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Defending against false Harassment charge?

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What is the name of your state? FL

I am a mid-manager in a medium sized company where I've worked my way up over several decades.

A recently terminated subordinate has filed a trumped up charge of SH against the company claiming I made advances (never). No complaint was made during this person's time in our employ, but the charge was filed with the EEOC after their departure.
The termination was for cause, well documented, and will stand up. The SH charge is without merit, or evidence, and based solely on the word of this perjurer. Upper management is behind me 100%; they tell me they consider this character assassination and a bid for settlement $. They intend to contest this vigorously and tell me that several similar cases have happened and we have not yet lost a case.

Question: Am I safe to depend on the company's resources, or should I be consulting my own legal counsel to make sure my interests are protected?

Question: Are there any particulars or documentation I should insist on having? So far all I have is a photocopy of the one page complaint form filed with the EEOC.

Any other advice?

Thanks for all your help.
 


Beth3

Senior Member
1. Yes, you are most likely "safe" to depend on the company's resources. The EEOC claim is against the employer, not you personally. Should this individual actually file suit down the road, both the employer and you (and perhaps other members of management) will be named but don't cross that bridge until you get there, which may never happen. Employers aggressively need to fight bogus claims of discrimination/harassment which are little more than extortion attempts. Sounds like your employer is doing just that so relax.

2. No. The ball is entirely in your employer's court and I presume they have legal counsel involved. They should keep you in the loop as to what's going on but in most instances, once the employer responds to the initial EEOC complaint, the company won't hear anything further for many, many months unless the EEOC contacts the company asking for more information.

In the great majority if these situations, the employer's best interests and the interests of the manager who has been falsely alledged to have sexually harassed an employee are completely intertwined. Sounds like your employer is doing all the right things.
 
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Thank you Beth for your reassurance and prompt reply.

You've confirmed my thoughts, but since this is my first experience with a situation like this I wanted to be sure I was not looking through rose colored glasses.

Best regards.
 

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