We get a lot of bad boss stories here. But here is one that effected about 2000 employees.
A Maryland based insurance company, selling insurance in Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC, hired a new manager to bring "new life" into an old and established business. The new manager had never worked in the insurance business before, but was reported to be an expert at marketing and promotion.
The new manager immediately set about changing the image of the company. Old managers were forced to retire when they objected and resisted the proposed changes.
The new management team made important changes. Memo's were sent out, no more pop-corn or fish in the lunch room. No leaning on or touching the walls.
Any move this dramatic is always difficult on staff but the staff of about 40 employees made the transition as best they could. Most of the remaining staff was always on the road working alongside employees of their parent company spread out in over 60 branches.
The complaints by some of the employees was reviewed by personnel and checked on by the legal department to make sure no laws were being violated. And no EEOC or Labor laws were violated. However, no one checked on State Insurance Laws.
By moving the company from Maryland to Virginia, new Company and employee insurance licenses had to be obtained, but the new Manager failed to apply for and secure them before the move. More over the majority of the customers of the insurance company were customers obtained by their association with their parent company, a savings and loan.
The ability to sell insurance products through the savings and loan had been disallowed for years, but because of the age of the savings and loan, this particular company had been allowed to continue to sell these products because of a "grand-father provision". When the company moved across state lines, they also lost their grand-father priviledge
But the problems did not end there. Being a subsidary company of a Savings and Loan that was nearing 100 years old the company had been enjoying priviledges retained because of being grand-fathered in. With the move the company lost their grand-fathered status and the resulting loss of those priviledges caused a massive reaction. Within months the insurance company and it's parent company were out of business.
