HR And Management-Side Lawyers Need To Change If We Are To End Sexual Harassment Culture

Someone recently asked me what could be done to change what is clearly a culture of sexual harassment in this country. Not just how do we enforce the law, but what do we have to do above and beyond the law to end the harassment epidemic. It's a tough question, but I do have some thoughts.

The first and largest problem is that the victims are afraid to come forward. And there's good reason for that. In my experience, many, if not most, sexual harassment victims who report it suffer some form of retaliation. They are disbelieved, mocked, shunned, ostracized, transferred, demoted, fired or shunted off to never never land where they have no advancement opportunities.

Harassers, on the other hand, are defended and protected. If someone is moved, it is usually the victim.

I blame HR for this, but it's not the fault of hardworking and well-meaning HR people so much as a combination of the "complainer-as-enemy" mentality perpetuated by a large portion of the management-side bar and some really bad cases interpreting the law on sexual harassment. HR folks represent the company, after all. They are trained that their job is to protect the company at all costs. But if we look at the cost in morale, punitive damages, and loss of quality staff that sexual harassers cost employers, then rooting out sexual harassment should be considered a key part of protecting the company.

The result of "complainer-as-enemy" corporate culture is that, when a complaint is made, the tendency is to do everything possible to discredit and disbelieve the complainer and circle the wagons around the harasser. That needs to change.

Here is what I would do if I had a magic wand to change the way the management-side bar and HR handle sexual harassment complaints:

Start from the premise that the complainer is telling the truth. As we've learned from the many women who came forward years later to tell stories, complaining is terrifying. Most sexual harassment victims had to get up a lot of courage to even come to me, much less go to HR. Yet the Supreme Court says they have to complain if they are to win a sexual harassment case. By the time they get to the point of reporting it, you should assume they are telling the truth. Treat them with respect. It took a lot of courage for them to come to you.

Contact former employees. Now that you are assuming the victim is telling the truth, your investigation should be different. Act like the reporter who investigated the Kevin Spacey sexual harassment allegations and see if you can find others who were harassed. Contact former employees who worked with the alleged harasser and see if they will admit to being victimized. These are the folks most likely to have the courage to admit the truth. Most current employees will lie to save their jobs. Investigations right now start from the premise that she or he is lying and try to prove that. If you flip the investigation and try to prove she or he is telling the truth, you might actually uncover some sexual harassment.

Create a truly safe space for reporting. It's almost impossible to keep the identy of the victim secret. Coworkers' natural tendency is to shun and avoid the victim because they don't want to be associated with someone who is radioactive. You have to shut this down. Do not allow coworkers to treat the victim differently. Retaliation should be dealt with on a zero tolerance basis. Even if you do disbelieve the person who complained, you must protect them. Otherwise, you create a culture of fear and nobody else will report sexual harassment.

Punish the harasser, not the victim. I don't care if the harasser is your superstar sales person, the CEO or the founder of the company. The victim should never be the one transferred. If the harasser gets away with it, they will accelerate their behavior. Once you are on notice that they have a propensity to sexually harass, the company will be liable for punitive damages when he does it again. And a culture of sexual harassment spreads and turns the company into a frat house a la Fox. If you allow the harasser to continue harassing, you deserve to get hit with a megabucks punitive damages judgment.

Stop crushing the victim. In the complainer-as-enemy culture that exists right now on the mangement side, victims are put through hell. Management digs up sexual history, performance issues, problems with former employers, every bit of dirt they can to tarnish the victim. When you do that, you create a culture of sexual harassment that wastes valuable productive time at work and brings us to the place we are today. Is it any wonder victims assume that this behavior is expected and they must tolerate it? Why are we surprised when victims don't report it when they see what happens to those that do?

Reward the person who steps up to stop a harasser: Whether it be the victim or a concerned coworker or supervisor, if you investigate and find out that there really is a sexual harasser in the company, you should reward the person who reported it instead of punishing them. This is a brave person who stepped up at the risk of their job. They should promoted and given a bonus, not put on the do-not-promote list or fired.

All of the above, and the fact that it won't happen, is why I predict that once the media attention dies down we'll go back to the way things were before, and sexual harassment will continue to be the norm rather than the exception. Please prove me wrong.

