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My friend Bob and his co-worker Alice where walking down the hallway of the building at work. Their workplace is very professional and so is their work relationship.
Unfortunately, there was nobody in the hallway at the time. After a week, Bob got called to HR and was being accused of harassing Alice down the hallway. I know my friend Bob if very professional and would never do something like that, but what could he do to prove himself innocent? Please help.
The usual response would be for Bob to write down his version of the events, send it to whoever investigates the matter and request that it will be added to his personal file together with the results of the investigation.
Bob might want to pay for legal assistance when writing his statement, depending on how much he wants to keep his job, how strict the company is about sexual harassment and how likely it is in his country that he might also become the target of a criminal investigation because of the incident.
There are three possible things which could have happened. Bob's strategy should depend on which of these is the case:
He is actually guilty and intentionally harassed Alice. In this case, Bob needs to make a moral decision and decide what kind of person he wants to be.
Whether to do the right move to restore his moral integrity or the right move to further his own goals would be a personal decision for Bob.
It was a stupid misunderstanding. Bob did or said something which he considered normal but Alice interpreted as sexual harassment. In that case the best move would be to seek a dialog with Alice and try to clear up that misunderstanding. Bob should explain what he did and what he meant with it. Bob should keep in mind that misunderstandings are often the fault of both sides. So Bob should go into this dialog with an attitude that he might have miscommunicated, that he wants to learn from Alice what his mistake was and what kind of behavior he should avoid in the future. Such a dialog should happen with a neutral party present so both Alice and Bob feel safe during this dialog.
The following assumes Bob didn't do anything he should not have done.
I think Bob should ask for a detailed written report of Alice's accusation. Then he can study this in details and then he can chose to react.
I think Bob should not just go ahead and tell his version of the events. Because he could easily forget parts or describe them in a way which leaves them open to interpretation, etc.
There is a reason for the Miranda warning: "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." And I like to add: It's even worse in the "public" opinion.
Assuming that Bob is innocent (I know, shocking these days, isn't it?)
Bob should take time off immediately to speak to a lawyer about this.
He should say NOTHING to HR without a his lawyer present, or conferenced in. Not a word to Alice, HR, coworkers or anyone else about this, not even to protest his innocence.
He needs to get a good employment lawyer versed in the laws of his state. His lawyer should then obtain a copy of the company's policy regarding such matters.
Things will likely get unpleasant and aggressive. If this is baseless, Alice will likely lose her job for filing a false complaint, so prepare him for that.
He needs to act fast to protect his reputation. He may be done at this company. A lawyer may negotiate severance and a quashing of the accusation in exchange for not suing the company for a false accusation.
Bob needs to be ready to go to the mat to defend himself. It's going to be ugly no matter what happens.
Bob's attorney should write an appropriate response letter to be added to the personnel file.
If HR wishes to discuss the matter, then Bob, Alice, and Bob's attorney should be sitting in that office together.
