CONFRONTING HARASSMENT CHARGES

21 Jun CONFRONTING HARASSMENT CHARGES

How a manager investigates a sexual harassment complaint may determine the outcome of the lawsuit, if there is one.  Here are nine key points to remember when one of your employees comes to you with charges of harassment: 

1. Take every complaint seriously.
2. Contact Prestige immediately to review company policies. 
3. Remember: You’re not a judge or jury.  The manager’s job is to collect the facts. 
4. Keep your investigation confidential. 
5. As you investigate, document everything: memos, conversations, reports, etc. 
6. Evaluate yourself: Do you have any bias about the complaint? 
7. Don’t take the easy way out.  Some managers solve harassment problems by transferring the person who made the complaint.  This doesn’t serve the accused or the victim, and can lead to serious legal trouble. 
8. Do the follow-up: Make sure the harassment has stopped, and that the employee who complained is comfortable in the workplace. 
9. Schedule Sexual Harassment & Discrimination training for all your employees (Prestige offers this, and other training programs, in-person and via live web cast).

 If you have questions concerning this, or any other Human Resource issues, contact Prestige Employee Administrators, Inc.