What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Maryland
Hello, I would appreciate any advice about my legal options anyone has to offer on my unfortunate and frustrating situation. Basically, I stand to possibly lose my job because of false accusations, and at the very least have my work environment turned even more unfriendly based on some gender based biases people have against me for my position.
I am a late 20s male who works for a community non-profit. My job is essentially child care. During most of the year I alternatingly staff recreational and day care areas where I work with children from as young as 6 months old, up to as much as 14 or 15 years old. When schools have a day off we have day long programs so that parents can have a place to bring their children who are too young to stay home alone. Over the summer we run a day camp program in which I also work at that time of the year. I have years of past experience working with children in similar environments, in aquatics as a swimming instructor and swim team coach.
Within the past few days a teenage volunteer from the summer working as a junior counselor made an accusation that I have been stalking her, and the matter was brought to my employer. The accusation is entirely false. I haven't so much as incidentally run into her at the grocery store, not even once. The ONLY time I ever see her is when I am at work and when she has been there either volunteering, or when she's there for own use of the facility. It appears that I now stand to lose my job over this. At the very least, it has exacerbated problems for me at work. I only work part time as it is, but my hours have just been cut back even further to insufficient levels for even my frugality. And I have to say that I am deeply offended by the very notion. Even though I have been a model employee I have constantly had to fend off one issue or another.
The majority of people who work along side me are female, and mostly are college age girls at that. The few who work during the year are working through college (incidentally which is the same as myself because I decided to go back to school and finish my degree), the others come home for the summer and work just during that season. All in all, it seems that the fact that I am a man who is very good at his job working with young children, especially the "problem" children, doesn't sit well with some people. Many of the children we work with have, shall we say, difficult family lives. Some have been abandoned by parents, have been beat in the past, some have some mild developmental issues like high functioning autism, and some have behavioral problems that have been amplified by being written off socially by their peers and even other adults in their lives as "bad" children. I put forth a great deal of my effort and energy with these kids to do as much as I can to nurture their healthy development into functional adults (or, in some cases, as functional as can be considering the already present damage). However, my efforts engendered the disfavor of many of my co-workers who have frequently complained that I make them "uncomfortable" or that I am "inappropriate" at times, even though they can never explain such comments beyond to say that "he's just different." While I don't know for sure at this point, my feeling is that this prejudiced environment and group-think, in which this 14 year old girl was immersed this summer while volunteering, was a strong contributing factor to this girl making these wild accusations of me stalking her.
As I see it, in all of this I have just been doing my job, doing it well, and producing results. But I'm a man, I'm nurturing and caring instead of standoffish, and that has been causing many people to prejudge me as some kind of predator or sexual deviant in ways that are causing my work place to become intolerable, IF I will even have a work place left a week from now.
At this moment in time I am considering the possibility of taking legal action against this 14 year old girl and her parents for slander. These false accusations were taken to two department managers at my work, and are already circulating through the rumor mill. But I am also starting to wonder whether I have a legitimate legal complaint against my employer if I do get terminated despite this accusation being bogus, for gender discrimination. Any advice is greatly appreciated.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
Hello, I would appreciate any advice about my legal options anyone has to offer on my unfortunate and frustrating situation. Basically, I stand to possibly lose my job because of false accusations, and at the very least have my work environment turned even more unfriendly based on some gender based biases people have against me for my position.
I am a late 20s male who works for a community non-profit. My job is essentially child care. During most of the year I alternatingly staff recreational and day care areas where I work with children from as young as 6 months old, up to as much as 14 or 15 years old. When schools have a day off we have day long programs so that parents can have a place to bring their children who are too young to stay home alone. Over the summer we run a day camp program in which I also work at that time of the year. I have years of past experience working with children in similar environments, in aquatics as a swimming instructor and swim team coach.
Within the past few days a teenage volunteer from the summer working as a junior counselor made an accusation that I have been stalking her, and the matter was brought to my employer. The accusation is entirely false. I haven't so much as incidentally run into her at the grocery store, not even once. The ONLY time I ever see her is when I am at work and when she has been there either volunteering, or when she's there for own use of the facility. It appears that I now stand to lose my job over this. At the very least, it has exacerbated problems for me at work. I only work part time as it is, but my hours have just been cut back even further to insufficient levels for even my frugality. And I have to say that I am deeply offended by the very notion. Even though I have been a model employee I have constantly had to fend off one issue or another.
The majority of people who work along side me are female, and mostly are college age girls at that. The few who work during the year are working through college (incidentally which is the same as myself because I decided to go back to school and finish my degree), the others come home for the summer and work just during that season. All in all, it seems that the fact that I am a man who is very good at his job working with young children, especially the "problem" children, doesn't sit well with some people. Many of the children we work with have, shall we say, difficult family lives. Some have been abandoned by parents, have been beat in the past, some have some mild developmental issues like high functioning autism, and some have behavioral problems that have been amplified by being written off socially by their peers and even other adults in their lives as "bad" children. I put forth a great deal of my effort and energy with these kids to do as much as I can to nurture their healthy development into functional adults (or, in some cases, as functional as can be considering the already present damage). However, my efforts engendered the disfavor of many of my co-workers who have frequently complained that I make them "uncomfortable" or that I am "inappropriate" at times, even though they can never explain such comments beyond to say that "he's just different." While I don't know for sure at this point, my feeling is that this prejudiced environment and group-think, in which this 14 year old girl was immersed this summer while volunteering, was a strong contributing factor to this girl making these wild accusations of me stalking her.
As I see it, in all of this I have just been doing my job, doing it well, and producing results. But I'm a man, I'm nurturing and caring instead of standoffish, and that has been causing many people to prejudge me as some kind of predator or sexual deviant in ways that are causing my work place to become intolerable, IF I will even have a work place left a week from now.
At this moment in time I am considering the possibility of taking legal action against this 14 year old girl and her parents for slander. These false accusations were taken to two department managers at my work, and are already circulating through the rumor mill. But I am also starting to wonder whether I have a legitimate legal complaint against my employer if I do get terminated despite this accusation being bogus, for gender discrimination. Any advice is greatly appreciated.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?