There should be no doubt or confusion as to how to handle a sexual harassment claim at your organization. The risks are too great… in terms of expensive law suits, company reputation and also the suffering and upset of individuals involved.
Here is the story of an actual case.
One day at work Lisa observed an incident where Jim touched another employee inappropriately. Several days later Lisa herself was the victim of Jim’s physical advances. Lisa warned Jim to never touch her again but did not report the harassment because her company’s policy stated that “she had to tell Jim to stop before bringing her complaint to management.”
But Jim did not stop and his next attempt to accost Lisa so upset her that she had to leave work. The next work day, Lisa reported the incident to her supervisor but the supervisor said nothing could be done until the operations manager returned from vacation the following week. Lisa was sent back to work in the same area as Jim. Lisa, so afraid that Jim would assault her again, had a panic attack when someone came up behind her in the supermarket. She took sick leave, started therapy, began anti-anxiety medication and never came back to work.
Management’s response? Jim was suspended with pay for two days despite a written warning in his file for similar behavior in the past.
The ruling? Lisa sued for sexual harassment and was awarded $300,000 plus more than $100,000 in attorneys’ fees.
The company mishandled the case in the following ways:
- Their harassment prevention policy was unclear and misleading. An employee can always report incidents directly to HR or management
- They tolerated unwanted touching and physical aggression as “horseplay.”
- They did not take action in a timely way. Lisa was sent back to her workstation in Jim’s area and management’s investigation of the reports did not begin for two weeks.
- They did not prepare the required proper written report.
- Reports of Jim’s previous violations never reached the general manager who doled out Jim’s “punishment” of the two-day suspension.
The bottom line for you and your company?
Make sure that managers and employees up and down the line undergo corporate compliance training so they know their legal responsibilities when incidents are brought to their attention. And make sure that employees understand their right and obligation to report incidents of harassment. Overall, it is your legal responsibility to foster and maintain a respectful workplace where your employees feel safe.
Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/corporate-compliance-training/
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