Harassing and Hostile Work Environments

[RLHK]

Missouri

I recently resigned from my position because of Harassing behavior by another employee. The harassment had occurred on several occasions throughout a two month period. It always occurred in the presence of other people, either co-workers or vendors, and was sometimes sexual, intimidating, or insulting.
I went to my manager and explained the situation to him. I was very clear and to the point with the situation and told him that at the time I did not wish to file a complaint but I did not want this person to continue to be in my office. (He had a separate office but thought that he could work more effectively in mine.) My manager stated to me the following day that this employee had been counseled and that it would not continue.
The day after that I received a phone call at home from the "harasser". He said that what I had done was not right and that if anything else were to be brought to our manager he would tell everyone what he knew about me. To which I responded that he knew nothing about me that would affect my career in any way. He said that he would begin telling people of our supposed affair and the affairs that I supposedly had with other team members. I told him that no one would believe any of this and he said that if anything happened to affect his position he would find a way to make me pay.
I returned to work the next day to a very hostile situation between this person and myself. He was still continuously in my office and was not saying anything to me but making comments about me to other people.
I resigned from my position because I felt intimidated and afraid for my personal safety. When I went to my manager with my resignation he seemed a bit surprised. He stated that this other person had come back to him telling him not to worry that we had "kissed and made up."
Since my resignation I have filed a formal statement with the company and several co-workers have on my behalf. It has been over a month since I left the company and they are still in counseling with this person. He has now made a point of telling every person who works there all about my alleged affair with him and how when he broke it off I got angry with him and left my position. He is also threatening to sue the company and everyone involved if he loses his job. If he does this will he have any right to make me testify? Also, do you believe the company handled the situation correctly?

 

[Beth3]

Yes, the company handled the situation correctly. You complained about the harassment, they investigated and counseled the guilty party.

You never reported the phone call the harasser made to your home but instead just resigned - the employer never had a chance to respond to the retalliation the harasser engaged in. Since they acted quickly on your first concern, there is no reason to believe they wouldn't have come down hard on the phone call he made - quite possibly terminating that employee. That's certainly what I would have done. When an individual who has been disciplined for harassment engages in ANY kind of retalliation, that usually results in immediate termination if the employer has their wits about them.

At this point, the entire issue of what to do about this employee (who sounds like something of a nut case) is entirely in the hands of the employer. He's their problem to deal with. You are now out of the picture.

Yes, if lawsuits start flying you could be called to testify- whether in a deposition or in court. But few threats of "I'm going to sue" ever end up in court. And when they do, it's years down the road. Plus as far as I can see from the info you've provided, if the company does terminate him, he doesn't have a leg to stand on.

 

[RLHK]

Who has the right to see my statement? Or to know what is said in my statement?

 

[Beth3]

Any written statement you gave your employer is a company-owned document and they may do with it as they please. Same goes for an investigatory notes they created.

Having conducted a number of SH investigations however, I can tell you those documents are CLOSELY guarded. They aren't even placed in anyone's personnel file, including the harasser's. Only any disciplinary action that takes place is put in an employee's file. I keep SH investigation notes and statements entirely separately and never share them with anyone except my labor attorney. In fact, for one particularly sensitive situation, I photocopied all the documents and sent them to my attorney so I could put my copies in an envelope marked "subject to attorney-client priviledge" thus making them excludable from any request for documents from the other party or their attorney.

I expect you're worried that the company may give a copy of your statement to the harasser. Since it appears your former employer knows what they're doing, I wouldn't worry about that. Even though you no longer work there, your employer has a legal obligation to handle the complaint of harssment you made while employed there appropriately.

 

[RLHK]

Thank You.