Accused of Sexual Harassment
My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: Sacramento, CA
A former employee of our small business is trying to sue us for "hostile work environment" There are two owners to this business, and the lawsuit is against one of the owners and the corporation. The ex-employee claims that there were things said by one of the owners in the workplace. It is completely untrue and fabricated, and we are sure that this employee is just trying to get money from us. (She filed for sexual harassment at another business in the past). We did not fire her, she left on her own. We are still only a small clothing business and just starting out with not a lot of profit yet, and we cannot afford to pay lawyers at this moment, nor does our insurance cover this. This employee never complained to any other supervisors about this issue, and there was no indication that any behavior in the workplace was unwelcome. In fact, she was at times inappropriate herself by telling dirty jokes.
So my question is, since she is suing both the other owner and the corporation, what can be done to limit the damage in our case? It doesn't seem fair that we should have to pay thousands in lawyer fees to protect us from something that we did not do because this employee is trying to get money for herself and spite us.
Re: Accused of Sexual Harassment
How many employees does this company have?
Also, how is she "trying to sue" the owner and the corporation? Have you received a letter from the EEOC? From an attorney? An official notice of court date?
When did this employee leave your company? What was the reason she gave at the time? How long was she employed there?
Sorry to bombard you like this but we need the answers to these questions in order to form the best advice we can for you.
Re: Accused of Sexual Harassment
If you want to avoid paying thousands of dollars for lawyers when you are sued, you need to insure your business. If you choose to go bare for this type of claim, the business gets to pay the legal fees out of its coffers.
Have you in fact been sued, or is this merely a EEOC complaint or a threat to sue?
Re: Accused of Sexual Harassment
Our business has insurance, but sexual harassment is not covered under it.
So far we have only received the "right to sue" notice.
Re: Accused of Sexual Harassment
You got a copy of the "right to sue" letter that was sent to the employee? This should have been from the DEFH, if anyone, because you don't have enough employees to be covered by federal anti-discrimination laws.
You haven't been sued yet.
Re: Accused of Sexual Harassment
I dont have the letter with me at the moment, but I know the letter was from her attorney. I know I haven't been sued yet but I would like to be prepared.
I also read somewhere about the federal laws not applying to businesses with less than 15 employees, but I also read that it is only in some states, and that in California it does not matter how many employees you have. Is this true? Because if thats the case then we would be off the hook.
Here is something I found online from equalrights.org (http://www.equalrights.org/publications/kyr/shwork.asp)
"Federal Law
The federal law prohibiting sexual harassment in the workplace is Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, as amended.The law makes certain employers responsible for preventing and stopping sexual harassment that occurs on the job.
Title VII applies to private and most public employers, labor organizations, employment agencies, and joint employer-union apprenticeship programs with 15 or more employees.
California State Law
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) prohibits sexual harassment in employment.FEHA applies to private public employers, employment agencies, labor organizations, state licensing boards, and state and local governments that have 1 or more employees.Unlike Title VII, FEHA provides protection against sexual harassment for persons who provide services pursuant to a contract."
Re: Accused of Sexual Harassment
Exactly, which is why I said what I did. I honestly don't know whether the employer gets copied on the right-to-sue letter.
But if you've gotten something from an attorney, it might just be a ploy to get a settlement to make her go away.
At this point, honestly, you cannot afford NOT to have legal counsel.
Re: Accused of Sexual Harassment
As I told you in your other thread on the same subject, you need an attorney to help you decide which of the following would be cheaper:
- Settling.
- Fighting.
Re: Accused of Sexual Harassment
Ok here is another question. What if the owner sells his share in the company and is no longer a part of it. I am assuming since the lawsuit will probably be brought up against the corporation then that probably wont be very effective. My other question is, what if we sold the business altogther, would the lawsuit transfer to the new owner? (By the way, I'm not selling the business just because of the lawsuit, we have been wanting to sell it for a while now)
Re: Accused of Sexual Harassment
This type of lawsuit is always against the company. If you sell the company, the lawsuit will remain against the company, it will not transfer to the new owner - again, because the lawsuit is never against the owner (old or new), it's always against the company, no matter who owns it.
However, please note that by law, pending lawsuits must be disclosed by the vendors to the would-be purchasers during the due diligence process. If you don't disclose this situation to a would-be purchaser, you will be sued, and you will lose.