worker rights to privacy regarding sexuall harrassment

[hihowsitgoin]

What is the name of your state? massachussetts

I work at a local fast food restaraunt. I was recently reprimanded for sexuall harrassment. The claims were a misunderstanding due to my sometimes hard to read personality but that is not the problem. The problem with the situation is that- a) I was not asked my side of things and in fact there was in no way, shape, or form an investigation- she mearly walked up to me and began reprimanding me in an accusatory tone. She did not enlighten me as to what about my behavior offended and in fact, although there was only one sixteen year old there, I was not told who I had offended beyond "she's only sixteen", b) I was reprimanded in a public environment-i.e in front of my register with a fellow employee and customers all within earshot and c) especially considering the nature of the allegation and surroundings my reprimandation was worded in a vague and misleading manner which could have made me look like a greasy perv as much as the well intentioned victim of a misunderstanding I am. Her actuall wording was somewhere along the lines of "she only just turned 16 and her mother raised her to be aware of men and the signals they put off and she is considering your behavior sexual harrassment and you are not to talk or so much as look at her or you could lose you job". My thinking is that I knew what the real story was and she made me feel like some kind of greasy pervert, so I can only wonder what was happening in the imaginations of any unknowing outside observers.

They have attempted to contact me several times since (I quit right after) to offer me a raise to come back and I plan to talk to them about it but first I would like to know what my rights are in this situation, and whether going back for a raise would be letting them off too easily. Do I have grounds to take this into court and if so what would my next step be?

I feel my rights have been violated, and even if this was more than a misunderstanding they went about it in an innapropriate and possibly damaging manner. I am now too embarrassed to go in with any more than the 3 person night crew (the only people I trust to know me well enough to not hold such a thing against me) and I would like to know what my options are.

Thank you in advance for any help. Have a nice day.

-R.

 

[Just Blue]

I think I would like to know what it was that you did actually say to the girl...just to see if the Managers actions were warranted...

 

[hihowsitgoin]

I think I would like to know what it was that you did actually say to the girl...just to see if the Managers actions were warranted...

As I said, it was not specified what I did so I can't tell you that for sure-that would have been one of the ways I listed in which she messed up. The fact is, regardless of how warrented the reprimand was she was out of line. My issue is not with the reprimand, it is with the manor in which it was carried out.

Legally it doesn't matter what I did or said, sexual harrassment is up to the perception of the "victim". I did not treat her any differently than anyone else. The girl is obviously jail bait and my best friend is in jail for statutory so I don't mess around with that (besides that I like woman who look like woman if you catch my drift). I come off as a flirt at times but I was not attempting to pursue her in any way. I didn't crack any bad jokes or make any passes at her. I had talked quite a bit with her the last time I had seen her and she gave no sign of taking offense- in fact she had acted like we were frinds. The day the incident happened I had actually been tired, and therefore quite reserved with her so I was pretty confused. The last thing I had said to her was "I don't think it sounds that bad" in reply to her saying her voice sounded like **** (she was sick). She said it in a manner that I took as trolling for a reply and I am the kind of person that doesn't want people to feel bad about themselves. I do not feel I said it in a sexual manner and I don't see how that is sexual attention. At any rate it was not intended as such.

If you really want to get into it, I discussed it with a friend of mine privately, outside of work who had been there longer. I did not use the girls name or even say anything more than "something just happened regarding me and another employee" and he knew what it was and with whom. Apperantly this is not the first time this girl has blind-sided someone like this. My friend told me not to worry about it, that she had a boyfriend who worked there who would break up with her if he saw her talking with another guy and that it was more than likely because she was in a bad mood that day. Whether or not this was true, I made her uncomfortable unintentionally and all that had to happen was for me to be made aware of this and I would have simply reduced my transgressions with her to the neccessities no questions asked. I am a chill person and the last thing I want is to make anyone uncomfortable. I am not trying to discredit the girl here so much as display that not every sexual harrassment allegation is really about sexuall harrassment.

That being said, yet again it doesn't matter what I said. I could have looked at her wrong and she could have pressed charges. What I did or did not do is completely irrelevent. I could have slapped her butt and called her sexy and the manager's actions still would have been unwarrented. Even rapists have a right to privacy.. I have no intentions of persuing anything that will bring attention to the girl. My problem is not with the allegations, it is with the way they were handled. I'm sorry if I am repeating myself but I thought I had already addressed this and I wanted to make this quite clear.

Thank you for your time,
-R

 

[cbg]

Although I'm not going to claim that what happened was handled in the best way possible, nothing you have described is anything for which you can take legal recourse or would give you standing to sue.