Stupid HR Stuff: If You Don't Want Employees To See The Handbook, You're Doing It Wrong

I hear this all the time: "I was required to sign a paper saying I received the handbook. As soon as I signed, the HR folks snatched up the handbook and didn't let me keep a copy." Or, "I was required to sign saying I received the handbook, but I never actually saw it."

What the heck was the point of that? The whole point of having a handbook is to let employees know what their responsibilities are, where to report issues, how to put in for vacations and sick time, all the stuff you actually want them to do and not do.

If you don't want your employees to see your employee handbook, you're doing it wrong.

I think you'll have a hard time proving some key employment law defenses if you don't actually let employees have a copy of the handbook.

Plus, once you have an employee sign a document that you know and they know is a lie, you lose all credibility with them. Everything you do from then on is a joke. A sham. They won't believe you anymore.

To employees who are asked to sign a document saying they received something they never got, I suggest signing with a notation like, “I was allowed to look at it once but was prohibited from getting a copy.” Or maybe, "I am required to sign this but I have never actually seen the handbook." Having to make a notation like that is probably a bad start to new employment, but it's better than signing something you know is not true.

Whether or not employees got a copy of their handbook comes up in almost all employment litigation. Employers who make a mockery of their handbooks look pretty stupid in court. Not only is your credibility lost with your employees, but you could lose credibility with a judge or jury too.

Dear HR: Stop Telling Employees They Can't Apply For FMLA Until They Use Their Vacation

For about the dozenth time this year, I heard another sob story about an employee who absolutely qualified for FMLA leave, yet was told by HR that they couldn't apply until they used up their vacation or PTO time. This is wrong on so many levels, and it screws both the employee and the employer. So stop it.

Seriously. Stop it.

It screws up the employee because their boss assumes they're taking unprotected leave and so those sick and vacation days used for hospital stays, doctor visits and caregiving responsibilities are held against the employee in reviews, consideration for promotions, and discipline.

It screws up the employer because once the employer knows leave should be covered by FMLA, the employer's legal duties under FMLA kick in:

When an employee requests FMLA leave or the employer acquires knowledge that leave may be for a FMLA purpose, the employer must notify the employee of his or her eligibility to take leave, and inform the employee of his or her rights and responsibilities under the FMLA. When the employer has enough information to determine that leave is being taken for a FMLA-qualifying reason, the employer must notify the employee that the leave is designated and will be counted as FMLA leave.

 FMLA is mostly about unpaid leave, but employees do NOT have to use all their paid leave before applying:.

Employees may choose to use, or employers may require the employee to use, accrued paid leave to cover some or all of the FMLA leave taken. Employees may choose, or employers may require, the substitution of accrued paid vacation or personal leave for any of the situations covered by FMLA. The substitution of accrued sick or family leave is limited by the employer's policies governing the use of such leave.

The consequence to employers can be severe. First of all, the employee may be entitled to more leave than you're legally required to give if you mess this up. Second, if the employee's leave should have been designated as FMLA and wasn't, and you hold that time off against them, you're talking FMLA lawsuits plus disability discrimination lawsuits.

Employees, if you qualify for FMLA (you've been there at least a year AND worked 1250 hours or more in the past 12 months AND there are 50 or more employees of the employer within 75 miles of your work location) then don't believe HR when they say you can't apply. As soon as you know you have a serious medical condition and will need doctor's appointments or medical treatment, apply for intermittent leave. Employers frequently forget about intermittent leave, and it's a good thing. Here's more from the Department of Labor on intermittent leave:

(Q) Does an employee have to take leave all at once or can it be taken periodically or to reduce the employee’s schedule?
When it is medically necessary, employees may take FMLA leave intermittently – taking leave in separate blocks of time for a single qualifying reason – or on a reduced leave schedule – reducing the employee’s usual weekly or daily work schedule. When leave is needed for planned medical treatment, the employee must make a reasonable effort to schedule treatment so as not to unduly disrupt the employer’s operation.
Leave to care for or bond with a newborn child or for a newly placed adopted or foster child may only be taken intermittently with the employer’s approval and must conclude within 12 months after the birth or placement. 

(Q) Can an employer change an employee’s job when the employee takes intermittent or reduced schedule leave?
Employees needing intermittent/reduced schedule leave for foreseeable medical treatments must work with their employers to schedule the leave so as not disrupt the employer’s operations, subject to the approval of the employee’s health care provider. In such cases, the employer may transfer the employee temporarily to an alternative job with equivalent pay and benefits that accommodate recurring periods of leave better than the employee’s regular job.

