Manager Called in Fake Bomb Threats to “Test” an Employee — Then Reddit Said Corporate Might Not Be Enough

An employee said a workplace “test” crossed into something much more serious after a manager allegedly called in fake bomb threats twice to see how the employee would respond.

The employee shared the situation in a post on r/legaladvice, explaining that the manager had allegedly called in bomb threats as a way to test them. That is not a normal workplace drill. A fire drill, safety training, or emergency procedure review can be planned, documented, and communicated properly. A fake bomb threat is different because it can trigger panic, police response, evacuations, business disruption, and real consequences for everyone involved.

According to the employee, this did not happen once. It allegedly happened twice.

That detail made the situation feel even more serious. A single terrible decision might be written off by some people as poor judgment, though it would still be alarming. Repeating it suggests the manager may have treated a dangerous emergency claim like a training tool instead of a serious public-safety issue.

The employee wanted to know what to do. Should they report the manager to corporate? Call police? Contact another agency? Was the employee in trouble if they knew the threats were fake after the fact? Could the manager’s actions put the employee’s job or safety at risk?

Those questions matter because bomb threats are not harmless workplace scenarios. Even a fake threat can create a real emergency response. Police, fire departments, building security, employees, customers, and nearby businesses may all become involved. People may evacuate. Roads or entrances may be blocked. Workers may lose time and pay. Someone could be injured during a rushed response.

That is why the situation was not only about whether the manager was inappropriate or unprofessional. It was about whether a manager allegedly created fake emergency threats that could waste public resources and put others at risk.

The power dynamic made it harder for the employee. When the person doing something wrong is a manager, the employee may worry about retaliation. Reporting to corporate can feel safer than confronting the manager directly, but corporate may also be focused on limiting damage. The employee had to decide whether internal reporting was enough for something that may have involved emergency services or criminal conduct.

The post did not describe a normal workplace training dispute. It described an employee trying to figure out what to do after a manager allegedly used fake bomb threats as a test, twice.

Commenters generally told the employee that this was bigger than a normal HR complaint.

Several people said fake bomb threats could be a law enforcement issue, not only a corporate discipline issue. If the manager actually called in threats, even as a so-called test, that could involve police and potentially serious consequences.

Others told the employee to document everything they knew. That included the dates, times, what the manager said, who received the calls, who knew they were fake, whether anyone evacuated, whether police or security responded, and whether the manager admitted the purpose was to test the employee.

Commenters also suggested reporting the situation above the manager’s level. If the company had corporate HR, legal, security, or an ethics hotline, those channels mattered. A manager who allegedly creates fake bomb threats should not be the only person controlling the story.

Some commenters warned the employee not to participate in any future “tests” like that. If the manager tried it again, the employee needed to follow real emergency procedures and avoid helping cover it up. If authorities were contacted, the employee should tell the truth about what they knew.

There was also advice to preserve messages, call logs, written instructions, or anything showing the threats were staged. If the manager later denied it or tried to blame the employee, documentation could be the employee’s protection.

The post did not end with the manager fired or police action confirmed. It ended with the employee trying to understand whether corporate reporting was enough when the conduct involved fake emergency threats.

That is what made the situation fit Now Rundown’s lane. This was not ordinary workplace weirdness. It was a manager allegedly manufacturing bomb threats as a test and exposing workers and possibly emergency responders to unnecessary risk.

Commenters did not tell the employee to treat it as a bad training exercise. They told them to document it, report it above the manager, and recognize that fake bomb threats can become a serious public-safety matter fast.

Because when a manager calls in fake bomb threats to test an employee, the issue is not only bad judgment. It is whether the workplace has crossed from poor management into something that belongs in an official report.