Post by smarywills on Feb 20, 2007 16:21:11 GMT -5
Scenario: An employee is being harassed and subjected to a very hostile work environment due to the behavior of the employee’s supervisor. The behavior of the supervisor is so egregious that everyone knows what’s going on. The supervisor openly humiliates the employee in front of other staff, has been seen shoving and encroaching on the personal space of the employee, has falsely and intentionally accused the employee of mistakes made by other staff, has stripped the employee of many assignments, has asked the employee to perform menial and non-work related tasks, like cleaning, etc. Members of management have seen or heard about the mistreatment because the misconduct is happening out in the open. But, no one does anything!
Finally, the employee can’t take the abuse anymore and goes to HR to complain about the supervisor’s behavior. HR takes quick action against the supervisor. For instance, they demote him and require him to go to sensitivity training.
Question: Is that response good enough to resolve the situation?
Answer: Maybe not!
Even though the company quickly responded to the complaint and took action against the supervisor, the problem is that they waited for the employee to complain about mistreatment before they did anything about it.
According to a decision in Dees v. Johnson Controls World Services, Inc., 168 F. 3d 417, 422 (11th Cir. 1999):
“… [an] employer can be held liable despite its immediate and appropriate corrective action in response to a harassment complaint if it had knowledge of the harassment prior to the complaint and took no corrective action.”
The bottom line is that Federal law does not require that an employee complain about mistreatment because some employees may have a reasonable fear of complaining out of fear of retaliation, etc. For instance if they saw another employee mistreated after complaining of workplace abuse, it would be reasonable to remain quiet, while experiencing mistreatment. So, legally, there is a hope that employees complain about illegal mistreatment, but there is some flexibility on this.
Also, all members of management and authority in a company have an unwritten requirement to report workplace abuse of employees, if they have knowledge of potential misconduct (e.g., witnessing it or overhearing conversations about it, etc.).
So, an employer can’t just sit on its hands and wait for employees to complain about a problem coworker or manager before taking action against the offending person. They can fire an offending employee, but if they knew what was happening and allowed misconduct to continue, they may be legally liable for damages, etc. that occurred, while they did nothing to correct the abuse.
S. Mary Wills
theblackfactor.blogspot.com
The Black Factor is a useful resource for anyone who is Working While Black. The blog provides strategies for dealing with racially-based problems in the workplace, provides perspectives on workplace racism, and allows visitors to share experiences.
Finally, the employee can’t take the abuse anymore and goes to HR to complain about the supervisor’s behavior. HR takes quick action against the supervisor. For instance, they demote him and require him to go to sensitivity training.
Question: Is that response good enough to resolve the situation?
Answer: Maybe not!
Even though the company quickly responded to the complaint and took action against the supervisor, the problem is that they waited for the employee to complain about mistreatment before they did anything about it.
According to a decision in Dees v. Johnson Controls World Services, Inc., 168 F. 3d 417, 422 (11th Cir. 1999):
“… [an] employer can be held liable despite its immediate and appropriate corrective action in response to a harassment complaint if it had knowledge of the harassment prior to the complaint and took no corrective action.”
The bottom line is that Federal law does not require that an employee complain about mistreatment because some employees may have a reasonable fear of complaining out of fear of retaliation, etc. For instance if they saw another employee mistreated after complaining of workplace abuse, it would be reasonable to remain quiet, while experiencing mistreatment. So, legally, there is a hope that employees complain about illegal mistreatment, but there is some flexibility on this.
Also, all members of management and authority in a company have an unwritten requirement to report workplace abuse of employees, if they have knowledge of potential misconduct (e.g., witnessing it or overhearing conversations about it, etc.).
So, an employer can’t just sit on its hands and wait for employees to complain about a problem coworker or manager before taking action against the offending person. They can fire an offending employee, but if they knew what was happening and allowed misconduct to continue, they may be legally liable for damages, etc. that occurred, while they did nothing to correct the abuse.
S. Mary Wills
theblackfactor.blogspot.com
The Black Factor is a useful resource for anyone who is Working While Black. The blog provides strategies for dealing with racially-based problems in the workplace, provides perspectives on workplace racism, and allows visitors to share experiences.