is important that businesses have a clear policy regarding these types of threats and intimidation.
  2. Businesses must consider each case on the material facts and weigh all aggravating and mitigating factors. When do you terminate an employee with over 25 years of service?
  3. What can businesses do to help the employee?

Practice Exercises


“Another Visit With John”

Monday morning

This morning you receive an anonymous note from a female employee in your Department who has accused John of sexual harassment. The note states that he has placed several calls to this employee’s home and asked her out on dates. The employee has refused and has asked John to stop calling her. The employee complaint was anonymous, but because you only have 25 female employees in your area, you have been able to narrow it down to five possibilities, based upon facts you received in the complaint. The complaint also alleges that while the female employee was standing at the copy machine, John rubbed up against her and made a comment about being physically attracted to her.

John is a 56-year old employee who has worked for the Government for 28 years. While John has not been a stellar employee, his performance has been adequate and he has received regular pay increases consistent with his longevity.

During the last five years, John has applied for two promotions and has been turned down both times. On those two occasions, he was disappointed that he was not chosen and made negative comments to his coworkers about affirmative action. However, it did not seem to have a significant impact on his work.

About six months ago, John and his wife of thirty years separated. They have three grown children, none of whom live in this area. While John didn’t really talk about his separation and the details, there were some quiet rumors that John was abusing his wife. In addition, there have been many rumors over the years that John has an alcohol problem. However, since he has a very good attendance record and his performance is adequate, his supervisors decided to respect his privacy and not look into the rumors. 

John has only a few friends at work. In his spare time, he is an avid hunter and competitive pistol shooter. In fact, he has won several national awards in competitions sponsored by the NRA. To your knowledge, he has never brought a firearm into the workplace.

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:

  1. What are you going to do now? 
  2. Do you want to change any plans you made at the beginning of this training? 

Next day 8:00 am 

You read the complaint carefully again several times after not having slept well all night. You decide to contact the human resources office and speak to a special investigator who regularly conducts sexual harassment investigations. Since you do not know the identity of the complainant, it is impossible for you to conduct any interviews of that person. The human resources investigator calls John to come join you for a discussion.

9:00 am

John arrives and you and the investigator inform him that someone has complained about his behavior. You ask him if he will cooperate with the investigation. John expresses outrage that his reputation is being tarnished and demands to know the identity of the accuser. You tell him the complaint was anonymous, but he does not believe you. He insists that he is a good loyal employee with many years of services who is being unfairly maligned by some “bitch.” This language and this type of behavior are fairly unusual for John.

Toward the end of the meeting with John, he becomes belligerent and says, “You have some nerve; I have worked here for 28 years and done a damn good job. Now, you have accused me of sexual harassment. This is outrageous.” Then his face becomes beet red and he says, “I’ll show all of you; nobody messes with me. I’m going to teach all of you a lesson you’ll never forget!” With that, John bolts out of the meeting, walks out and grabs his coat, looks back and says, “I’ll be back later, after I’ve taken care of a few things.”

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:

  1. What would you do now? 
  2. Would you involve others at this point? What are the consequences if you do?
  3. Do you think John has made a threat?
  4. Do you think a request for a medical exam is appropriate at this time? 


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