Evading Sudden PTSD Unprovoked Attack Is Grounds For Termination
I worked a nice bartending job with the NY Hilton for 14 years. My bar-back was the nicest guy, I thought. The other bartenders warned me to watch out for him. They said he was crazy. I should have listened. From civil war torn El Salvador he'd been through a lot as a kid. I now realize he suffers from some ailment, perhaps PTSD. One day he had his hands in the freezer as he put away beer glasses. I asked him to please pass me a beer glass. He went ballistic, grabbed a rusty jagged ended old mop handle from the dumpster outside, yelled repeatedly that he wasn't a diswaher, and attempted to stab me in the face with it. I ducked three times and made it out of the bar with him still there and went to HR immediately. Only the newy hired assistant was there, so I waited. He ran to security and said I'd pulled a knife on him. Security showed up at HR before the HR Director got back. We were both suspended pending arbitration. I went to the police station to fle a report but their computer system was down so I had to go back another day, which I did. Hilton policy is to automatically fire both "fghting" parties. The legally binding arbitration process refused to believe that the police report system was down and disregarded my police report as it wasn't filed immediately enough for them. There is no court option with binding arbitration in place and I didn't instigate, initiate or participate in any altercation or action whatsoever or even touch the other party to resist. Instead I remained calm, spoke calmly to him in a conciliatory manner,and somehow managed to get past him with my face intact. That's how the Hilton corporation handles disputes, nice and tidy, and since it was NYC all of the hotel association member hotels have access to the records and I'm blackballed, as I am from any Hilton hotel nation-wide, and I suspect other hotel chains who can check with their NYC branches which have access to hotel association records also won't be quick to hire me. So now I'm wondering (as I'm now looking again for bartending work after having my own IT company for a dozen years but have gotten tired of all the sitting around) what's the beat way to truthfully answer in one sentence "Why did you leave this (14 year) job?" Should I even be concerned? What will a background check show?
Charges were not pressed so there is no legal record. Now, if you list this job on an application and the business calls to check references the hotel is able to confirm your start and end date and whether or not you are eligible for rehire. That's it. If you had a co-worker or former supervisor who is willing to vouch for your bartending skills, etc. then put that person as a reference. But I'm guessing if you decided to go into the restaurant/bar industry, instead of the hotel business, this won't be a problem. Most restaurants/bars don't check backgrounds and references as its costly and the turnover rate is usually pretty high. Good luck:)
Aloha, David. I just read your post and.... excuse my language but OMMFG!!! I have PTSD, (it may not be from living through a literal civil war, but I'd say that Gang Rape is an equivalent.) TMI, I know but still relevant as I have never felt the need to stab anyone, and I've wanted to, but to function day to day, get hired not just anywhere, but get through friggin Hilton's "vetting" system in NY no less, you cannot tell me he wasn't together enough to put himself in check enough to not do to you what he did. Problem is, PTSD is VERY real for more and more people these days, and with that comes those who take advantage of and a lot of times "fake it till they make it" eventually becomes their reality because no one called them on it when it was still BS. NOT suggesting his is, just sayin'.... But I digress: my husband worked for Eugene and Beverly Hills Hilton, his ex at the Plaza and myself at the Marriott in Hawaii and you can bet your ass they had an eye in the sky on anything and everything going on behind one of their bars. It may be too late, but you can hit Hilton where it hurts by demanding it and an explanation of why it wasn't referenced at the time of the incident along with requiring both to fill out incident reports. Talk to an attorney.... a BIG BOY willing to do contingency and go for Hilton's jugular for wrongful termination!! Best of luck, hope I could help