Sexual Harassment from Ex Dir of another Agency

njjel · May 2002

I have just been made aware by one of our supervisors in another office that the executive director of a community organization has been pressuring one of our employees to date him. I'm told he rarely comes in to our office, but when he does he makes her feel very uncomfortable. Of course he is the top executive at this agency. I am unaware if they have a board of directors or if they do who they are.

Our supervisor says he doesn't want us to do anything about it at this point but is making us aware of it. I say since we know about it we need to do something about it. I have not spoken to the employee, only her supervisor has. The supervisor advised me that this man isn't expected to be coming to our office any time again soon. HELP

Paul in Cannon Beach · May 2002

I would conduct a confidential but thorough investigation starting by talking to the employee and getting the details. There always is two sides to the story. Start slow and don't jump to conclusions.

From everything I read these days, it seems that the employer is always better off conducting some type of investigation whey this type of information is made known to them.

What would you gain by not investigating?

[email]paulknoch@hotmail.com[/email]

Gillian · May 2002

Someone with the right political connections should tell him to back off and tell him why - a sexual harassment charge, which, given this is a community agency, wouldn't look too good in the newspaper. You, of course, are responsible for creating an harassment free environment for your employees. The supervisor who is counseling "do nothing" has his or her head in the sand. These things rarely get better.

njjel · May 2002

I have been advised that he has asked her out on a date one time only. Since this is a one time instance I'm thinking this doesn't qualify (yet) as creating a hostile environment?????

Margaret Morford · May 2002

I agree with Paul. You are on notice and need to investigate. However, don't use a railroad spike when a tack will do. If the employee says that he asked her out and she refused but he's making her uncomfortable, assure the employee you will speak to the Executive Director so that he doesn't ask her out any more. Tell her that if she has any further problems with him or any one else to let you know. Then sit down with the Director and advise him that she is not interested and that you wanted to let him know so that he didn't cause himself a problem by continuing to show interest in dating her. Document this. If he leaves her alone, then you've dealt with the conduct. If he doesn't, I think you have to go to whomever he reports to and get them to deal with the situation.

Margaret Morford
theHRedge
615-371-8200
[email]mmorford@mleesmith.com[/email]
[url]http://www.thehredge.net[/url]

njjel · May 2002

the sage continues......I'm now told that the employee doesn't want us to contact the offending party! Am I still obligated to do so?

VanEngen · May 2002

I always tell my employees in orientation, "We will investigate all claims of harassement. That means that even if you ask us not to contact the person that they feel is harassing/intimidating them, we will have to investigate, or at the very least, talk to the other individual. If we don't we're not doing our job, and we're not making sure that the actions stop...And where would that leave you? Still uncomfortable, distracted, and unable to do your job effectively."

I remind them that one of the reasons that we have the policy is to ensure that each employee can come to work not having to worry about things like this. We want them to come to work and be comfortable. Meeting with the Director sounds like an easy thing to do. I have a feeling that the individual will say he didn't even realize that he has made the woman feel uncomfortable, and that wasn't his intention.

Ignoring things only makes things worse. Look at all of the cases regarding sexual harrassment...If you do nothing and things get worse, your company will pay.

Don D · May 2002

Once a charge is recorded or a harrassment issue has surfaced, an employee's request for confidentiality or no action must fall on deaf ears in HR. Explain to her that you will investigate and will not be able to guarantee her confidentiality since you must talk to one or more people. Then go into all the detail about how you will ensure her action and will advise parties to not discuss, etc. and will do your best to ensure that those who are not involved nor have any right to be involved will not hear of the investigation. But, we have a legal obligation to the company and have no choice about whether to put on some sort of investigative hat. The harasser can be a person without power such as the coke delivery guy harassing the receptionist. We had one who never asked her out but, would lean against the wall staring at the receptionist for long periods. She was very uncomfortable and said so to him and to her supervisor. the guy laughed it off. She spoke to me about it, I spoke to him about it, he indicated he would do what he wanted to do, I called the route supervisor and reported to him that we do not want this man to return to our facility again. Problem solved. I don't think yours will go that route though. This guy will get the message and if he does not, take it to the next level. Good luck.

Paul in Cannon Beach · May 2002

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 05-03-02 AT 06:43PM (CST)[/font][p]Seems like the story has gone from "pressuring" for a date to asking for a date on just one occasion. Is it possible that this is getting blown out of proportion? Will HR get involved every time a client asks an employee out on a date?

Without knowing the particulars I wonder if this is something that could just be documented and laid to rest with a watchful eye placed on this particular executive.

[email]paulknoch@hotmail.com[/email]

Gillian · May 2002

Exactly! Now that it is a one time incident, probably the best thing to do is to advise the employee to either tell him there is no interest (maybe hard because of his position) or to let HR know if the advances continue. It is hard to know when the line is crossed between conduct that is "not liked" to conduct that is offensive.

Rockie · May 2002

Once HR knows of a concern or a complaint, then HR is obligated to take some action. Since this appears to be a one time thing, I would advise the complaining party to let the offender know in no uncertain terms, that his behavior is not welcome. I would also advise her to let you know if he doesn't back off. Make sure you document this with a followup memo to the complainant as to your conversation. Hopefully, nothing more will come of it, but at least you have yourself covered.

Hatchetman · May 2002

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 05-06-02 AT 12:17PM (CST)[/font][p]It seems we really don't know if the emplyee is complianing of either sexual harassment or why she feels uncomforatble. Has HR talked to the meplyee to get her complete account?

As others have stated, if it's one time rquest for a date, it's not sexual harassment. I'm sure she has already handled it in the way most women handle requests for dates --- "Sorry, no." The request by itself wouldn't even consitute inappropriate conduct -- in contemporary times.

It may be more interesting to find out why she feels uncomfortable in his presence. Perhaps he doesn't look "right" or she just "feels" uncomfortable with him there. You may need to wind up counseling her rather than talking to the executive director of the client agency.

B_Jackson · May 2002

I agree with those who indicated that an investigation whould be completed, however minor, documented and the Director should be informed and given instructions regarding protocol in conducting business. He should be aware that in these types of situations, the alleged offender can be sued separate from the company.

Ms Green · May 2002

If you know of a situation in which an employee is being harassed you must do something to let the employee know you have taken the complaint seriously and that such behavior will not be tolerated. DOCUMENT the complaint and the procedure you followed to resolve it and the frequency of the offensive behavior is irrelevant. The fact that the harasser is in upper management makes his behavior that much worse. You should contact the employee and ask specifically what she expects from the company that demonstrates a culture committed to a hassle-free workplace. If you fail to show your workers that you take their complaints seriously, your company will have difficulty asserting a defense against a charge later.

You should also document your preventive program (if you have one, if not get one pronto), how you communicate it to employees, any training you provide for managers and supervisors (if you don't start to think about providing it), keep written documentation of all complaints, any investigations and any remedial measures so you can document if the employee availed himself or herself of corrective opportunities provided and CALL YOUR LABOR ATTORNEY to discuss how you handled it and determine if you need to do anything else. If you are uncertain as to how to start at this point, you might want to start by talking to your labor attorney. Good luck!!!

Sexual Harassment from Ex Dir of another Agency

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