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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Posts
    1

    Default Wrongly Accused of Workplace Sexual Harrassment

    My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: CA

    First off, I'm new to the forums, nice to meet you all

    I've looked through many posts to see if any were similar to my situation, but if possible I'd like a more direct observation from the community.

    Insight:
    At an outing that our company had, I purchased and drank some beer with several employees. There wasn't any inappropriate touching, or comments made that night, and I didn't even want to drink with them! They bugged me for atleast an hour before I gave in and purchased the beer, bc I felt it would increase the rapport between myself and employee.

    At work, I did not approve of what the employee was wearing. She had on a leotard/spandex type of pants, which almost looked like an undergarment, and almost see thru! Our company dress code is clearly stated in the policy (black/blue jeans or shorts, with logo shirt/sweater), so I asked her not to wear that to work again. Mind you, this policy was designed to help prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. When asked why, I told her "its inapropriate for work because I can almost see through."

    1st question: Are any of the above considered sexual harassment?

    Background:
    I am a manager at a retail food business. I've had many great employees, but this particular employee was very troublesome. She's was always very abrasive towards me, and accused me of always yelling at her. I did in fact scold her several times but in no way did I actually yell at her. Each time I addressed her for not completing her tasks (which I do to all my employees), she would always break down and cry. In no way did I attack her personality, character, or was I aggressive/mean to her. Being a fairly large person, I felt I might've been intimidating her so I eased off a bit. I let her do her work at her own pace, etc until she crossed the line. She was observed to be sleeping at work for a period of ~15 minutes. In our company policy, it is clearly noted that sleeping on the job is never allowed. With this, I submitted my request for dismissal of the employee based on this particular event, compounded by many prior infractions (for which she was on probation for) of our company policy, and received approval to let her go.

    Let me remind you, I act the same way to each and every employee that I supervise. I do not have favorites, or dislike any of my employees. To this date, I'm sure all my former and current employees can say good things about me, with the exception of 2-3 that can't comprehend that the reason they were let go was due to their own actions and mistakes.

    The Situation and Final Question:
    Now, I was alerted in the past by this employee that she was going to file a sexual harassment charge vs me. All i said was go ahead, and please do not contact me from here on out. After recieving unemployment for 6 months, and then getting the award reversed (because I had been reporting to the EDD), she attempted to contact me. She left several voicemail's begging to tell the EDD that she was laid off so she can collect unemployment, or that she would file a sexual harrasment lawsuit against me. Now, her boyfriend/fiance is calling asking to settle out of court. From what other employee's have stated to me, her and her boyfriend are both meth addicts. When I learned this, I began to understand her attitude, and the work performance issues that were happening.

    Ultimately, I feel that I'm being wrongfully accused of sexually harassment. First off, I'm not even attracted to this person. Second, all of my employees, except this one can say that I never sexually harassed them (when I say all, I mean 100+ former and current employees). So the ultimate questions for all of this is:

    Can I adequately defend myself without an attorney?
    Can I win the case?
    and If I could win, could I countersue for attorneys expenses, slander, and lost time from work?


    Thanks in advance, and so sorry for the super long post

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: Wrongly Accused of Workplace Sexual Harrassment

    The only "action" that has been taken to date is that, six months after being fired, this person whom you characterize as a meth addict has stated that if you don't give her money she's going to sue you?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Posts
    1

    Default Re: Wrongly Accused of Workplace Sexual Harrassment

    Also remember, Sexual Harassment is not against the law for the employee himself/herself, but it's charged against the employer. There are crimes such as Sexual Assault that are directed at an individual, but this is clearly not the case here.

  4. #4

    Default Re: Wrongly Accused of Workplace Sexual Harrassment

    First, it is not clear you have consulted with upper management. Human Resources and/or some other department in the corporate structure should handle this matter, not you alone.

    Second, nothing in your description suggests that you sexually harassed your former employee. Moreover, you should not have to engage a lawyer for yourself. Based on the facts you presented, your employer would likely assign or otherwise retain counsel to represent your interests and the company’s interests in the unlikely scenario in which she actually initiates a sexual harassment complaint.

    Third, Human Resources may direct you to contact the police. By threatening you directly with a bogus civil suit in order to receive unemployment insurance under false pretenses, this drug addicted couple may have engaged in criminal extortion and/or other violations.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Massachusetts
    Posts
    24,521

    Default Re: Wrongly Accused of Workplace Sexual Harrassment

    Is there some reason why you are responding to a thread that has been dormant for nearly two months?

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