sexual harassment?

What is the name of your state? Florida
I work for the local school district and had an incident with a bus driver, that was abrassive and had grabbed his crotch area, jerked his hand up and down and told me to "work this." I'm curious as to what others think I should do and if anyone else feels this is sexual harassment.

That was clearly an act of sexual harassment, and probably also a violation of the school district's rules against lude behavior. There is no question in my mind that if proven the bus driver would be fired. The problem is that unless you have a witness it's your word against his. If there is a history of other unproven claims against him there might eventually be something done if you do contibute to that list. I would like to say that you should report this incident immediately, however you have to decide based on whether you want to go through the hoops without much chance of success. Do you have a cell phone with camera? In the future if you expext to run into this guy have it ready in your hand and try to get a pic of him making the gesture.

Thanks!

bisjoe said:

That was clearly an act of sexual harassment, and probably also a violation of the school district's rules against lude behavior. There is no question in my mind that if proven the bus driver would be fired. The problem is that unless you have a witness it's your word against his. If there is a history of other unproven claims against him there might eventually be something done if you do contibute to that list. I would like to say that you should report this incident immediately, however you have to decide based on whether you want to go through the hoops without much chance of success. Do you have a cell phone with camera? In the future if you expext to run into this guy have it ready in your hand and try to get a pic of him making the gesture.

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Thanks....although I felt it was sexual harassment, it sometimes helps to hear from others. I did report it to the school principal, who in turn, sent it to the director of transportation. That's where it seems to have stopped...haven't heard from this person at all, and certainly don't want this situation to be swept under the carpet. Oh, and there were at least two witnesses, that were kind enough to give me statements.

I'm just curious as to how far I can push this...

Where did this incident occur and what is the working relationship between you and the bus driver? And while, the incident was offensive, unwelcome and of a sexual nature, you haven't presented enough information to assess whether it's illegal sexual harassment under federal law.

You complained about the incident. Assuming the incident occurred in your working environment, if the school system conducts an inquiry into the incident and there is no recurrence of such an incident with the bus driver, it's unlikely that you have a claim of illegal sexual harassment for which there is a remedy. That you haven't heard from the bus driver is a good thing. If I were the employer, I'd tell him not to talk with you and stay out of your presence.

Whether the incident is a dischargeable offense depends upon the school district's policies and rules.

To answer your question, you've pushed it as far as you should.

jbm1955 said:

What is the name of your state? Florida
I work for the local school district and had an incident with a bus driver, that was abrassive and had grabbed his crotch area, jerked his hand up and down and told me to "work this." I'm curious as to what others think I should do and if anyone else feels this is sexual harassment.

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**A: buy him a tube of KY and tell him to work it himself. Then say I only work on larger projects.

While HomeGuru's suggestion is probably how I would have reacted, there is some danger to doing so. Such conduct of sexual nature becomes harassing if it's unwelcome and offensive. A retort such as HomeGuru's may bring into question whether you found the comment unwelcome or offensive.

mitousmom said:

While HomeGuru's suggestion is probably how I would have reacted, there is some danger to doing so. Such conduct of sexual nature becomes harassing if it's unwelcome and offensive. A retort such as HomeGuru's may bring into question whether you found the comment unwelcome or offensive.

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**A: I would like to know the complete story behind this incident.

With witnesses I think you have a good case, if not for sexual harassment as legally defined, certainly behavior that cannot be tolerated by someone working with children.
Without "pushing it" I think you have every right to ask your principal to get you an update
if only to find out that it's "under investigation."

Under the definition of sexual harassment someone can try just about anything once, but when the "victim" indicates that it is not wanted, they have to stop. That's why I would be more concerned about such behavior by a school bus driver on school property.

bisjoe said:

With witnesses I think you have a good case, if not for sexual harassment as legally defined, certainly behavior that cannot be tolerated by someone working with children.
Without "pushing it" I think you have every right to ask your principal to get you an update
if only to find out that it's "under investigation."

Under the definition of sexual harassment someone can try just about anything once, but when the "victim" indicates that it is not wanted, they have to stop. That's why I would be more concerned about such behavior by a school bus driver on school property.

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You are making one hell of a lot of assumptions.

