Mentally Unstable Former Employees

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

DH is in senior management for a small company (50 employees).  An employee recently walked off the job for reasons not known nor understood, but after some troubling behavior.  While DH oversees most of the HR functions (timekeeping, payroll, benefits), he did not hire, nor supervise, this employee.  The now-former employee is sending rambling and troubling texts to other employees.  For example, he has referenced employees' coming and goings and moods in some of the texts.  And, in the wee hours of this morning, he sent a lengthy text to an employee saying, among other things, "Monday should be good".  Concerned, the employees receiving these texts have forwarded them to DH.

I told DH to go to the police department in the town where his company is located and share the employee's behaviors and texts.  I also told him, since they rarely get visitors, to lock the doors and only allow expected visitors and employees into the building.  

Any other advice?  

[Sharon]

We had something similar happen several years ago where I work.  Only the employee was calling the owners at 2am with ramblings.  An e-mail was sent out reminding employees that former employees were not allowed into the building and if anyone tried to come in with you to report it immediately to HR.  The doors were locked and they hired a rent a cop for a while.

ETA:  What the company did as far as contacting local authorities I don't know.

[swamp]

send a letter to the employee that his employment with x company has terminated and there is to be no further communication to them or the employees. Any further contact is harassment and will be treated as such.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

DH had a crazy husband show up at his work. He talked at length about her cheating and he named the exact make and model of the car the guy she was sleeping with drove.

He offered to help blackmail her, get her fired. DH said it was really creepy.

They got a lock for the office door and you had to be buzzed in after that. A restraining order was also put out.

[Tennesseer]

Oct 22, 2016 11:38:29 GMT -5 GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl said:

DH is in senior management for a small company (50 employees).  An employee recently walked off the job for reasons not known nor understood, but after some troubling behavior.  While DH oversees most of the HR functions (timekeeping, payroll, benefits), he did not hire, nor supervise, this employee.  The now-former employee is sending rambling and troubling texts to other employees.  For example, he has referenced employees' coming and goings and moods in some of the texts.  And, in the wee hours of this morning, he sent a lengthy text to an employee saying, among other things, "Monday should be good".  Concerned, the employees receiving these texts have forwarded them to DH.

I told DH to go to the police department in the town where his company is located and share the employee's behaviors and texts.  I also told him, since they rarely get visitors, to lock the doors and only allow expected visitors and employees into the building.  

Any other advice?  

In addition to keeping the doors lock, put a video camera out of reach outside the door to see who is knocking/ringing for entrance. Reception should be able to buzz the visitor in.

A number of years ago I had to deal with a mentally unstable former employee. The former employee contacted our company's switchboard and asked a question which the operator could not answer. Strange/unusual calls usually got transferred to my small department because we pretty much knew what was going on with the company around the country.

The call was transferred to me. The former employee told me she had interviewed for a vice president of customer service position and she was offered the job. She was wondering what was her start date. I told her I would contact the senior vp of customer service to get back in touch with her. I contacted the customer service department and told one of the directors about the call.

The director told me she knew who the woman was and that the woman had quit the company several years earlier. The director also told me the woman never interviewed for a vp position let alone any position. The director told me the woman was mentally ill. She also told me the woman had gotten her mental illness under control until there was a tragedy in her family. Her brother had been a firefighter. Around the year 2000, and just a few blocks from where I live, a man had murdered his wife in his home and then set the home on fire. The man hid outdoors, armed, and waited for the police and fire department to arrive. When both groups had arrived, the man opened fire on them, killing one police officer and two of the firemen. One of the two firemen killed was the woman who claimed she had been offered the VP position in customer service.

Apparently the woman's firefighter brother was the only person who could get this woman to take her medication to control her mental issues. With the brother now dead, there was no one to work with her to take her medication. The director I spoke to told me she would call the woman back and speak to her.

I don't believe my company ever heard again from this woman.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Oct 22, 2016 11:55:24 GMT -5 swamp said:

send a letter to the employee that his employment with x company has terminated and there is to be no further communication to them or the employees. Any further contact is harassment and will be treated as such.

He walked off the job recently, but long enough ago that they already sent him a termination letter, and before the harassment started, so no language about continued contact.  

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

There is a camera at the side door.  They will have to install buzzers.  At the moment, if they keep the doors locked, someone will have to open it from the inside each time someone comes in.  They will also need to consider the main door/reception area -- it is a two-story glass atrium -- easy enough to enter if someone wants in badly enough whether it is this guy, or anyone.  

[Tennesseer]

Oct 22, 2016 12:18:44 GMT -5 GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl said:

Oct 22, 2016 11:55:24 GMT -5 swamp said:

send a letter to the employee that his employment with x company has terminated and there is to be no further communication to them or the employees. Any further contact is harassment and will be treated as such.

He walked off the job recently, but long enough ago that they already sent him a termination letter, and before the harassment started, so no language about continued contact.  

