Legal ? - Employment - Sorta

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BITOG has "experts" on everything. Just looking for opinions on this. A group of strangers on the internet on a oil fan site seems like the perfect place for this!
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Basic story line:

Employees A and B are good friends and work under supervisor C.

Employee A is being terminated. During the meeting to inform A of their firing, A brings a claim of harassment against C. A also claims B was a witness. HR has a "zero tolerance" and proceeds to terminate C, although C flatly denies the claim. (Probably not worth anything to the story, but B was terminated four days later)

My question isn't about the employer as they can do whatever they want. My question is do you think C has any legal recourse against A (and possibly B) for this?

This isn't me. I just felt sorry for the person and know them well enough to believe their version.

Thanks random strangers!
 
I would think C might have something with the company, if they had no proof of any harassment, BUT-a lawsuit could likely damage C's future job/prospects(?), with the need to testify at court, or at least a deposition-not sure it would be worth following up on it. Besides, they all lost their jobs, so how good of a company is it to work for, really?
 
Definitely. Any lawyer worth his salt would rope all the parties into the suit. I think the primary party though would be the employer, as they sre the party that directly decided causing a loss and has more responsibility of care; but there is still a solid case against the person making the false accusation for causing the loss too.

You can google false accusation employment and you'll get a bunch of hits including some general blog type articles on the topic from law firms.

Ultimately as with many things in the law, it is not cut and dried, and there are many ways the story could unfold sometimes depending on how much money or time the parties have to spend on the lawsuit.

Tou definitely need a lawyer dor something like this,
 
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Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
I would think C might have something with the company, if they had no proof of any harassment, BUT-a lawsuit could likely damage C's future job/prospects(?), with the need to testify at court, or at least a deposition-not sure it would be worth following up on it. Besides, they all lost their jobs, so how good of a company is it to work for, really?
As a friend of mine who sued an employer once told me, "even when you win, you still lose."
 
I knew a manager fired for allegedly harassing a woman at work and they fired him when woman mentioned lawsuit. 15 years down the drain.... later it was found out that she was lying.
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OP situation can get very murky with various stories from fired employees.
 
Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
I would think C might have something with the company, if they had no proof of any harassment, BUT-a lawsuit could likely damage C's future job/prospects(?), with the need to testify at court, or at least a deposition-not sure it would be worth following up on it. Besides, they all lost their jobs, so how good of a company is it to work for, really?

Question for OP/ C's friend:
after the shock of firing passes,
What answer will the HR from former company give if they get any request for background check from a prospective employer?
If just employed from x to y and no other "comments", I would suggest to move-on.
To have a case you will need a REALLY good shark+vulture lawyer, since the company will most likely not cooperate.
Every kick in the but is a step forward.

P.S. My friendly advice early in my career from my boss when I let him know of my departure: "Cemeteries are full of irreplaceable people..."
 
Originally Posted By: SevenBizzos
BITOG has "experts" on everything. Just looking for opinions on this. A group of strangers on the internet on a oil fan site seems like the perfect place for this!
wink.gif


Basic story line:

Employees A and B are good friends and work under supervisor C.

Employee A is being terminated. During the meeting to inform A of their firing, A brings a claim of harassment against C. A also claims B was a witness. HR has a "zero tolerance" and proceeds to terminate C, although C flatly denies the claim. (Probably not worth anything to the story, but B was terminated four days later)

My question isn't about the employer as they can do whatever they want. My question is do you think C has any legal recourse against A (and possibly B) for this?

This isn't me. I just felt sorry for the person and know them well enough to believe their version.

Thanks random strangers!


C only has recourse if he can prove that his rights under protected classes were violated and submit a claim to EEOC (if he or she has faced constant harassment during employment and has kept records). These usually end up in a symbolic fine of around $5k in right-to-work states like IL.

Quote:
Race.
Color.
Religion or creed.
National origin or ancestry.
Sex.
Age.
Physical or mental disability.
Veteran status.
Genetic information.
Citizenship.
 
Originally Posted By: Alfred_B
Originally Posted By: SevenBizzos
BITOG has "experts" on everything. Just looking for opinions on this. A group of strangers on the internet on a oil fan site seems like the perfect place for this!
wink.gif


Basic story line:

Employees A and B are good friends and work under supervisor C.

Employee A is being terminated. During the meeting to inform A of their firing, A brings a claim of harassment against C. A also claims B was a witness. HR has a "zero tolerance" and proceeds to terminate C, although C flatly denies the claim. (Probably not worth anything to the story, but B was terminated four days later)

My question isn't about the employer as they can do whatever they want. My question is do you think C has any legal recourse against A (and possibly B) for this?

This isn't me. I just felt sorry for the person and know them well enough to believe their version.

Thanks random strangers!


C only has recourse if he can prove that his rights under protected classes were violated and submit a claim to EEOC (if he or she has faced constant harassment during employment and has kept records). These usually end up in a symbolic fine of around $5k in right-to-work states like IL.

Quote:
Race.
Color.
Religion or creed.
National origin or ancestry.
Sex.
Age.
Physical or mental disability.
Veteran status.
Genetic information.
Citizenship.


A shark lawyer would still rope the employer in, not under the emplyment laws, but under the same slander/libel/defamation laws used against a and b.
It would ve along the lines of saying they fired you validates the accusation, and damages your reputation and future job prospects.
So the suit wouldn't be about the past job exactly, but about the future jobs.
 
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Not much you can do. It will one persons word vs another persons word. Move on, find a new job.

If the allegation was patently false, then lets hope A has it coming to them. If accurate, then its good that the supervisor was fired.
 
How does C get terminated so quickly? 0 tolerance is logical but you cant fire someone without doing a proper investigation. Guilty until proven innocent these days like some movements.
 
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Just wondering if it was really planned layoffs and all three were going to go anyway.



Originally Posted By: Rolla07
How does C get terminated so quickly? 0 tolerance is logical but you cant fire someone without doing a proper investigation. Guilty until proven innocent these days like some movements.
 
No loose ends...

I would of done the same.

As an employer I don't want to have to deal with kindergarten stuff.
 
We live in a witch hunt era right now. People are guilty until proven innocent. I hope it all works out for your friend.
 
Originally Posted By: PimTac
We live in a witch hunt era right now. People are guilty until proven innocent. I hope it all works out for your friend.


For sure!

It's the same way at our University which is why I leave ALL doors open when a student is in my office.

My advice to the OP is to have C get a labor Lawyer for legal counsel if he feels he has been wronged and or falsely accused.

HR's are so politically correct these days they tremble at the least action or accusation.
 
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Originally Posted By: MolaKule


My advice to the OP is to have C get a labor Lawyer for legal counsel if he feels he has been wronged and or falsely accused.

HR's are so politically correct these days they tremble at the least action or accusation.


Agree on the lawyer...however from a different perspective the one who can be sued is person A- if they lied about the harassment they might be held liable for damages to C. Very tough to prove.

The company has a zero tolerance policy....and although possibly misused in this case (if A lied) it is still the policy so the company would be less likely to have an issue.

The only case in which it might be worth it to sue the company directly is if C's position was very higly compensated.

An attorny in the state in question will have much more accurate information than a bunch of internet pundits, so at the very least, C should go see aforementioned Shark Lawyer.

On another note, this happened to a coworker of mine back in...96 or so. Fired when accused. We all knew the woman that claimed he touched her chest was lyng...but no witnesses or cameras back then so he was out the door.
 
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