Legal Question in Sexual Harassment in New York

Re: Processes and rights of those accused of sexual harrasment

Your question is about a complicated area of the

law. An employer has many choices. The employer as well as the accused is

vulnerable to suit depending on what the charge is. The first thing the employer must do is investigate, but not so broadly that

privacy if violated, to determine whether there was harassment.

The second thing the employer must do is provide a remedy

if there has been a finding by the employer itself that the s-h did occur.

Amongst the many options the employer has are those

you asked about: to suspend from work,

to bar from the workplace, to suspend with or

without pay, to move people from one department

to another (so that their paths don't cross),

or merely to warn.

The accused also has rights: to see the accuser's complaint, if in written form, to answer charges, and to negotiate with the

employer. The list is quite long and too complicated to write here quickly because these types of cases are fact-intensive.

Call if you have questions.