Will I be informed that I have been accused of sexual harrassement? how do i find out if iam under investigation?

The answer in your particular case depends on your employer's harassment and investigation policies. You can ask for a copy of the harassment policy. Most employers do not share their policy on how they conduct their investigations, though.

Generally speaking, a sexual harassment policy encourages employees to make complaints and assures them that, as much as possible, the company will keep their complaints in confidence. Sexual harassment policies typically also state that the company will investigate the complaint.

If the company keeps the complaint completely confidential, the accused will not know if he or she has been accused, or whether there is an investigation. However, if the company needs to get the accused's side of the story, then the accused will understand that there has been a complaint. While the company has no obligation to share the complaint with the accused, or the identity of the complainant, the accused may be able to figure it out from the circumstances.

If you believe that you are under investigation for harassment, consider consulting an employment lawyer in your state. Use MEL's directories to find them. Also, if you believe you know who made a complaint, avoid doing things that would appear retaliatory in nature, or that would appear as an attempt to affect the outcome of the investigation.

posted by Neil Klingshirn  |  Dec 15, 2014 09:54 AM [EST]