A manager is accused of sexual harassment. After investigating, the company decides to move him to a different location. Should employees at new office be told about the allegations?

Here’s a recent case where a company said “no” - and the silence ended up costing it half a million dollars.

Several employees at a department store in California complained that they were being harassed by the store’s assistant manager. After the investigation, the man was transferred to a store in Colorado. No one at that store was told why he was being transferred.

Then, two complaints came from the Colorado store. After the first one, the man was warned, and after the second, he was fired. All of the women involved sued the company, claiming it didn’t do enough to prevent the harassment.

Eventually the company settled out of court for $500,000. Said the EEOC: “By failing to notify the Colorado store about this man’s sexual harassment in California at the time of his transfer to Colorado, [the employer] permitted its employees to go in harm’s way.”

Appropriate steps

It isn’t easy to know what to do after a harassment investigation. Even if a company finds that harassment likely occurred, termination isn’t always the next step. Transferring the accused to a new location or department (usually to a non-managerial position) might be the best solution, if it looks like that will stop the harassment.

Also, companies need to think carefully about who they tell. It’s smart to keep things on a “need to know” basis - spreading the word about accusations could end in a defamation suit. In this case, the smart thing would have been to at least tell the new store’s management about the previous incidents, so they’d know what to look out for.

Cite: EEOC v. Joslin Dry Goods Co.

Tags: employee investigations, sexual harassment, transfering employees