Sexual Harassment

Jenny

I have a situation where a supervisor was accussed of groping some women (including one temporary/possibly permant person through an agency). We suspended the employee and put him on second shift as a lead person (no longer supervisor). He will no longer be around these women. The temp person is not happy with our decision, wanting this person fired. Through our investigation this situation does not warrant that action. The temp person is trying to rally up the ladies to push for a termination. We feel that this may not be the right place of employment for this temp if she does not have confidence in our interest in the well being of our employees and the decisions we make. Being that this person is a temp I'm inclinded to ask for another person however I'm wondering what might be the downside to this. Any suggestions?

Parabeagle

One of the beauties of working with a staffing agency is the fact that it is not your employee. Just call your contact at the agency and tell them she is no longer needed and you would like a replacement. 'Nuff said.

pecohr

I agree with parabeagle a temp employee making waves would/should be replaced very quickly. If you investigated, took action and documented well then it sound like your bases are covered. IMHO

mwild31

I agree with the above posts - call the agency.

San Francisco

The downside might be that she sues claiming retaliation for complaining about sexual harassment. I don't mean that should stop you from doing as suggested by the others - she might sue even is she stayed. And this doesn't mean that she would necessarily prevail in a law suit - particulary since your actions stopped the conduct. As previously mentioned somewhere, anyone can sue for almost anything and from my experience, the EEOC accepts almost all of them!

Elizabeth

FrayWitzer

Actually, you not only have a potential retaliation claim, you also have a potential NLRB issue (yes, even if you are not a union shop) because her actions will likely be seen as attempting to encourage concerted action on behalf of a number of employees. I would tread VERY carefully...

gillian2

Chances are the EEOC would view this as a "joint employee" situation. Getting rid of a temp is not a free pass in these type of situations. What would you do if this person WERE your employee. That analysis would be a good start to determine what the EEOC or a court would think.

marc

Isn't the real test here whether or not your company's actions have mitigated the problem?

It seems to me that if you can pass that test, the complaining ee needs to stop complaining. Their attempts to 'up the ante' with respect to the disciplinary action you have taken may be creating a hostile work environment for the now second shift lead person.

Is all of this going on while you are paying this temp and ladie she is pushing? If so, you might consider some verbal 'coaching' to go into their files. Who is running the company, a temp or management? Even though you may have solved the original complaint, the issues are not resolved with the temp.

mwild31

I have to say, I agree with Marc.

It sounds, from your post, that your company investigated the allegation & found enough merit to take the action of moving the offending employee to another position without supervisory responsibilties & also according to your post - it sounds as though this decision was reached by the company as the most fitting response to the offending employee's action. This is the company's decision - whether it was the right one is really up to whoever hires an attorney to figure it out. It sounds right to me, only because at my company, management makes the disciplinary decisions - not the employees. The NLRB could be an issue & goodness knows the world of temp. workers vs. permanent workers is getting more and more blurred - but in this situation - I would call the temp agency & say that the temp's services are no longer required. If the advice of the forum members, including mine, has raised more confusion or has left you uneasy - call your employment attorney to get their perspective. Good luck! x:-)

Pork

JENNY, TX: None, send the temp back, you have taken the action your company deemed appropriate. Get her out of there right now, send her packing, make sure you inform the temp agency of the incident and your actions. Make sure they know that you want a replacement and the attitude that you want to see in your temp ees. If it is not there send them packing the first day you witness unfavorable behavior.

PORK

TN HR

I've been down this road before. My employer was named as a co-defendant in an unlawful/retaliatory termination suit along with the staffing company. I don't have time to get into all of the details, however, joint/co-employment was a pivotal point. The message sent by the court was that using a temp service does not absolve the company from exposure/liability.

At the end, we opened the checkbook and sharpened the pencil......You know the rest of the story.

I think that as long as you have excercised due dilligence in your investigation and your decision fits the allegatin and severity of the claim then you should be OK. I would, however, disagree with the other posts about the fallacy that because the employee was leased that all of the exposure and liability is gone.

Keep us posted as to your course of action.

Gene