A TriMet worker is suing the public-transport agency claiming fellow employees repeatedly accused him of having sex with his dog.
In a lawsuit filed Monday in Multnomah County Circuit Court, Jerry Whitaker, a 58-year-old bus driver, claims he suffered anxiety and was placed on light duty by a doctor after facing near-daily harassment on the job.
Whitaker has been working at TriMet for 27 years and is still employed there, the lawsuit says. Beginning in June 2006, the lawsuit claims fellow employees began making comments such as:
“Whitaker is fucking his dog again.”
“What did you do, just get done fucking your dog last night?”
“You stink, you smell like your dog.”
“Here’s a couple dogs for you to fuck, Whitaker.”
“I got one thing, Whitaker. When are you going to stop fucking your dog?”
The lawsuit alleges that in March 2007, someone wrote on an announcement for a work breakfast: “Come watch Whitaker jack off his dog.” In June 2007, the lawsuit says, someone wrote on another breakfast announcement: “Come watch Whitaker have sex with his dog.”
That same month, the lawsuit says, Whitaker received a threatening note accusing him of making 72 drivers late and telling him to watch his back. “Why don’t you just stay home and fuck your dog?” the note read, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims someone wrote on a newspaper clipping of a woman: “I told U Whitaker was a woman and a dog fucker look at this.”
According to the lawsuit, Whitaker complained to his bosses but they did nothing to stop the behavior and instead asked him when he would retire. “No effort was made … to separate plaintiff from his harassers at any time,” the lawsuit says.
The suit, filed by attorney Daniel Snyder, seeks $4,500 for Whitaker’s lost wages plus $30,000 for pain and suffering.
TriMet spokeswoman Mary Fetsch declined to comment.
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WHAT?
Is this a joke?
I think the telling portion of the article is "Whitaker received a threatening note accusing him of making 72 drivers late and telling him to watch his back." Clearly his co-workers don’t like him because of his alleged poor work performance, have decided to demonise him with accusations of bestality. For these Trimet driver’s it may be the non-homophobic equivalent of ‘fag’.
I’m not saying that harassment in the work place is at anytime acceptable, but I think most of us at some point have had to deal with a bad co-worker who seems to never be let go despite poor attitude and performance.
It sounds like these jokers started with Trimet the day after they dropped out of highschool.
This has to be some sort of joke! I’ve worked with Wittaker for 8 yr’s, he’s not liked, and I have never heard one comment ever made about him and a dog. He must be halluciating these remarks!!
Sounds like the passengers we transport thata didn’t even make it out of high school, you know the thrid generation Welfare. The passengers don’t even like Jerry Whitaker, he picks and chooses who he picks up and if you fit the right catagory you will be picked up. That is if you can get Jerry out of McDonald’s long enough to do his job!!
Jerry is always sueing Trimet cause his DADDY is a judge or exjudge,Jerry is a employee Trimet has needed to get rid of years ago,He leaves people standing in the snow,he hides out with his bus to get out of work,He runs really early,leaving his follower with his work and Jerrys work to,Jerry himself calls his Dog his wife,so this is brought on by Jerry himself.I also have worked with Jerry for years and I complain to a superviser on Tuesday about his work on the 72 line,This is on going with Jerry!
"WORK BREAKFAST" Is this another tri-met benefit? Enlighten me.
Trimet work breakfast, bacon, eggs, ham, hash browns, pancakes, strawberrry waffles, coffee, milk, fine wine, with an exspensive cigar to top it off all served by dancing girls. Just trying to be more ridiculus then Wittaker’s suit.
"I think most of us at some point have had to deal with a bad co-worker who seems to never be let go despite poor attitude and performance." – Ryan (Comment #2)
Actually, in my experience it’s far more common that the large herd of dim-witted idiots that constitutes the employment base of most (dis)organizations is frequently looking for a scapegoat on which to blame its incompetence, and management, usually too chickensh*t to want to do anything other than taking the easiest route to keeping the herd happy, all too often obliges by acquiescing to, if not actively cooperating in, the scapegoating. Thus the Whitaker action.
From Ryan’s and others’ remarks it sounds like Stockholm syndrome thrives among the rank-and-file at Tri-Met.
Until recently … the term "F***ing the dog" was unknown to me. However I have since learned the term is relatively common in some circles, meaning that the person is VERY lazy.
I’d be willing to bet that the TriMet drivers mean the term in this context.
Like JL says. F’ing the dog is common vernaculary for goofing off.
That said, tri met employees have the fattest hog on the farm. Free health care for life after five years on the job and a pension liability that makes PERS look like chump change. If Tri Met had to make a profit, these people would all be looking for work.
Fares pay less than twenty percent. We pay the rest.
The amount of monetary damages this guy is asking for seems relatively small…….if someone was harassing me and libeling me, they wouldn’t get off so easy…….sticks and stones, et cetera, but like in the chicken yard, once they sense weakness, you’re in for it!
WHITAKER YOU DID THE RIGHT THING HERE WHEN I COME TO WORKEDI HEAR THOSE WORDS ABOUT YOUR DOG I WORK WITH JERRY HE A VARY GOOD WORKERR ITS TRI MAT AGAIN JERRY YOU GO GET THAN KEEP THAT 72 BUSES MOVING
Hah! I’ve been on his route, once. I remember a woman left a purse on his bus, and when someone told the driver to stop, he ignored everyone and kept driving. He constantly passed stops where people were waiting, and at one point even got out of the bus and went into a strip club ‘for a water stop’. A 5 minute water stop. God, this is hilarious.
Its your turn to be Jerrys follower then well see if you still call him a good worker,your a joke!
Yeah. Kinda like High School.
How sad.
I WOUNDER JUST HOW MUCH OF THIS IS
HYPERBOLED.
A bit late, but just to clear this up for Silenus61, I am not and never have been a trimet employee. I work in a coffee shop downtown. As for scapegoating one employee to cover up a host of incompetence, that seems less common than simply being pissed at the one guy who doesn’t do his job.
That dog certainly looks traumatized.
As a regular TriMet rider I have to say that they appear to be a highly dysfunctional organization. Employee morale sucks, and their service level is in serious decline. Their recent efforts to pare down existing lines for lack of ridership is already becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.