Random Most Horrible Bosses (10 items)

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  (#4) Boss Takes Out Workers for Asking for Salaries

  In March 2009, a group of minibus drivers working in the central Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod went on strike following a salary cut. The men - all Uzbek nationals - were especially upset because their boss not only cut their wages, but also took their passports. That meant they couldn't even leave the country.

  The strikers confronted their boss to demand payment, but things got heated when he took out a weapon and fired at the crowd. He wounded 47-year-old worker Aktam Khuzhamuratov and fled the scene. Khuzhamuratov passed later that day.
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  (#6) Boss Breaks Employee's Nose While Forcing Her to Kiss Another Worker

  What do you imagine goes on behind the shiny white doors of Vogue? You probably didn't imagine anything like this:

  In 1999, publisher Richard "Mad Dog" Beckman was out with employees when he decided he wanted to see two female employees smooch. He chose West Coast ad director Carol Matthews and Vogue international fashion director Emily Jahncke Davis. Beckman pushed the two women's faces together so hard, it broke Matthews's cheekbone. She ended up in need of extensive reconstructive surgery. Beckman apologized, but Matthews sued anyway. She settled out of court, and may have gotten close to her asking price of $10 million.
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  (#8) Boss Uses Employee Credit Cards to Pay for Fuel for His Private Jet

  Lenny "Nails" Dykstra was a center-fielder for the New York Mets in the late-1980s and the Philadelphia Phillies throughout most of the '90s. Some years later, in 2008, he started a magazine called Player's Club about professional athletes and their expensive lifestyles. He even offered them financial advice.

  The problem was that Dykstra was still living one of those expensive lifestyles even though he was no longer an athlete. In 2008, his net worth was estimated at $58 million. In 2009, he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, listing less than $50,000 in assets. He claimed to be a victim of mortgage fraud, lost a house to foreclosure, and was the subject of at least two dozen legal actions since 2007. 

  In addition to his myriad personal issues, he was a bad boss. Dykstra had a reputation for pestering employees at all hours of the night, even inviting prospective employees to dinner and stick them with the bill. But those were still small potatoes. The unluckiest employees were pressured into providing him credit card access with the promise they would be paid back with interest. "One of the dumbest decisions I ever made, giving him my American Express card information," said Kevin Coughlin, who left another job to become photo director for The Players Club.

  Coughlin said that Dykstra ran up tens of thousands of dollars on his card, including one $32,000 charge for a leased jet from Atlanta to Helena, Mont., where Dykstra’s son, Cutter, was playing minor league ball. Coughlin worked only 67 days for Dykstra, but it took months to recover the money.
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  (#3) Boss Fires Employee for Time Spent Off After Heart Surgery

  New Zealander Murray Gardiner was admitted to the hospital after suffering a week's worth of major chest pain. He ultimately had to endure double bypass heart surgery. Afterwards, records noted that the procedure was "uneventful" and had "nil" complications" - successful by all accounts. Except one.

  Gardiner's boss dropped by the recovery room for a visit. However, he didn't bring with him flowers or balloons, but rather, the news that Gardiner would be fired from his job after 11 years. His manager tried to defend the decision by saying the operation had not been fully successful, and Gardiner would not be able to resume his former duties. He stuck to this story even after the doctors explained that the surgery was completely successful. 
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  (#5) Walmart Employees Disarm Thief, Save Lives, Get Fired

  Four Walmart employees in Utah were confronted by a robber and pushed into an office. One worker, in a heroic move, ripped the weapon away from the man and disarmed him until police arrived. After saving the day, they all got fired. According to Walmart, the employees were released for violating the store's policy on shoplifters, known as "AP09." ​​​​

  AP09 stipulates employees are allowed to use reasonable force to limit movements of struggling suspects. But if a weapon is brandished, associates must disengage and withdraw.

  Playing the hero role could endanger customers, but what choice did the employees have? They literally had their backs against the wall. 
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  (#9) Boss Exploits Former Employee/Wife

  Shelley Lynn worked at McDonald's, which offers minimum wages, no benefits, and weak job protection. Lynn met Keith Handley in the early 1980s when she worked the counter at a McD's in Arroyo Grande, CA. At 29, she already had three children and had been divorced three times, so she was happy to meet franchise owner Handley. He was educated and older. And he stood by the manager when he fired Lynn for not putting ice away.

  After her termination, Handley began taking Lynn and her children to McDonald's every night. A relationship developed and Handley bought a house for Lynn and children in Las Vegas. However, as bills associated with the home mounted, Handley convinced Lynn to engage in sex work as a means of supporting her family. 

  At the end of 1986, Handley took Lynn to Chicken Ranch Brothel in Pahrump, NV, where she worked for the next six years. 

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