Take a breath and wait for the rest of the story.

Without "pushing it" I think you have every right to ask your principal to get you an update
if only to find out that it's "under investigation."

Please specify under what law the employee is granted this right.

This is from the EEOC:

"Dornhecker v. Malibu Grand Prix Corp., 828 F.2d 307, 309-10, 44 EPD ¶ 37,557 (5th Cir. 1987) (the employer's remedy may be "assessed proportionately to the seriousness of the offense"). The employer should make follow-up inquiries to ensure the harassment has not resumed and the victim has not suffered retaliation.""

If this has not happened the victim should be able to ask for this follow-up, and also has the right to take the complaint directly to the EEOC if not satisfied that the supervisor is handling it appropriately.

This is further info from them:

"The victim should inform the harasser that the conduct is unwelcome and must stop, either through words or through conduct which demonstrates that the harassment is unwelcome. This is necessary to ensure that the person is not operating under the mistaken belief that the conduct at issue is not unwlecome.
The victim should also use any employer complaint mechanism or grievance system available.
If these methods are ineffective, the victim should contact the EEOC or a similar state agency."

Also it indicates that the victim can file a personal lawsuit against the employer if it is not dealt with.

bisjoe said:

This is from the EEOC:

"Dornhecker v. Malibu Grand Prix Corp., 828 F.2d 307, 309-10, 44 EPD ¶ 37,557 (5th Cir. 1987) (the employer's remedy may be "assessed proportionately to the seriousness of the offense"). The employer should make follow-up inquiries to ensure the harassment has not resumed and the victim has not suffered retaliation.""

If this has not happened the victim should be able to ask for this follow-up, and also has the right to take the complaint directly to the EEOC if not satisfied that the supervisor is handling it appropriately.

This is further info from them:

"The victim should inform the harasser that the conduct is unwelcome and must stop, either through words or through conduct which demonstrates that the harassment is unwelcome. This is necessary to ensure that the person is not operating under the mistaken belief that the conduct at issue is not unwlecome.
The victim should also use any employer complaint mechanism or grievance system available.
If these methods are ineffective, the victim should contact the EEOC or a similar state agency."

Also it indicates that the victim can file a personal lawsuit against the employer if it is not dealt with.

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Oh brother!

HomeGuru said:

**A: I would like to know the complete story behind this incident.

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The full story: I work with special needs children and was helping them load onto buses to go home. The driver in question, failed to stop for the loading bus that had it's red lights and stop sign out. Once this bus passed, ignoring my attempt to stop, by holding my hand up in a motion to stop him; of which he ignored and continued driving past. I walked down to where the bus stopped, and before I could say a word, this driver came jumping off his bus in an aggitated manner.

I reminded him that it's unlawful to pass a bus with it's red lights flashing, which was loading children. He told me to do my job, (which I was) and told him I was and suggested that he do his in a professional manner...this is when he grabbed his crotch, thrusted it towards me, jerked his hand up and down and told me to "work this." At that point, I told him that I intended to report him and walked away.

Others watching this felt that this driver was demonstrating such an aggressive attitude that one of them ran for help from my immediate supervisor...and I did tell him what happened.

It's been two weeks since the incident, and aside from my principal reporting it to the transportation director...I've not been contacted by anyone.

Does this help?

Yes, but it does not change my response. You complained about behavior you considered sexually offensive. [Aggressive behavior, in and of itself, doesn't violate the federal anti-discrimination laws.] It is up to the school system to conduct an inquiry and to take steps to ensure that the sexually offensive behavior doesn't recur. If you provided a statement and there were witnesses, there may be no need for the school system to contact you during the inquiry. Your employer is not required to provide you with information on the outcome of its inquiry.

Let the process work.

As much as you want to know the bad guy was disciplined – it’s out of your hands. As it should be. Let the process work. The school district’s Human Resources department knows exactly what to do in these types of situations. I’m sure you’ve already been told not to talk about the incident with any of the witnesses or to talk about it in general.

HR may not have contacted you because they already had enough information about the incident. If you interfere with the HR process, you may find yourself compromising their investigation. You may also find yourself sitting across from HR explaining your actions.