My wife and recently relocated to Florida, whereby my wife soon began working for Palm Beach Gardens Smiles in Palm Beach Gardens as a dental assistant for Dr. Michael Savoia and his wife Rita.
Things were going well for the first week but by the second week my wife was coming home upset almost every day, often to the point of tears. This dentist, who seemed quite pleasant during her interview, became easily frustrated and was prone to lose his temper. She witnessed him yelling at his employees on a regular basis (including herself). It was not uncommon for him to throw items in anger. Now, my wife has worked for dentists for years and I in surgery for even more years—docs are often a fickle and frustrated bunch and you pretty much learn to deal with it. However, this dentist, Dr. Michael Savoia, crossed the boundary between "blowing off steam" and producing a hostile work environment.
He began to pick on my wife and the other male dental assistant almost exclusively. Once when my wife became upset by the way he spoke to her, he asked, "Why are you so moody, on your period?" That is clearly sexual harassment. He also delighted in calling her "stupid" on a regular basis, though stating that she did "seem to have the potential to be smart." As well, a comment was made that my wife's posture (my wife is a very attractive 21 year old woman) was more fitting for an old lady who worked in a grocery store and that she wasnt attractive enough or bright enough for their office. HELLO, why did you hire her in the first place Doc?
(At this point, let me just throw in this point, my wife has written recommendation from numerous dentist in the office for which she worked back home before relocating and her references are impeccable!)
The doctor and his wife Rita also began to pressure my wife into selling dental services that she could not in good conscience agree with. For example, many patients were coming in for general work only to be told by Dr. Savoia that they needed some dental work that they in fact did NOT need, e.G., root canals (this benefits both Savoia and another dentist who comes in on occasion but obviously is criminal as the patient is being deceived and, effectively, robbed).
As well, as a very conscientious assistant, my wife was also dismayed by the fact that Dr. Savoia utilizes the same dental instrumentation over and over on different patients without it being disinfected and sterilized—this is in major violation of NUMEROUS health and regulatory compliance codes (I know, I work as a manager in surgical sterile processing). Who knows what one patient has passed onto another at this office? It disgusts me to think that there are people out there like this who care so little about others!
Because of the hostile work environment, harassment, immoral sales requirements, and unsanitary patient care, I suggested to my wife to turn in her notice because she deserved much better and could in fact do much better elsewhere. She did and cited the above as the grounds for her resignation.
Upon receipt of her final paycheck, over half of the paycheck was missing (a very substantial dollar amount) so I personally called the good doctor, Michael Savoia, and was told that they deducted what they paid for her scrubs. Now, she was never once told that she would have to pay for the scrubs upon resigning and never signed any such agreement. As well, the employee handbook states that scrubs are provided BY THE DENTIST each year. Of course they did this to be difficult.
When I asked Dr. Michael Savoia about this, he said that she was cut for the scrubs, he wasn't going to talk to me anymore and hung up on me (I had already tried to speak with him once about how he was treating my wife but he avoided this.)
My wife and I called the Florida labor and wage board and they stated that Dr. Michael Savoia's and his wife Rita's withholding of wages to cover scrubs (or any other item) is in fact ILLEGAL and a claim will begin against them on 8/13, which they will lose!
We are also filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, the appropriate dental board, the city of Palm Beach Gardens, and any other relevant organization. I want to make sure that patients/consumers and even potential employees know about this place! STAY AWAY!
Thanks for your time and please, all of you, FIGHT BACK when people are treated unfairly by businesses and even other individuals. Let's make the world a better place.
Fightingback
West Palm Beach, Florida
U.S.A.
0 comments