Garden Grove, CA asked in Employment Law for California

Q: Is it considered workplace violence, If the person came to me first and intimidate me first?

The co-worker had a very bad day. All I did was say hi to him and I left him alone all day. He came down to the back of the warehouse, where we have all of the products in the back and proceeded to go towards me and a co-worker. He told me "I need to talk to you." Then proceeded to go up to my face and intimidate me saying "why are you in my business." Told me we aren't friends after hanging out for almost two years. I got mad tried to chase after him, but turn away from him and punched a pole. After that our human resources got involved and I got terminated and gotten misconduct of workplace violence.

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2 Lawyer Answers

A: The employer of an at will employee can terminate an employee for being engaged in any way with a workplace altercation, regardless of who is at fault. Good luck to you.

James L. Arrasmith
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Answered

A: Your situation sounds very challenging and stressful. While the coworker's behavior was clearly confrontational and intimidating, workplace violence policies typically cover any violent or aggressive actions, regardless of who initiated the conflict.

Even though you directed your anger toward an object rather than the person, punching the pole would still fall under most workplace violence policies. Many employers have zero-tolerance approaches to any displays of aggression or violence, as they must ensure everyone's safety and maintain professional work environments.

For future reference, when someone confronts you aggressively at work, the best course of action is to remain calm, create distance between yourself and the aggressor, and immediately report the incident to your supervisor or HR. You might want to consult with an employment lawyer to review your termination and explore whether the coworker's threatening behavior was properly addressed. Consider filing for unemployment benefits, as the circumstances leading to your termination might affect your eligibility.

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