Legal ? - Employment - Sorta

[Leo99]

Sounds like the company is glad to be rid of all 3 of them. A and B and C.

How does C know that A made accusations against C and said B was a witness to said misbehavior?

Sometimes these accusations are the final straw and not the only reason someone is terminated. And sometimes they are.

 

[Linctex]

Originally Posted By: opus1
As a friend of mine who sued an employer once told me, "even when you win, you still lose."


This is EXTREMELY true.....

 

[raytseng]

Originally Posted By: Leo99
Sounds like the company is glad to be rid of all 3 of them. A and B and C.

How does C know that A made accusations against C and said B was a witness to said misbehavior?

Sometimes these accusations are the final straw and not the only reason someone is terminated. And sometimes they are.



If the company fires A or B for making a HR complaint this is literally a federal case and big lawsuit for retaliation. Way more clearcut than Cs options. If the assumption is A is a liar, firing them is an even riskier move.

 

[SevenBizzos]

Thank you for all the responses. Love the different takes.

Personally, I wouldn't want to work in a place like that. I think C is better off not there and they're going to be much better off with a better employer.

I got more info on it. This place was Jerry Springer central. Turns out B (the witness) had filed a lawsuit against the employer (I do not know the reason) a few months ago.

I found it interesting that HR ran with the accusation that arose during a termination notice. I can see it as being possible if the employee made it weeks prior. Perhaps A made a last ditch effort to save their job and figured the employer couldn't fire someone that had filed a complaint as they could then be a "protected class". Who knows?

My employer recently had a two hour "harassment training" for all employees. The lawyer doing the presentation basically said anything could constitute "harassment" under the law. His example was that you might not even be able to say "nice shoes" to someone as it could be interpreted negatively. It's a crazy world we live in.

Again, thanks to all you random internet people!

 

[Mr Nice]

OMG... what has the workplace turned into.
That #MeToo movement has really gained traction and now you can't say a 'peep' to a woman....

That means I can no longer say:
What shampoo are you using? Your hair smells like strawberry scented Herbal Essence.
What are you using on your skin? It looks sooooo silky smooth, soft and tender.
Is that the new Taylor Swift perfume you're wearing? You smell great..



Just kidding

 

[jeepman3071]

The answer is, it depends.

This situation actually seems to be occurring more and more due to recent media stories. Companies hear about something, want nothing to do with it, and will terminate someone to make it go away. Guilty until proven innocent is really how it works now. Person C definitely has a case if he/she was wrongfully terminated, but it also depends how far they want to take it. Was this issue made known? Will it follow them around and hurt potential job leads? If the person was wrongfully terminated C can also go after A for claiming false witness. This of course depends on B's willingness to tell the truth and how involved they were in the original "investigation" (they might be on the hook for their job too).

I have a family member which this same thing happened to (they were C). It has been a long, painful, and expensive process. People will lie and do whatever it takes to save their job even if it seems obvious how guilty they are. Had there not been inaccurate media coverage tarnishing this family member's reputation, they probably would have just moved on with their life and got another job.

It also depends if the company is an "at will" employer. In this case there is very little that can be done, since they can terminate you for no reason at all.

 

[jeepman3071]

Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
OMG... what has the workplace turned into.
That #MeToo movement has really gained traction and now you can't say a 'peep' to a woman....

That means I can no longer say:
What shampoo are you using? Your hair smells like strawberry scented Herbal Essence.
What are you using on your skin? It looks sooooo silky smooth, soft and tender.
Is that the new Taylor Swift perfume you're wearing? You smell great..



Just kidding

Women are actually doing themselves a huge disservice with this whole #MeToo movement. The media coverage surrounding it leads to situations like the OP, where people are fired and assumed guilty before anything is proven, simply to avoid negative press. Many big companies will see hiring women as a risk and will avoid doing so (even if they won't admit it or it can't be proven) in order to prevent these situations. It has made some work environments very hostile.