are investigations required in sexual harassment
1 Set a professional tone for the interview and try to put the complainant at ease. 2  Bringing a harassment complaint is often difficult and stressful for the employee. 3  Acknowledge that fact and try to help the employee understand this is normal. 4  Keep a neutral perspective however, and maintain a professional demeanor. Employers must investigate claims of workplace sexual harassment. Sometimes, employers take other actions during an investigation, such as separating the employee claiming harassment from the alleged harasser or placing the alleged harasser on leave. Once a complaint of harassment has been made to an employer or the employer is otherwise aware that a problem exists, an internal investigation should be promptly conducted by a person familiar with harassment issues and company policy. For. example, discipline, a change in shifts, a transfer, the amount of a raise, the lack of a. promotion, cold treatment or other adverse employment actions following a complaint. or following participation in an investigation may be considered retaliatory. 1 Bringing a harassment complaint is often difficult and stressful for the employee. 2  Acknowledge that fact and try to help the employee understand this is normal. 3  Keep a neutral perspective however, and maintain a professional demeanor. 4  Gather facts, don't make judgments. Assisting the Employees Involved. An employee reporting harassment can feel very alone in a difficult, even hostile, process. And, the employee may not know his or her rights or have the confidence to assert them. An employee who is named as a harasser may be treated as a pariah even before any investigation is done. An experienced employment lawyer can assist the sexual harassment victim in persuading the employer to conduct a thorough, good faith investigation of the alleged harassment. This is what the law requires, and a lawyer can hold the employer to that obligation. 1 Listen attentively and take the complaint seriously, even if the complaint initially appears questionable. 2  Treat it as valid until the facts have been established otherwise. 3  If the employee quits because she or he felt her complaint wasn't being taken seriously, liability may be compounded. 1 Identify the victim and the specific basis of the sexual harassment complaint. 2  Ask the person to respond to the charges. 3  Find out names of witnesses. 4  Assess their credibility. 5  Take a statement, if warranted. 6  Type the notes of the interview. Allegations of sexual harassment are very serious, regardless of the outcome of the employer’s investigation. Employers are, at times, reluctant to conduct as in-depth an investigation of harassment as they should; sometimes they blame the employee alleging harassment and punish him or her.
Yes