GRG-I would still have your husband send a letter reminding him he was terminated and include the language Swamp recommended.

[Tennesseer]

Oct 22, 2016 12:21:41 GMT -5 GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl said:

There is a camera at the side door.  They will have to install buzzers.  At the moment, if they keep the doors locked, someone will have to open it from the inside each time someone comes in.  They will also need to consider the main door/reception area -- it is a two-story glass atrium -- easy enough to enter if someone wants in badly enough whether it is this guy, or anyone.  

Your husband might recommend the company issue security card/badges which they swipe through a electronic reader which releases the locked door to open for them.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Oct 22, 2016 12:24:42 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Oct 22, 2016 12:21:41 GMT -5 GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl said:

There is a camera at the side door.  They will have to install buzzers.  At the moment, if they keep the doors locked, someone will have to open it from the inside each time someone comes in.  They will also need to consider the main door/reception area -- it is a two-story glass atrium -- easy enough to enter if someone wants in badly enough whether it is this guy, or anyone.  

Your husband might recommend the company issue security card/badges which they swipe through a electronic reader which releases the locked door to open for them.

Yes, he was talking about doing that this morning.  

Too bad, it's a nice little company where everyone cares about each other.  It just takes one person to change the atmosphere...

[Tennesseer]

Oct 22, 2016 12:27:19 GMT -5 GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl said:

Oct 22, 2016 12:24:42 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Your husband might recommend the company issue security card/badges which they swipe through a electronic reader which releases the locked door to open for them.

Yes, he was talking about doing that this morning.  

Too bad, it's a nice little company where everyone cares about each other.  It just takes one person to change the atmosphere...

Unfortunately too many companies have looked back in hindsight to security measures they should have implemented before tragedy befell their company and employees.

As you said, it only takes one person to change the atmosphere.

[Deleted]

We have lots of disgruntled former employees, so HR has anyone leaving sign something saying they are no longer allowed on company property at all and even being in the parking lot is considered harassment.  We're already a very secure building with card access not just on the doors to get in, but most doors inside too, but that all started long before we had government and FDA contracts and the security was necessary for confidential info.  It started after a big layoff about 15 years ago when one of the former coworkers threatened to come in and shoot some of the managers, within a few months it was all locked down with security cameras and badge access. 

[tskeeter]

Oct 22, 2016 11:38:29 GMT -5 GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl said:

DH is in senior management for a small company (50 employees).  An employee recently walked off the job for reasons not known nor understood, but after some troubling behavior.  While DH oversees most of the HR functions (timekeeping, payroll, benefits), he did not hire, nor supervise, this employee.  The now-former employee is sending rambling and troubling texts to other employees.  For example, he has referenced employees' coming and goings and moods in some of the texts.  And, in the wee hours of this morning, he sent a lengthy text to an employee saying, among other things, "Monday should be good".  Concerned, the employees receiving these texts have forwarded them to DH.

I told DH to go to the police department in the town where his company is located and share the employee's behaviors and texts.  I also told him, since they rarely get visitors, to lock the doors and only allow expected visitors and employees into the building.  

Any other advice?  

I would also conduct meetings with current employees to inform them about the situation.  Heaven forbid that an unsuspecting employee would let this person into the building. 

[happyhoix]

Oct 22, 2016 12:21:41 GMT -5 GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl said:

There is a camera at the side door.  They will have to install buzzers.  At the moment, if they keep the doors locked, someone will have to open it from the inside each time someone comes in.  They will also need to consider the main door/reception area -- it is a two-story glass atrium -- easy enough to enter if someone wants in badly enough whether it is this guy, or anyone.  

Was this employee given keys to the office when he worked there (or could he have stolen one? ) Might it be necessary to change the locks?

Being a former employee, he may know the office routines - when the FedEx guy comes by, for instance - so it would be good to make sure all employees know to make sure he doesn't get back in. Where I work we have guards at the main entrances, and when someone is terminated under bad circumstances they post the photo from that persons security card at the guard desks, so they can make sure that person doesn't get back in posing as someone else.

There was a mentally ill guy at my previous company, very irrational and fought with everyone - they finally let him go and we were concerned for a while that he would come back, but fortunately, he did not.

[OldCoyote]

Now that you have a secure building, you never leave,or go home??

[Bob Ross]

Tell DH not to worry.  This guy's obviously a rank amateur.  When I send rambling, late night texts to former management and co-workers, I always do it from an anonymous texting website from my neighbor's computer.

He really needs to start locking his basement window. 

[Artemis Windsong]

It's not just the work places.  Our church has a buzz in system.  The doors are locked when church is going on.

There is a daycare in the building and I have no idea their security measures.

I don't know what happened to cause these security measures expect maybe being prepared. 

I have seen homeless sleeping on the bench out front.  Our local library took their benches out because of this.  There were some real creepy people hanging around.