Co-worker witnessed harassment and didn’t come forward — is company liable?
September 30, 2008 by Sam NarisiPosted in: Harassment, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Recent Decisions
To be liable for sexual harassment, an employer needs to have “knowledge or notice” of the conduct. A recent court decision clarifies what that means.
In a recent court case, a department manager quit her job after being sexually harassed by her supervisor. She sued the company, claiming nothing was done about the harassment.
She never made a complaint or brought her boss’s conduct to the attention of anyone in the company. Her argument: Another department manager (her peer) witnessed the behavior. Therefore, she claimed, the company knew what was going on.
In court, the company argued otherwise. The alleged witness never reported the behavior, and the woman never did either. So the company had no responsibility to fix the problem.
The court agreed, and the case was thrown out. The key: No one in the company “at a managerial level equal to or superior to the harasser” was aware of what was going on.
Generally, if someone with decision-making authority over the accused employee knows about it and does nothing, the company will be on the hook. But in this case, it was just the victim’s co-worker who remained silent.
The company had a strong anti-harassment policy, which also required managers to report harassment they witnessed. However, if neither the victim nor the witness took any action, the company couldn’t be expected to either.
Cite: Chaloult v. Interstate Brands Corp.
October 1st, 2008 at 11:55 am
IF ANY EMPLOYEE IS FORCED TO QUIT A JOB BECAUSE OF HARASSMENT SHAME ON THEM FOR NOT REPORTING AND LETTING THE BAD PERSON WIN (of course many employees use this as an excuse to leave and are looking for a quick $) Keep in mind one of the toughest responsibilites most employees have is the fear of confrontation. I keep going back to losing a job (especially in today’s labor market) and not reporting harassment.
It is very important that all employees have the trust and faith in the HR Department in order to report a potential Harassment Case.
October 8th, 2008 at 9:39 am
The employer (HR) doesn’t care about right & wrong. They don’t care about the ords they write in a policy and most if not all of them could probably no quote their poloicies to you except “if someone complains - run them out of the company as fast as you can.” HR is in bed with most of the harrassers and many times it is really HR themselves since they have no one to police them. If the person that complains isn’t in the HR click then they are going to be leaving the company. That is the HR stance and is unethical and wrong but also a fact.
October 8th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Marty - You have obviously been at a company in which the HR department did not do things the way you wanted them to (or you know someone in that situation). Please do not lump all of us together. Most of us in HR take every complaint seriously and conduct a thorough investigation. This not only ensures that the problem is solved in a fair and equitable manner for all of the employees involved, but it also protects the company against liability. HR departments are in place to make sure that the company follows all labor laws and utilizes its employees in the best manner possible (among other reasons). Sometimes that means letting a problem employee leave, but more often it means working to keep employees happy and working for the company. Again, I would ask that you not take your bad experience and condemn all of us who work hard in this profession.