How to Defend Yourself Against False Harassment Charges

How to Defend Yourself Against False Harassment ChargesHow to Defend Yourself Against False Harassment ChargesSexual harassment can cause a real problem at work. Sexual harassment comes not only in the form of quid pro quo (If you sleep with me, youll get the promotion), but in the form of inappropriate jokes, pornography on office computers, and touching someone who doesnt want to be touched, in a sexual or suggestive way. When an employee reports a claim of sexual harassment, the company is obligated to investigate. Normally that responsibility falls on the shoulders of the Human Resources department, but the investigation can be handled by an outside person, frequently an attorney, if the company doesnt have a dedicated HR department or person. Some companies will choose to bring in a consultant or an attorney, in any case, to investigate such a claim because of concerns about impartiality. This is also fairly standard if the accused is a senior manager because of the difficulty i nternal managers will have in doing a solid investigation. Depending on the seriousness of the accusation, a company may suspend the accused person from work until the investigation is complete. All of these actions are normal and how an investigation should proceed. The best course of action if youre guilty of sexually harassinga coworker is to confess, apologize, promise never to do it again, and hope you dont get fired. But, what if youre not guilty? False accusations do happen and it could be two completely different perspectives about what actually did happen. If you are wrongly accused, here is what you need to do. Cooperate With the Investigation Because youre innocent, instinctively your first reaction may be to push back and stonewall the investigation. It may be that the person who accused you is a competitive person determined to destroy your career because theyre vying for your job. They may also be seeking publicity or notoriety. While these issues are possible, you should still cooperate with the investigation You need to cooperate because theyre going to investigate with you or without you. You want your side of the story on the record and you want to clear your name. You also want to provide your list of witnesses, especially if your accuser is a horrible person, you dont want the witness list to consist of your enemies. You need the witness list to contain the names of friends and colleagues who can back up your side of the story. Confess What You Did Do Wrong Some sexual harassment claims come after a ?breakup of what was a consensual sexual relationship. If your company has a policy against bosses dating reporting staffor coworkers dating and you did have a sexual relationship with your accuser, dont lie about it. Eventually, management will findout so just confess that you dated and explain for how long. Will they still fire you for breaking the rules? Maybe, but youshould have been aware of that when you started the relationship. A dditionally, you want to get your name cleared- its far better to be fired for breaking the rules then for committing sexual harassment. If a coworker walked past your cubicle and saw naked women on your computer screen, its likely the IT department already knows about itso lying wont help your case In fact, they probably already had IT look into this before they spoke with you. The key here is to confess what you did wrong. Yes, I viewed pornography on my company laptop, but I only did it at home. If you look at the time stamps, youll see that what Jane is complaining about couldnt have happened at work. Apologize, Even If You Are Innocent Your joke wasnt inappropriate its just that a coworker who is incredibly thin-skinned thought it was. If this is the case apologize anyway. You werent looking somewhere other than into a colleagues eyes. Apologize anyway. Why? Because sexual harassment law dictates this. It doesnt say, you cant tell dirty jokes, pinch someones behind, or have sex with your assistant. What it does say is, you cant do any of these things if they are unwanted and the person is offended, and a reasonable person would be offended.For the behavior to be considered sexual harassment, the behavior must exhibit all three of these conditions. The problem is, you dont always know what is unwanted until you carry out the behavior. So, apologize and make a mental note that this person is a lot more sensitive than the average person. Let that guide your future interactions. Hire an Attorney This is not always necessary. Most of the time, the truth will come out rather rapidly, and the investigation will clear up the charges. However this doesnt always happen, and if the accusations are serious, you could lose your job and your reputation over this accusal. When the HR department investigates the claim, they arent required to do so according to criminal court rules. There isnt an impartial jury or a judge that rules on evidence as admissible or in admissible. They have a legal obligation to conduct a fair investigation but they arent required to conduct a perfect one. If the accusation is serious enough that you could lose your job over it, you may wish to hire an attorney. If you do, its critical that the attorney is one who focuses on employment law, particularly employee-side employment law. This isnt something that just any lawyer can do. Employment law is complex, and if youre going to hire an attorney, you want a specialist. (www.Nela.orgcan refer you to an employment attorney in your area.) This vorkaufsrecht costs money, of course, and youll have to pay out of your own pocket. Regardless, the cost should be less than the cost of losing your job. Your attorney will know the specific laws in your state or country. He or she will guide you through the process. What Happens When the Investigation Is Over? If the investigation finds you responsible, youll receive some sort of punishment. The punishment can range from a stern, Do not do this again, to the termination of your employment. If you believe the termination is unfair and unfounded, youll want your attorney to negotiate an exit from the company. Its possible if you are found guilty of sexual harassment that you can still get a severance package and make an agreement that they will provide you with a neutral reference. If the investigation finds that you are not at fault, the accuser could get anything from a were sorry about the misunderstanding, but what you experienced was not sexual harassment, to a stern do not do this again. If egregious, the accuser could even find their employment terminated. Yes, companies can fire you for making false claims. If both of you remain at the company, you may wish not to work near this person. You can certainly ?ask for a transfer, but your managers may tell you to act like an adult and deal with this situation. If you think this proximity is too difficult for you to handle, by all means, start lookin g for a new job and leave your employment. The last thing you want is for this sexual harassment charge to haunt you for the rest of your life. Moving on seems unfair, especially if you are the innocent party, but sometimes its the best solution to a schwimmbad situation. - - - - - - - - - - - - Suzanne Lucas is a freelance journalist specializing in Human Resources. Suzannes work has been featured on notes publications including Forbes, CBS, Business Insider and Yahoo.