A titillating problem...
tracey
18 Posts
This scenario really has me puzzled. Four months ago, we hired a young woman
in a clerical position - a first full time job for her. After she was on the job for about a month, she came to my office bringing two sexually explicit
magazines (believe me, these were leagues beyond your standard Hustler/Playboy),
saying that someone left them in her desk. In response, I sent out a broadcast email reminding everyone of the inappropriateness of such stuff, and I interviewed everyone, male and female: all denied any involvement. Several weeks went by, and again she came to my office with another seedy publication, and this time expressed her anger that I hadn't "done anything about this."
I called an assembly, and brought the matter up publicly, demanding that these
materials remain outside the workplace. But, asking around on my own, nobody
owned up to the deed, nor would they point any fingers. Yesterday, in she came
again (with a video tape, presumably pornish), asking how to file a "formal complaint." I told her to send me an email with the details of her complaint, cc the President and her supervisor, etc. etc. After getting her email, I
concluded that she probably fictionalized this whole thing, bringing her own
props, and waxing toward some kind of lawsuit. My question is: can I install
a surveillance camera to record her comings and goings without her knowledge?
I'd love to catch her in the act of loading her own desk drawers so this can
be diffused, but is there some breach of privacy exposure here? Thanks for
any insight out there....
in a clerical position - a first full time job for her. After she was on the job for about a month, she came to my office bringing two sexually explicit
magazines (believe me, these were leagues beyond your standard Hustler/Playboy),
saying that someone left them in her desk. In response, I sent out a broadcast email reminding everyone of the inappropriateness of such stuff, and I interviewed everyone, male and female: all denied any involvement. Several weeks went by, and again she came to my office with another seedy publication, and this time expressed her anger that I hadn't "done anything about this."
I called an assembly, and brought the matter up publicly, demanding that these
materials remain outside the workplace. But, asking around on my own, nobody
owned up to the deed, nor would they point any fingers. Yesterday, in she came
again (with a video tape, presumably pornish), asking how to file a "formal complaint." I told her to send me an email with the details of her complaint, cc the President and her supervisor, etc. etc. After getting her email, I
concluded that she probably fictionalized this whole thing, bringing her own
props, and waxing toward some kind of lawsuit. My question is: can I install
a surveillance camera to record her comings and goings without her knowledge?
I'd love to catch her in the act of loading her own desk drawers so this can
be diffused, but is there some breach of privacy exposure here? Thanks for
any insight out there....
Comments
It definitely seems like she is the victim of her own twisted abuse here and is most certainly looking for a good lawsuit.
In this conversation, I would express my concern for her emotional well-being and tell her the company is going to install a hidden camera towards her desk to catch the harasser. Ask her not to talk to anyone about it, so that nobody knows that the camera is there. I will guarantee you that this will stop immediately. Because if SHE is the only one who knows that the camera is there, then she can't say it stopped b/c the harasser knew of the camera.
If you have an EAP, I would also suggest that you have her call them to discuss these incidents. If you do have one, I am sure you will be able to tell from your utilization reports if she is disturbed enough to actually talk to a professional about her "harassment".
I would also let her know that harassment is grounds for dismissal. Even if she is harassing herself, she has brought sexually explicit material into the workplace where others could have/did see them.
I would definitely put a stop to this immediately!
I would refrain from even implying that this is a fictional story to this employee. If it did turn out to be true (and video is a perfect way to prove who the harasser is conclusively) she would have a field day with you in court. Picture it.... This poor woman is harassed, the company does nothing to figure out who is doing it and when she pressed the issue you implied she had mental problems? Oh, that just wouldn't look good. I would install the camera and wait to see the fish that is caught.
Elizabeth
I would not alert her of the surveillance. I would put it in motion as a routine practice of photographing an area to catch a thief, no different. Here's a thought; after you get the camera in place, tell her that if she should find anything in one of her drawers in the future, she is to not touch it but come to you immediately and tell you that it's there so you can see it yourself. If she's guilty, that's about the only way you'll catch her placing it in a drawer.
PORK
Rather, bring her in and ask for her suggestions on how the culprit can be apprehended. Ask about security issues. Does she keep her desk locked. Give her some disposable plastic gloves and tell her to use them if anything else shows up in her desk. Offer to have the offending item checked for finger prints (if she uses gloves, obviously her prints could not be on the item). Offer to install a hidden camera. If she has internet access, have your IT department check on what sites she visits on a regular basis (you need to do this on a confidential basis). If she is visiting any porn sites, put that in your pocket in case a suit is filed. It would tend to discredit her testimony.
Good luck.
Also, since she keeps coming in and upping the ante about what you are doing, meet with her & tell her everything you have done in the form of an investigation. Work with her on who she may think is involved or why it's happening to her. When you lay it on the table with her, she can't use the defense that your company did not act.
