Sexual Harrasment - Duty to Warn?

Huttsi · March 2004

If you have a Board of Directors, half of whom know that an employee has been sexually harrassed by a managment employee, do they have a duty to tell the rest of teh Board?

What is they don't is there any legal ramifications of keepping it to themselves. And what if this same employee harrassed another employee, a year later.

Cinderella · March 2004

I don't think they have a duty to tell the other directors - but they do have a duty to investigate the situation. What that entails would be up to the policy your co. has on investigations of sexual harassment allegations. However, I would think that someone as high up as a board member keeping something like this a secret or doing nothing about it is a recipe for a lawsuit, big time.

mushroomHR · March 2004

This is definitely ripe for a lawsuit. All sexual harassment that is reported should be investigated and taken care of if the harassment has been proven to be a fact. A company is putting themselves in great jeopardy if they know about the harassment and do nothing.

Dan · March 2004

The fact they know someone has been harassed puts them at risk for legal action. It does not matter if the rest of the board is told but they need to imeadiately address the problem.

SandiF · March 2004

Reading the other responses, I may have misinterpreted your question. Has their been an investigation that only part of the Board know about it? If there's been an investigation, I don't believe you'd have to tell the others. However,they are bound to hear something, (or wonder why a manager was let go, if that were the outcome),and that may be a problem among the Board members.

Could you please clarify the question for me?

If I did misinterpret, you already have your answer from other forum members.

Huttsi · March 2004

The employee in question (the one harrassed and then terminated) went directly to a member of the Board who told another member of the Board, the other three members of the Board still do not know anything about it.

sonny · March 2004

I'm confused as well and think we need more facts. How does half the board KNOW an employee was harassed? Was it the outcome of an investigation or do they just know there was an allegation? You don't mention if there was an investigation or not.. .perhaps there was and nothing was proven. If you give us more information, you may get additional responses. If you are one of the employees, I would hate to send you off to an attorney without more information. Your company should have a policy on dealing with this.

Don D · March 2004

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 03-02-04 AT 04:20PM (CST)[/font][br][br]If your last post, Huttsi, was accurate, you're saying an employee who was harassed was terminated and went to a board member and told him about the harassment. Yes, there is enough deep do-do to go around here. Each board member should get some on his shoes. What happened with the initial report of harassment to the company, or was there one? If there was an investigation, what was it's outcome? If there was not one, why wasn't there one? Why was this employee terminated? What's the harasser's job position and what happened with him/her? These are important, very pertinent questions, the answers to which will ultimately play either for or against your company, big time.

On the slim chance that your question is simply, "Does a board member have an obligation to announce to the full board the results of a company's investigation into harassment?" Not necessarily. But I would imagine the other board members would ask later why they were not informed. Let the board member who knows decide what he does with the information.

Cinderella · March 2004

High five to Don who used one of my favorite terms..."big time" :DD

Shadowfax · March 2004

Don't bd members have a fiduciary duty to the shareholders and other bd members to protect the Co? Don't they have a fiduciary duty to the co mgmt? Isn't keeping still about potentially damaging info a breach of theri duties to everyone? If the co is sued, and it comes out these members knew and did nothing, can not they be sued by the Co, s/h and or other bd members for breach of duty? I'm jjust askin.

Sexual Harrasment - Duty to Warn?

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