Falsely Accused via Email

[Terrapin69]

So...My boss's boss sent me an email the other day and cc'd another employee; basically, the email accused me of deceptively altering the notes "lying" in our company's order tracking system. It started with the "boss" asking me to update notes in the system. After looking in the system, I saw my notes were entered last week.

I replied to his email saying that the notes were already in the system.

A few hours later, he responded and cc'd my direct supervisor with the following statement:

Just to clarify…I typically look at the orders and notes before I ask however not always. In this case I did look and they were not there. The system does note when things are changed and you appear to have added these notes after I sent the email.

Unfortunately, he failed to realize that every time you hit the "save" button in the system, it shows a record as updated whether anything was entered, changed, or not.

I went to IT and had them pull a report to indicate exactly when the notes were entered and their report, indeed, showed I was correct.

Is this slander? I was going to confront him with this evidence and proof but am wondering if I should just go directly to HR.

By the way, I have NO write-ups, nothing but positive reviews and comments from customers, etc. I have been with the company about a year and this guy has several HR reports against him for various reasons.

Any advice is welcomed.

 

[Shadowbunny]

So...My boss's boss sent me an email the other day and cc'd another employee; basically, the email accused me of deceptively altering the notes "lying" in our company's order tracking system. It started with the "boss" asking me to update notes in the system. After looking in the system, I saw my notes were entered last week.

I replied to his email saying that the notes were already in the system.

A few hours later, he responded and cc'd my direct supervisor with the following statement:

Just to clarify…I typically look at the orders and notes before I ask however not always. In this case I did look and they were not there. The system does note when things are changed and you appear to have added these notes after I sent the email.

Unfortunately, he failed to realize that every time you hit the "save" button in the system, it shows a record as updated whether anything was entered, changed, or not.

I went to IT and had them pull a report to indicate exactly when the notes were entered and their report, indeed, showed I was correct.

Is this slander? I was going to confront him with this evidence and proof but am wondering if I should just go directly to HR.

By the way, I have NO write-ups, nothing but positive reviews and comments from customers, etc. I have been with the company about a year and this guy has several HR reports against him for various reasons.

Any advice is welcomed.

First, what US state? Libel laws vary greatly by state.

Second, what were your damages?

 

[Terrapin69]

Illinois - I am really not interested in suing anyone but thought I'd ask - My main goal would be to report this to HR without retribution. But, just ti emphasize the importance of the matter, I thought I would mention the libel possibility. I have never reported to anything to an HR Dept. in all my years of working - Never.

My damages? I have no clue who else he bcc'd on the email but I know he cc'd one other employee - Couldn't one claim that my professional reputation was harmed and affected?

 

[Shadowbunny]

Illinois - I am really not interested in suing anyone but thought I'd ask - My main goal would be to report this to HR without retribution. But, just ti emphasize the importance of the matter, I thought I would mention the libel possibility. I have never reported to anything to an HR Dept. in all my years of working - Never.

My damages? I have no clue who else he bcc'd on the email but I know he cc'd one other employee - Couldn't one claim that my professional reputation was harmed and affected?

Honestly, you are being over-sensitive about this issue. I'm not sure on what basis you'd report anything to HR - this is just not that big of a deal. And reporting it to HR would make you appear to be out-of-touch with work norms.

And there is NO guarantee that if you did report this incident that you wouldn't suffer repercussions. You're in an at-will state -- you can be fired for any reason that isn't prohibited by law.

 

[cbg]

Coming to you straight from HR: If you really want to paint a picture of yourself with upper management as someone who wants HR to fight your battles for you and can't play nicely in the sandbox with others unless you're supervised, reporting this to HR is a really good way of going about it.

 

[Terrapin69]

So this guy, who has been reported on several times, has had to apologize to many other employees, and was hired an executive coach and is generally not-liked, can shoot off emails accusing others of dishonesty? I find that difficult to believe but I appreciate the comments and advice.

I am not looking to sue anyone, trust me, just want this guy to show his team the respect we give to him and this was the last straw.

Should I, at least, confront him and let him know that I don't appreciate being called a liar? He's also been making my work-life miserable for the past several weeks and I am unsure why. We have never had an argument or "bad" words.

 

[LdiJ]

So this guy, who has been reported on several times, has had to apologize to many other employees, and was hired an executive coach and is generally not-liked, can shoot off emails accusing others of dishonesty? I find that difficult to believe but I appreciate the comments and advice.

I am not looking to sue anyone, trust me, just want this guy to show his team the respect we give to him and this was the last straw.

Should I, at least, confront him and let him know that I don't appreciate being called a liar? He's also been making my work-life miserable for the past several weeks and I am unsure why. We have never had an argument or "bad" words.

Go ahead and pull together your proof and squirrel it away in case you might need it some day, but otherwise you really just need to let your direct supervisor know that you did indeed do what you were supposed to do. You might even ask your direct supervisor if you have somehow done something to offend his boss. Otherwise, you simply need to let it go.

 

[Terrapin69]

Thanks all for the advice...

 

[commentator]

You are a little over-involved with the drama of the moment and of this one particular workplace. Your pride is injured. Not all bosses are good, not all are fair and not all will appreciate you, even if you are trying very hard. And yes, even if he is a no good, who is making many mistakes (he may not be around forever anyway!) it is legal for him to ride you or accuse you falsely.

And you must remember that being accused of something falsely in the workplace is not uncommon, is certainly not illegal, and in the long run, isn't really important. Be professional. Be un-dramatic. Do your best. Let everyone understand you are doing your best. If you did something that made your supervisor angry (even if he did accuse you of something false) don't over react. You know you didn't do something wrong. So move on, as if it was the nothing it was. If he "rides your case" or picks at you, he's obviously expecting you to respond, become angry, confront him. Defeat that by being calm, controlled and very positive. "I"m sorry, I didn't understand. Exactly what is it that you are upset about?" Be sure to emphasize that you want to do the job right, that you are doing the job to the best of your abilities, and if there is a problem, he has it, not you. "
That said, keep careful documentation of what he has said and done to single you out, dates and times of confrontations or accusations from him, in case you do have to take things further later.

As I consistently advise in all workplace issues, DO NOT discuss this situation or what you are going to do about it or how you feel about it or what a jerk he is with your co workers. Do not become the "Norma Rae" of this workplace. Don't be the lightning rod that this bad boss strikes at because you're sticking up. Those are the people who find themselves let go, quickly and legally.

Going to HR is no big deal, nothing wrong with discussing something with them, except that in this particular case, it sounds like tattle-taling by someone who has blown something out of proportion and expects someone else to help them stand up for themselves. Really, no standing up for yourself is necessary at this point, nothing has happened except that you continue to stew about it.

HR works for the company, not for the individual employee, and they're much more likely to think it important if your supervisor writes you up or does some sort of disciplinary action against you. That your boss two levels up hurt your feelings and falsely accused you in a workplace detail is not the hill to throw your whole job on and fight for it.