Also, as much as folks say not to tell her about the cameras, in this case, I probably would. When I was meeting with her about what actions have been taken & getting her input, I would let her know that the company is just as distressed by this situation as she is and WILL be installing surveillance cameras in the hopes of catching the culprit. If she balks at the idea, or somehow these situations move from her desk to her car, in her lunchbox, etc., then call a higher level meeting that includes a couple of managers/executives and see if there are any other remedies that can be addressed. I believe that once an employee knows how 'important' their allegations are because of the companies proactive approach, the employee will either quickly realize that your company is no pushover, and will soon leave to find her next 'victim', or if she doesn't get it, then you've got all the documentation on your side. Good luck.
I would not even remotely infer that she might be planting the evidence. Let the film speak for itself.
PORK
The intention is to capture on video whatever is occuring, no matter who or what is doing what. there's no harassment or accusation in that. If she IS doing it herself, which by the way is not your conclusion or my own, the only way to capture that is with the instruction for her to leave the material untouched. If she is psychotic and is intent on playing out this novel to its fullest, she will take that as a challenge and rush headlong toward it, waiting probably no more than three days before telling you, "Look, come see, here it is again".
If she is not remotely involved, other than as a victim, if this continues, your camera will surely catch the culprit. If it does not continue, your liability shrinks to nothingness. There should never be more than two people involved in the decision to place or move a camera; the decision maker and the technician who does it. In this case I would not even have my in-house staff do it. I would pay a vendor technician to do it. No matter which of the possible scenarios plays out in this thing, the money you will have spent on professional installation will have been well spent.
Lots of good advice. Contract with a security company to set the camera, you may even be able to place the recorder in your office with todays remote technology. Tell no one other than your boss................have them come in after hours.....place the camera, then like Don said? tell her to come get you next time something shows up, not to touch it etc. He is right if it is her this will result in a new "discovery" within a couple of days.
Hey also when your done, if the porn is any good you can send it to me for disposal.
;-)
My $0.02 worth.
DJ The Balloonman
Like many others have already said, keep it as quiet as possible. I have been through things like this before, and it is very hard to keep things like this a secret.
Good luck, and keep us posted on this.
Rob
security firm about pricing on video equipment - we're a small
company (60 employees), and the President was a bit edgy about
the cost, but I pressed him to contact our attorney, who is
wildly in favor of clandestine surveillance, and spent some
time on this website reading your comments! So we will
go forward with the camera and see what happens. On a gut level,
I strongly think we need not look beyond this employee's
desk for the "perp," but I've been wrong before. Interestingly enough,
she was in my office fifteen minutes ago complaining that a toilet seat
was left "up" in the ladies' room!!!! Yikes!!!! Thanks again, all, I'll let you know how this goes.
I would not see it as unlikely that a "young girl at her first job" might view it that you had done nothing if there were repeat occurrences of an event which was offensive to her. She may lack the maturity which would help her to perceive that your efforts so far are doing something. I do applaud the camera as a next step.
Young people often have a strong sense of their personal "rights" and can be aggressive in going after those rights (having three young adult children, I know from whence I speak).
Placing the camera secretly, telling her not to touch things on her desk are great actions that do not draw a conclusion in advance. Let the evidence speak for itself.
I would make sure you have her entire story... like which drawer did she find the items or were they on top of her desk, etc. Exactly when was the first time she saw them, etc. (I am sure you have all this already.) I would also ask her to come get you immediately upon finding anything out of the order at her workstation (and don't touch it.) This make give you some leads (where it is located, how it is placed) as well as fingerprints. Also, provide her with keys to lock her drawers if this is where it is being placed.
I would handle this as "You are trying to stop it, no matter who it is". Install the cameras or recording devices (and make sure it is done after hours and no one knows about it.) Make sure you are not "earmarking" anyone, but just trying to discover who is doing it.
I would also talk with your IT person and ask him to check/monitor ALL PC access for any unusual or porn activity. (Don't say anthing about any one person or dept.) and let you know if anything is suspicious.
If someone is doing this (whether it be this employee, another employee or a vendor or guest) it will show up.
Also helpful if you have some type of lists of when people are in the office (like individual access codes for key entry if after hours.)
One caution is that some video cameras reuse the same tape after a period of time. Make sure that it is long enough that you could check it without it being wiped out. (Happened to me once.) Also, helpful if the camera records date and time.
You are on the right track. Just don't earmark this investigation toward any one person, but toward the "event/actions".
Good Luck
E Wart
my bases are covered in the fact-gathering department, but this
is really a brand new adventure in HR for me, and boy, am I learning!!!
Tracey