false accusation of harassment

What is the name of your state? SC

I recently underwent the indignity of being falsely accused of sexual harassment. The young lady seems to be overly suspicious and paranoid. As her supervisor I must interact with her and direct her, but I strongly suspect she will bring other unwarranted accusations.

What are my rights if I am falsely accused? What are my rights if I am falsely accused more than once? What can or should my company do in such a circumstance?

What did you do to upset her? Is it possible for you to deal with her a bit more sensitively, since she seems "paranoid" to you? Perhaps there's a reason she's paranoid. Maybe you just need to have a talk with her and open the lines of communication so she won't feel threatened. And if you said something that could be considered "borderline" appropriate, then you should probably keep a little further away from that line in your dealings with her.

Grampa said:

What is the name of your state? SC

I recently underwent the indignity of being falsely accused of sexual harassment. The young lady seems to be overly suspicious and paranoid. As her supervisor I must interact with her and direct her, but I strongly suspect she will bring other unwarranted accusations.

What are my rights if I am falsely accused? What are my rights if I am falsely accused more than once? What can or should my company do in such a circumstance?

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The FIRST and ONLY rule as a supervisor is that you never have private, one-on-one interaction with an employee who is female if it involves discipline or other borderline actions.

Always ask another female supervisor or co-worker to witness the interaction.

What did I do?

Reading my first post, I realize how little I said about the situation.
I am a restaurant assistant manager. The person who made the accusation against me is a cashier. I am a 52 year old white male. She is a 30 year old black female. She accused me of inappropriate touching. She claims I put my hand on her backside and slid it downwards while she was at the register. We have 8 video cameras positioned around the restaurant - and two are focused on the register.
She claims I did this on a Monday evening - she was off on Tuesday and I was off on Wednesday & Thursday. I got a call from the area supervisor on Friday morning at home informing me of the allegation. I told her thatI was completely unaware of touching her at any time - but the only possibility was when for a few minutes I had worked beside the woman while at the checkout - she had a long line of customers waiting to checkout - and most of them were using credit cards. I asked her to leave the drawer open and I would take the cash customers - reducing the line and the wait for all customers.
I also asked my supervisor (not in a threatening manner) that if this had supposedly occured on Monday - why was I being informed of it so late. I also asked her why she had not viewed the video. the video is computerized and can be accessed remotely - even if the suprervisor is in another state.
She (the supervisor) and the manager both viewed the tape in detail and couild find absolutely nothing inappropriate in my actions.
But the accuser seems hostile - doesn't believe it - and is threatening to go to the police.

Everything involving my employees is right out in the open - either visible by camera or other employees. If I have something to discuss with an employee - I ask them to sit with me at a booth - nothing is hidden where I could be accused of inappropriate activites.

My boss didn't think me capable of the allegations to begin with - and was relieved by the evidence of the video. But the allegation remains and the tension remains.

Any advice?

Thanks.

If you haven't been harmed by her actions, you have no case for anything against her. Just make sure that your actions with her are appropriate in the future and that the cameras can be your witness. There's not much you can do about the fact that she's hostile; as long as you don't do anything wrong or questionable, she shouldn't be able to do any damage to you.

Grampa said:

But the accuser seems hostile - doesn't believe it - and is threatening to go to the police.

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Even if you had done what she claimed, AND YOU HAVE VIDEO PROOF YOU DIDN'T, the allegation that you Rubbed her ass for a moment over her clothing is not going to get very far with the police.

My boss didn't think me capable of the allegations to begin with - and was relieved by the evidence of the video. But the allegation remains and the tension remains.

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An internal investigation has cleared you.

Follow the rules of the road, and maybe she will soon quit or be fired.