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The original was posted on /r/bestofredditorupdates by /u/Direct-Caterpillar77 on 2024-11-19 05:01:02+00:00.

I am not The OOP, OOP is u/HerbyCastle

I left some volatile gummy bears on the desk now my co-worker wants to sue me

Originally posted to r/legaladvice

Original Post  Aug 17, 2017

This is in Michigan. I am originally from Germany and very unsure how the law works in the United States so bear with me.

Last year I received a job offer to work as an assistant professor in the German language department at a large university in Michigan. I recently finished my PhD and was really excited to fill a research position (and possible post doc position) in the specific field I applied to.

Most of my time I give classes in German literature but additionally the university would like me to help students with writer’s block so I joined an interdisciplinary workshop.

There are at least 4 people connected to this workshop and we get along fine most of the time. Sadly there is one elderly woman who made me out as a rival day one.

I do not know what provoked her but there is something about me that makes her mad. Cue the incident…I had an appointment with a student, gave him some tips and instructions and left my bowl with gummy bears on the desk.

Mind you, these gummy bears a sugar free and volatile, if you eat more than a handful you are in serious fart troubles and you will occupy the toilet bowl for the rest of your day.

But my co-worker ate the whole bowl, first she excused herself from any commitments and then she called in sick. The next day she confronted me and blamed me for the whole ordeal, that I deliberately placed those gummy bears and it was all a ploy to humiliate her.

According to her she has already informed HR and her lawyer and that I will be kicked out of the country in no time. The only thing I can blame myself on is that me and my colleagues giggled at her bowel distress signals.

Picture of the culprits:

RELEVANT COMMENTS

OOP replied to 2 deleted comment

OOP 1

She claims that I left the bowl in the open and it was baiting her and others to eat the “poison” (her words).

I told her that it was just sugar free gummy bears and that she has a weak tummy if she is violently sick after maybe I don’t know 70 g of the stuff. Probably major mistake on my part, I should just had shut up. :/

OOP 2

Thank you for your hands on response. Most answer circlejerk around the funny stuff but I actually have to deal with this nonsense and I feel incredibly insecure because I am not used to the US law system. I printed out some hostile emails she sent to me recently and I hope HR is taking my side. In any case thank you for the detailed response.

TOP COMMENTS

grasshoppa1

LOL. This is a great story. You don’t have anything to worry about. You’re allowed to have sugar free gummy bears and it’s not your fault she devoured the entire bowl full. Besides, she’s not going to win a lawsuit because she had to shit a lot.

As someone who accidentally consumed too many sugar free candies once, I feel her pain, but she has no case.

~

expatinpa

When I read “volitile” I was expecting these to be exploding gummy bears. I suppose they were, but not in the way I was imagining.

No, it’s not your problem if your coworker pigged out on gummy bears that have sugar alcohol in them. Unless you explicitly told her they were fine to eat.

Update  Aug 23, 2017 (6 days later)

We are still in Michigan. I had a … I guess  a fruitful conversation with HR yesterday.

My co-worker and I had separate interviews yesterday, no blaming, just telling what happened and how our workplace could be improved on in the future.

I make it quick, her side of the story looks like this: “HerbyCastle deliberately placed sweets laced with laxatives in the commonly shared office space to make me and other people sick”

My side: “I forgot my bowl with gummy bears which I gladly and generously share with everybody in my department, not assuming that anybody would eat the whole bowl of sugar free gummy bears”

That would be an Argumento ad common senso I assume in legal terms.

I even brought an original german gummy bears packet with me to prove that I didn’t mean any harm. (true story though, my pants had been, were and and have been shat during the last couple of days and that without any laxative gummy bears…I hope these tenses fit)

Hard to believe but we talked during lunch yesterday and made up. She is a nice lady in fact but had issues with food allergies in the past. 

And I would love to just close this story with a “we reconciled  and everything was fine” but there was another mayor bit of a WOW!-moment in the room when I learnt that both hostile co-worker and me have already been put under “scrutiny” (HR words) by another assistant professor who had also had joined in our workshop project. Is this fucking Game of Thrones?

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