Victim Of Sexual Harrassment And Slander

[IlliniHimey]

I am a 38 year old male. Work as an officer/commercial lender for a bank. Resident of Illinois.

Very long and complicated story short. Since July 2006 I have been the brunt of sexual harrassment matters primarily stemming from two clients (brothers) of mine. At the same time, all incidences have happened in the presence of my supervisor. My supervisor has done nothing to try and stop the commentary. Additionally, in recent months, my supervisor has added to the insult by making lewd/sexual comments regarding my wife. Comments primarily focus on my wife and their desire to see her 'ass'.

Then, a few months ago, I was placed on a written disciplinary warning by my supervisor. Warning alledgely had to do with performance. However, as a kick start to the meeting, my supervisor informed me of an accusation made by the bank's head of Human Resources. The accusation is totally false and has been proven to my boss. However, after repeated verbal and email requests for an apology, my supervisor simply will not ask for the head of H.R. to apologize to me for the slander. It should be noted that the slander campaign occurred at an executive level meeting where I was not present. It is my opinion that the head of HR will not apologize because bank legal counsel has advised her against this. The feeling is that if she were to apologize to me, this would be admitting guilt, and thus would give me more grounds to sue.

I am now at a point where management obviously will not support me. My supervisor continues with the sexually lewd comments involving my wife. As for the HR issue and the slander, that has not changed.

Because I can not afford to be without a job, I plan on accepting an offer with a competitor shortly. However, I am not willing to let this matter die. Any thoughts/comments as to what I can do, and what I should be doing?

Thanks!

[cbg]

At the present time there is nothing to do about the accusation made by HR. Since it has not been "published" to any third party and you have not suffered any damages because of its publication, it is not, at this time, libel (slander is spoken). IF at some future time, that accusation is made publically, perhaps in a job reference, and you can show direct damages as a result of it, you will be able to take legal action then.

As far as the sexual harassment goes, however, you need to contact the EEOC RIGHT NOW and file a complaint.

[Mr. Knowitall]

Since July 2006 I have been the brunt of sexual harrassment matters primarily stemming from two clients (brothers) of mine. At the same time, all incidences have happened in the presence of my supervisor. My supervisor has done nothing to try and stop the commentary.

These are literally your brothers (siblings, same mom and dad) coming to your workplace to harass you?

[IlliniHimey]

I was not clear on the topic of brothers. The clients of mine that have been harrassing me are brothers, but not brothers of mine.

They own a company in my home town.

My apologies there.

[mitousmom]

What are "sexual harassment matters?" What is the offensive conduct of a sexual nature to which you have been subjected and by whom? How often does it occur? Have you reported the "sexual harassment matters" to HR or someone in management? Is there any connection between the "sexual harassment matters" and the accusation made by the head of Human Resources?

[IlliniHimey]

What are "sexual harassment matters?" What is the offensive conduct of a sexual nature to which you have been subjected and by whom? How often does it occur? Have you reported the "sexual harassment matters" to HR or someone in management? Is there any connection between the "sexual harassment matters" and the accusation made by the head of Human Resources?

As I see it, the two customers and my boss have been making sexually explicit comments regarding my wife for the better part of 18 months now. There appears to be no signs of stopping. As I see it, these comments have been more than offensive, because they pertain to my wife, and I certainly never asked or implied for such things to be said about my wife to me. As for the # of occurances, probably 7 in the last 18 months.

As for reporting to HR or management, I am hamstrung here. My boss is the one of the culprits, so I have no means there. Next step would be HR. The head of HR is the person on the witch hunt via the slander campaign on me. Per our harrasment policy, that really does not leave any internal recourse for me.

As for any connection between the sexual harrasment and the slander, there really is none. About the only connection is that the head of HR would be the person I would go to regarding the harrasment.

[mitousmom]

Assuming that you have told the brother clients and your boss that you find the sexual comments about your wife offensive and unwelcome and you would like them to stop - yet they continue, you can contact EEOC or the state equivalent to discuss filing a charge of sexual harassment. That the sexual comments are about your wife is really irrelevant to the question of whether you have suffered illegal sexual harassment.

I don't see any recourse under the federal EEO statutes for the comments on your performance to which you object.