we've been railroaded

[weneedhelpfast]

What is the name of your state? NC
a complaint was filed with my employer stating my boyfriend lost his temper in the conversation we had last night. someone said he was yelling, cursing, throwing things and he looked as if he was gonna hit me. this couldn't have been farther from the truth.
a manager and supervisor interegated me. they asked if it happened. i said no, and explained to them the extent of our conversation. they proceeded to ask me if i was sexually harrassed and i said no. they interegated a coworker shortly after that. he gave the same testimony. then, they cornered my b/f and proceeded to investigate a sexual harrassment issue in my name that i did not file!!!!! his name has been defemated as has mine. we have been involved in a sexual harrassment ivestigation based soley on hearsay. all of this took place without personnels knowledge. i questioned personnel as to why was this taking place without my complaint, and they said, they only was aware of the original complaint. they supervisor and manager clearly did not follow procedure because the interegations should have never taken place. it was false accusations. he wanted to file harrassment charges against management but they have yet to comply.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

What is the name of your state? NC
a complaint was filed with my employer stating my boyfriend lost his temper in the conversation we had last night. someone said he was yelling, cursing, throwing things and he looked as if he was gonna hit me. this couldn't have been farther from the truth.
a manager and supervisor interegated me. they asked if it happened. i said no, and explained to them the extent of our conversation. they proceeded to ask me if i was sexually harrassed and i said no. they interegated a coworker shortly after that. he gave the same testimony. then, they cornered my b/f and proceeded to investigate a sexual harrassment issue in my name that i did not file!!!!! his name has been defemated as has mine. we have been involved in a sexual harrassment ivestigation based soley on hearsay. all of this took place without personnels knowledge. i questioned personnel as to why was this taking place without my complaint, and they said, they only was aware of the original complaint. they supervisor and manager clearly did not follow procedure because the interegations should have never taken place. it was false accusations. he wanted to file harrassment charges against management but they have yet to comply.

My response:

I don't see any questions asking for a specific legal opinion. So, all I can say is, "Thank you for your wonderful and heart-wrenching story".

Also, I just love your word, "defemated". I have no idea what it is, or means, but it sounds terrific and should be a word.

IAAL

 

[weneedhelpfast]

my question is, is what are my rights as far as failure to comply with proper procedure.
defemated/slander.... what was said about my b/f was false, so his name has been defemated...

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

my question is, is what are my rights as far as failure to comply with proper procedure.
defemated/slander.... what was said about my b/f was false, so his name has been defemated...

My response:

Oh, now I see what you mean.

The word is "defamation" - - which is the overall word that describes "libel" and "slander" - - libel being the "written" form of defamation, and slander being the verbal form of defamation.

The most widely used phrase is "defamation of character."

IAAL

 

[Beth3]

Your boyfriend has no legal basis to file harassment charges against the employer. The managers involved may have jumped the gun and may have failed to contact HR as I expect company policy dictates but they were still conducting a "good faith" investigation to determine whether they had a sexual harassment situation on their hands to deal with.

It does not matter a bit whether you filed a formal complaint or not. If information reaches an employer by any means that there might be a problem, the employer has a legal obligation to investigate and make a determination.

 

[weneedhelpfast]

ok, but personnel admitted that the manager was in the wrong...
so, i am just supposed to sit back and let them say what they want!!! i read somewhere that i could sue for character defemation.
there were no statements taken, circumstances pending, he feels he was being railroaded...

 

[weneedhelpfast]

what constitutes "good faith?" i told them nothing happened yet they chose to broadcast the investigation...

 

[weneedhelpfast]

furthermore, as serious as the claim was, what are the repercutions for the false accusations?
what are the repercutions for the policies not being adhered to?
why do we have them?

 

[Beth3]

Okay, so the managers were wrong to jump the gun. That's a violation of company policy/procedure, not the basis for legal action. Any repercussions for company policy not being adhered to is ENTIRELY up to the employer to decide. You and your boyfriend have absolutely no say in the matter.

What I mean by "good faith" is that the managers investigated the claim with good intentions. That is, they believed there may be a legitimate SH situation and that's why they did what they did. They did not have any malicious intent. The managers did not "broadcast" the investigation - they spoke to those specific individuals who they believed had information that was pertinent to the investigation.

Look, you simply have NO basis to take legal action against the employer. Period.

Your boyfriend *might* have a suit for defamation against the person who told the company about the argument IF he can prove the following - and be advised this is a civil cause of action and the burden of proof is entirely on him.

1. That the person knowingly lied;
2. That they did so maliciously;
3. That the lies were broadcast to an audience; and
4. That he has suffered actual damages as a result. (Embarassment is not damages.)