Knives at work

forgedblades

forgedblades

Joined
May 25, 2008
Messages
263
Hi all,

I just had to fire one of my staff for loosing his lid and swearing at me. Now he is going to the labor board saying that he feels threatened by me because I carry knives (he is saying that it is a weapon). The funny thing is he asked to see one of my hunting knives and how much it would be to sharpen on of his.

Has anyone else had this happen to them? What was the out come?
 
Can't say that I've ever been in a situation like that. I'm sure there are lots of details involving the situation you describe. Not really sure how this related to general knife discussion though. Was it a nice hunting knife?
 
forgedblades said:
Hi all,

I just had to fire one of my staff for loosing his lid and swearing at me. Now he is going to the labor board saying that he feels threatened by me because I carry knives (he is saying that it is a weapon). The funny thing is he asked to see one of my hunting knives and how much it would be to sharpen on of his.

Has anyone else had this happen to them? What was the out come?
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unless other staff members can attest to you being "wreckless" or "threatening" i think youll be fine.plus, youre the boss, im pretty sure you can carry whatever you damn well please lol
 
It appears the OP is in Canada. The (labor) laws there are very different than here, I'm sure.

Here I think it would be a matter of whether it's legal (in your state) to carry a knife (and where). Here in Florida, as the owner of my business, I can carry ANYTHING I want. Then it's a matter of any witnesses to the implied "brandishing."

Being an employer can really suck. The benefit of the doubt is often given to the employees. Fortunately, I've got a great team that's been with me a long time.
 
I asked a couple staff if they feel threatened by me or that I carry a knife, it is perfectly legal to carry a knife in Canada. There answer was NO. I have 3 more staff that always carry a pocket knife as well.

The knife is often used to open boxes and envelopes and sometimes as a paper shredder if not close to the office.
 
Give him something to whine about. What a baby. He sounds like the type to fall down SOMEONE ELSES house stairs due to his inability to keep upright and sues the home owner. Just trying to start trouble because he made a mistake and felt like an idiot, so he lashed back. I wouldn't worry too much about it, i'm sure if you explain how the situation arised, they'll be smart enough to figure this character out...
 
Sounds like a real tool. I've never had anything like that happen to me, but I really hope all this works out for you.
 
forgedblades said:
Hi all,

I just had to fire one of my staff for loosing his lid and swearing at me. Now he is going to the labor board saying that he feels threatened by me because I carry knives (he is saying that it is a weapon). The funny thing is he asked to see one of my hunting knives and how much it would be to sharpen on of his.

Has anyone else had this happen to them? What was the out come?
Click to expand...

Sounds like sour grapes to me, no big deal since he was the one who cussed you out so he was the aggressor not you.
 
Your in Canada. As long as your intended purpose to carry a knife is not self-defence , then your legal to carry it , period. As long as no one was threatened with a knife by yourself I wouldn't worry.

Btw, if the guy had an attitude like that ( losing his cool as well as the knife issue), you did the right thing by letting him go IMHO.
 
He is disgruntled and his actions will likely get him nowhere, but it still wouldn't hurt for you to do a little research on how anything like this has turned out in the past, if there is such an instance in your area.

I supervise 23 people, and in my time I've had to terminate more than a few, and a handful of them attempt some form of retaliation. It never ends up getting them anywhere, and in a short amount of time it goes away. It's not fun terminating people, especially likable people that can't seem to follow some simple rules, but in the end, it's part of life and they will be able to move on.

Sounds like a real A-Hole who got what he had coming...

JGON
 
I Manage a Auto Parts store.

He was swearing, making false accusations, and playing the racism card, he was also going to be written up for inappropriate behavior for his previous shift (which he probable knew and was why he exploded). He was a team lead who would be in charge of the store when I was not around. With access to everything in the store including the safe. I cannot trust a person like this to make proper decisions on my behalf. He was hired for that roll and has only been around for 7 months. Not the kind of person I want to represent my store.
 
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forgedblades said:
I Manage a Auto Parts store.

He was swearing, making false accusations, and playing the racism card, he was also going to be written up for inappropriate behavior for his previous shift (which he probable new and was why he explored). He was a team lead who would be in charge of the store when I was not around. With access to everything in the store including the safe. I cannot trust a person like this to make proper decisions on my behalf. He was hired for that roll and has only been around for 7 months. Not the kind of person I want to represent my store.
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Why doesn't that suprise me at all..... ;)

You did the right thing. :thumbup:
 
He can't do anything. He exploded at you and was the aggressive party in this situation. If he tries to claim his aggressive behavior was caused by you carrying knives the labor board will merely question whether or not he has a death wish.
 
EBHM4 said:
He can't do anything. He exploded at you and was the aggressive party in this situation. If he tries to claim his aggressive behavior was caused by you carrying knives the labor board will merely question whether or not he has a death wish.
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Yeh that.

"Let me get this straight, the guy with a knife scared you so you screamed and swore at him?"
 
Exactly Forged. That's what I'm getting at. No logical person would scream and swear at someone if they felt scared of their knives.
 
Good point, I never thought of it that way (probable because I would never think of using A knife that way)
 
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