Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 30, 1993 TAG: 9305280337
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By L.M. SIXEL HOUSTON CHRONICLE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Barry Blakley, an industrial organizational psychologist with Jeanneret & Associates, a management consulting firm, recommends investigating charges as soon as possible.
"Don't let it sit," Blakley told the Industrial Relations Research Association meeting in Houston last week. "Cancel a vacation if that's what it takes."
Blakley's comments reflect a nation that has become hypersensitive about sexual harassment.
Twenty years ago, centerfolds on the wall and cracks about sexual favors were commonplace at work. Now companies are hiring consultants to teach their managers that sexual jokes are unacceptable, and setting up toll-free harassment reporting hot lines.
The number of complaints is on the rise, companies report. And many employers have streamlined their investigation procedures.
That includes treating every complaint as valid, Blakley said. Don't make light of a complaint about lewd jokes at lunch - it could come back to haunt you when the employee sues for nothing being done about the hostile environment.
When interviewing purported victims, you have to separate the facts from the emotions.
"Don't say: `You have every right to be upset,' " Blakley said. "Tears don't mean more truthfulness."
Interviewing someone is difficult when that person is crying, Blakley said. If employees need help dealing with their emotions, refer them to a counselor. It's also critical to talk to as many potential witnesses as possible.
Never say, we could always talk to two more people, said Chapman Smith, a labor lawyer with Baker & Botts in Houston who represents companies.
"You're gonna get sued," Smith said. "You want to make sure when the plaintiff's attorney puts you on the stand you don't want him to list 15 things you should have done in the investigation."
The U.S. Postal Service sends out a two-person team to investigate every sexual harassment complaint, said P. Syal, manager of post office operations in the Houston district. The Postal Service tries to balance team members in terms of ethnic background, race and job function.
"We reassure them we're listening," Syal said. The investigators are relieved of all other duties and can spend as long as necessary looking into the complaint. That has taken as long as three weeks, Syal said.
The two are fact-finders only. The reports on interviews with witnesses and supporting documents are passed on to a four-person group that decides whether harassment occurred and what to do about it.
The Postal Service in Houston received seven harassment complaints so far this year, Syal said. Her office logged 31 complaints last year, which Syal figured stems from the interest Anita Hill generated from her harassment allegations against Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
It's also essential to act on what you've learned from an investigation.
There's no such thing as an "informal investigation," when someone complains but doesn't want anything done about the problem, Smith said.
Smith told the personnel administrators and union negotiators that once they know about the complaint, they must tell the accuser: "Look, unless you tell me not to, I have no choice but to conduct a full investigation and correct the problem."
Smith also emphasized the importance of having a sexual harassment policy at the workplace that says where an employee can complain.
Companies with sound personnel policies make it a point to give a copy out to employees once a year, he said.
Smith criticized the attitude of some companies that don't want employees to know where they can complain about sexual pressure or a hostile work environment, lest they actually do it.
"The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has said what it's supposed to say," Smith said. "Don't try to change it."
by CNB