Legal Question in Sexual Harassment in Massachusetts
Filing a sexual harassment suit
I wrote my employer of a problem I was having with a supervisor at my job. Several other employees also informed our employer of problems with this particular supervisor, although they were all dealing with team moral and maturity issues. My employer read my letter and told me it was sexual harassment and asked me if I wanted to file a suit or if I wanted him to just diciplin the supervisor based on the other complaints. I said I wanted to think about what actions I wanted him to take, but for now to not do anything about it. Does my employer have the right to still take my letter to the human resources people if he gave me the option and I told him not to?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Filing a sexual harassment suit
Hi. Truth be told, your supervisor messed up if/when he told you he could keep your complaint confidential. The case law is pretty clear that an employer who is on notice of a sexual harassment complaint must undertake a proper investigation. So, the answer to your question is, yes, the supervisor can (and should) bring your complaint to HR...
Evan