Can this be reported?

[aishling3]

I have a friend who has a problem her workplace and needs professional advice. She thinks a colleague has been behaving inappropriately, due to suggestive comments he makes. She would like to report this to her superiors only she is unsure how to go about this, or under what area she would file the complaint. She is concerned that she would not be believed. She has previously confronted the colleague about remarks he made, but he used gaslighting techniques to deny this, saying that he didn't remember saying this. He also has a position of power over her.

I hope you can help. I'm not sure if I came to the right help but we are in need of advice. Thank You.

 

[cbg]

Aishling, I am asking this for a reason, and it's not the reason you'll probably assume. Do you work the same place she does?

 

[aishling3]

No

 

[Just Blue]

I have a friend who has a problem her workplace and needs professional advice. She thinks a colleague has been behaving inappropriately, due to suggestive comments he makes. She would like to report this to her superiors only she is unsure how to go about this, or under what area she would file the complaint. She is concerned that she would not be believed. She has previously confronted the colleague about remarks he made, but he used gaslighting techniques to deny this, saying that he didn't remember saying this. He also has a position of power over her.

I hope you can help. I'm not sure if I came to the right help but we are in need of advice. Thank You.

What state?

 

[aishling3]

What state?

New York

 

[cbg]

Okay. In that case, while SHE can report it if she chooses to, YOU cannot. (I'm taking your subject heading literally.) I can't say what they will do, or how they will respond, but she has a protected right under the law to report what she considers inappropriate comments. Depending on the employer's policies it might make more sense for her to go to HR than to her immediate supervisors, but if there is an established procedure for making such reports she should follow it. If there is not, I would recommend HR.

After she makes this report, if the employer takes any negative action against her or if the inappropriate comments do not stop, she will have legal recourse she can take. But it starts with making the initial report.

 

[aishling3]

Okay. In that case, while SHE can report it if she chooses to, YOU cannot. (I'm taking your subject heading literally.) I can't say what they will do, or how they will respond, but she has a protected right under the law to report what she considers inappropriate comments. Depending on the employer's policies it might make more sense for her to go to HR than to her immediate supervisors, but if there is an established procedure for making such reports she should follow it. If there is not, I would recommend HR.

After she makes this report, if the employer takes any negative action against her or if the inappropriate comments do not stop, she will have legal recourse she can take. But it starts with making the initial report.

Thank You! Yeah I changed the heading because she will be the one taking action.

 

[adjusterjack]

Fortunately for your friend NY is a one party consent state for secretly recording conversations to which she is a party.

Intercepting or unlawfully engaging in wiretapping without the consent of one party is a felony. N.Y. Penal Law §§ 250.00, 250.05. Mechanical wiretapping is illegal under the statute only when the party whose wires are tapped is not a party involved in the conversation. People v. Gibson, 23 N.Y.2d 618 (N.Y. 1969). However, a party to the conversation may surreptitiously record a conversation. Id.

https://www.rcfp.org/wp-content/uploads/imported/CANWETAPE.pdf

I suggest she secretly record these comments over a period of a few weeks and have somebody outside the workplace listen to the comments to see if they warrant any action. Then report it in writing to the appropriate person or department. If she isn't believed or there is retaliation, she'll have the recording and the written complaint. Oh, yeah, safeguard the recordings away from the office.

 

[Dandy Don]

Are there any co-workers who have also heard this man making such comments to her?

 

[aishling3]

Are there any co-workers who have also heard this man making such comments to her?

No she is always alone

 

[cbg]

All the more reason she should get what happened to her on record. If she's reported it and they take no action, she has legal recourse. If she doesn't report it, she can still take legal action but her chances of success go way down. The EEOC really, really, really wants to see the employer given a chance to fix the problem first before making any legal claims.