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kjones1967 · Apr 17, 2017, 01:39 PM

Our owner went to an employees house and tired to kiss her. She gave him the address to come over and after she rebuffed his advanced she told him the timing isn't right because she had her kids. Both have stated nothing has happened before this incident or after. This happened three weeks ago and was out side of work. She came today and filed a harassment complaint. I took the complaint but not sure what to do since this was after hours and nothing has happened since. She said she was worried about losing her job. Although when questioned she has never been threated to lose her job. I have not heard anything from the owner concerning her job. He does not work In the office and stops n once or twice a week. Is there any harassment here? Since he is the owner is there something I need to worry about.

cdad · Apr 17, 2017, 02:30 PM

What portion is she claiming as harassment ? Being the owner there is a lot of influence on her job status but it doesnt seem to have been under threat.

talaniman · Apr 17, 2017, 04:18 PM

She filed a complaint so you should do your due diligence and investigate her claim. Make sure that she is informed upfront that you must discuss this with the owner, and does he want to proceed.

I suspect she is covering her butt with this complaint IN CASE the owner wants to fire her for rejecting him. Of course you have heard nothing, since it's a private matter, and you are caught in the middle, but I doubt the boss wants his personal business out there, or will be happy about her complaint.

You really have no choice but to talk to your idiot owner about her complaint, and let the chips fall where they may. I advise that you be discreet and get a formal statement for the record by your owner.

Fr_Chuck · Apr 17, 2017, 04:28 PM

Harassment does not have to happen within the company walls to be harassment, It can be anywhere, if and when the person with authority is using that authority as pressure to advance unwanted behavior.

Going to her house, after hours could be a harassment in and of itself. Trying to kiss her shows a physical force and behavior. Did he touch her in this effort, how close to kiss did he get. Was she saying no and he continued. It could even be criminal beyond civil issue.

It sounds like you may not (or perhaps are) qualified and/or willing to investigate it. If you can not properly do this, perhaps you would want to send it out to a outside HR group to investigate it for you. But it is your job to investigate, take formal statements advise each party of their rights and so on.

Wondergirl · Apr 17, 2017, 04:47 PM

Also, had the boss gone to her house under false pretexts (after she gave him the address -- which makes me wonder, why didn't he have it if she's an employee?)? Had the employee known or at least suspected he had kissing on his mind but then she rethought the whole thing before he arrived? In other words, do your best to get the entire story from her point of view to better question the owner -- and hope the truth is in there somewhere.

joypulv · Apr 18, 2017, 02:32 PM

Your company sounds small, and you sound unsure of your role.
Who is the chain of command between you and the owner?

If there is no one between you and the owner, answer back with more details. I have a feeling there's more. You sort of casually mentioned that ''Both have stated nothing has happened before this incident or after.'' That implies that there has been some amount of discussion about the whole incident. With whom? When, and why? There must be something in all this that is behind her reason for filing the complaint after 3 weeks, and fearing that she might lose her job.

If the story about the visit to her house, and the kiss, and the rebuff because the kids were present, 'got around the company,' and he is angry.... and she now thinks she has to cover her self.... then I would say it's your job to gather top people in a meeting. I would not invite the owner until the group agrees.

If the ultimate goal is for her to keep her job and for him to drop the subject, then your group goal is to arrange such an agreement in writing. If he's smart, he will run it by a lawyer, briefly. It sounds like they both might be pretty high up in the foolishness department. But especially him.