Unbelievable Harassment

“Joan made a sexual harassment claim against Bob a few months ago. At the time, I didn’t take it seriously because it was so unbelievable based on knowing Bob for a great many years. I did have a generic conversation with Bob about our sexual harassment policy but didn’t tell him what Joan said. Now, Sarah has made a claim about Bob and I’m worried I mishandled this from the beginning. What can I do to fix this?”

My HR Survival Tip

You can’t go back in time but you can go forward and do things right this time. While the whole matter of sexual harassment and investigations is too much to go into in this article, there are a few things to remember when you do have a claim:

• Thank Joan and Sarah for informing you and let them know you will investigate.
• Don’t apologize or place blame… you don’t yet know what really happened.
• Don’t do anything that could appear to be retaliation against Joan or Sarah… consider them in a protected bubble.
• Realize it’s time to talk with a professional to ensure you handle the claim correctly.

Upon hearing a claim from anyone about anyone, you are responsible for investigating the claim in some way… consider it your due diligence of ensuring your employees are able to work in an environment free from harassment.

The fact that you didn’t conduct an initial investigation could work against you if this claim ever ended up in court. The judge and jury looks at how much time has passed between your first awareness of an issue to the time you actually took action. The longer that period, the worse it can be for you.

Both the state and federal governments take harassment claims very seriously and so should you. Your employee could file the claim with the DFEH (Department of Fair Employment and Housing) and the state will investigate you at no cost to the employee. Also, this is the one area where a manager can be personally sued in addition to suing the company.

While conducting a formal investigation and getting legal advice will cost you a little money, not handling a claim properly could potentially cost you much more.