So, HR folks, can we agree that you'll stop telling employees they can't apply for FMLA until they use their vacation? And employees, feel free to show them this post if they say that.

Who Do I Complain To About Discrimination If I'm HR?

An AOL Jobs reader asked me:

I am a minority female HR professional who has been working in the field for 18 years. I have faced race based discrimination, and sexual harassment continuously during my career. I'm often hired into a management role based on my degree, experience and my SHRM certifications, only to be hidden and given no real responsibilities. Over the years I have learned to identify quickly organizations that offer "Token" positions hoping to fill a quota. These orgs provide no training, support or valid work responsibilities in order to build a case of poor performance.

Unfortunately because I report to HR, following protocol on any harassment claim is nearly impossible. HR staff is notorious for creating the same hostile environments they are hired to protect. HR professionals rarely file complaints for fear of black listing tactics and back door references provided to other HR professionals.

As an employment lawyer have you seen any HR to HR complaints, and do you have any suggestions in regard to HR professionals protecting themselves against the crimes of their peers?

You'd be surprised how many times I have HR people come to me with employment law issues. I have to say, I love representing HR people because you know where the bodies are buried. Employers that don't treat HR professionals like gold are asking for trouble.

So, where does the HR representative go when they're the victim of illegal harassment? For the steps I'd recommend taking, read my column at AOL Jobs.

HR Wants To Meet! What Do I Do?

You get the call or the email and your heart sinks to your feet. HR wants to meet with you. Unless you think a promotion or raise is in the works, a meeting with HR is usually something employees dread. But if you do some basic preparation, you can be ready for anything.

Read my article in AOL Jobs to find out some things HR may want to meet with you about, and what you should do.

HR Says They Lost My Resume But I Think It's Age Discrimination

This was a question on my post I Reported Harassment and Now HR Wants to Meet With Me. What Do I Do?

I need some help here. I have worked for a company for 10 years. A position opened up and I applied for it. Soon after, the director said they are looking into it and a few days later a guy i trained who is younger than I am got hired. After that another position became available. I applied for it and was told they are looking into it and almost every day the director came to me and said they are looking into it. Also, HR says they never got my resume. Now mind you, this is the second time he told me HR never got my resume. I never received an email or call for this position. They kept saying.HR dropped the ball on this. I was told twice to apply to the position and.both times HR messed up. There are also 2 other guys in the same race class Ii am that got fired or moved for complaining and one of the guys filed a discrimination case against the director. Now they hired someone for the position I applied for that has no experience and I have to.train him. Is.there something I can do? 

 Roy P.

Roy, it sure sounds like you either have the most incompetent HR department around or someone is deliberately jerking you around.  I'd bet on the latter. If you are more qualified than the person who got the job, and the person hired is younger than you, then you may well have an age discrimination claim. I'd definitely suggest talking to an employment lawyer in your state about it.

Now, let's talk about some practical things you can do the next time you see a promotion you want to apply for. I'd suggest taking some steps to make sure your resume gets where it belongs:

• Send your resume directly to HR: Don't hand it to your boss, who is probably chucking it in the garbage or sending it to HR via turtle. Instead, find out who is in charge of HR and email, fax or hand deliver it to them. 
• Get proof: Make sure you send it in a way that provides proof they got it. If you fax, keep a copy of the transmission receipt. If you email, send it so you get a read receipt and a delivery receipt. If you hand-deliver it, write down the name of the person you handed it to, along with the date and time.
• Send a copy to the boss: If the director is someone who is supposed to be doing the screening, then make sure he gets a copy, again with proof of delivery.
• Follow up in writing: If you haven't heard anything in a week or so, follow up with a brief email asking them to confirm they received it.
• Update your resume: It's possible your resume is outdated or doesn't reflect all your skills and training. Make sure it accurately reflects your qualifications.

If you think your boss is the one who is tossing your resume, then you might want to report him to HR in writing. Call it a "Formal Complaint of Age Discrimination" and tell them why you think you are the most qualified, how your boss claimed HR lost the resume and you couldn't be considered, and ask them to investigate.

It does sound like the company has a history of retaliation. If they retaliate against you, it might be time to contact an employment lawyer or EEOC.