Legal Question in Sexual Harassment in Arkansas
Sexual Harrassment in the Work Place
I am a small business owner, employing both adults and teens. Yesterday, one of my teen female employees came to my business with her father to complain that a co-worker (male-40ish) had been grabbing her behind. The father said that he would not allow her to work on the same shift with the male.
We do have a sexual harrassment policy of investigating the charges. We have asked the female to write her statement about the incident. In her statement, this has been going on for 2-3 weeks, although this is her first complaint.
We have suspended the male employee without pay until we have a chance to investigate.
I am not convinced that the allegations are true. If we do no more than suspend the male, and then schedule their work hours NOT together, are we complying with the laws pertaining to the harrassment charges?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Sexual Harrassment in the Work Place
The law requires that you take prompt and appropriate remedial action. Appropriate remedial action is typically action that is reasonably calculated to end the harassment. What you need to be careful to avoid is taking any action against the complainer which could be viewed as retaliatory. This could lead to future problems.
The best course is to sit down with an experienced labor and employment attorney to go over your policy, the evidence which your investigation has uncovered and your proposed response. If you would like more information about sexual harassment complaints, you can visit my website, www.memphisemploymentlawyer.net.
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