January 19, 2018

"MeToo" Is a Reality, and It Is Not Going Anywhere

It is a nightmare scenario for any manager – A secretary in your company shares a “#MeToo” experience on social media, implicating another of your employees. You have not seen the post, but your assistant has and mentioned it to you as soon as you entered your office.  You soon learn that other employees and members of the public have also seen the post and are talking about it in the hallway.  What do you do?  Do you dismiss it out of hand, once again condemning social media as a worthless outlet pandering to attention-seekers?  Do you believe it at once, based on the individuals involved?  Is this the first time the employee’s name has been mentioned?  Have other employees or former employees commented about this employee’s behavior?  Is it a not-so-secret secret that this employee may overstep boundaries?

Businesses both large and small are facing these very dilemmas every day, particularly as the #MeToo movement seemingly gains new life and growth daily. It is nearly impossible to watch the evening news or browse the Internet without seeing an announcement that a politician, celebrity or corporate officer has been accused of sexual harassment.  The accusations, however, are not limited to the rich and famous.  Our cities and towns, our large and small businesses, are not immune to such accusations.

Under many employee handbooks and manuals, a simple social media post on Facebook or some other social media website may not satisfy the requirements for a complaint. But do not get comfortable.  That does not mean that you can disregard the existence of the issue, or that you can wait until a formal complaint is filed in accordance with the strict wording of your procedures. Such rigid requirements could allow, or even tacitly encourage, predatory acts to continue, or intimidate victims such that a formal complaint will never be filed.

When confronted with a #MeToo posting you should meet with the employee involved to reinforce your commitment to eradicating workplace harassment and show that you take all such allegations seriously. This will also enable you to reinforce your policies governing the use of social media and establishing a productive work environment, and explain the proper procedure to be followed for making a claim of workplace harassment.  This interaction may also reveal that the employee has a legitimate concern about workplace conduct, which you should then treat as you would any other similar accusation by conducting a thorough investigation consistent with your productive work environment policy.

How you respond to a #MeToo posting has serious consequences for your business. The attorneys in our Labor and Employment Group have decades of experience assisting our corporate and management clients addressing issues of employee misconduct.  Contact one of our attorneys if you need assistance or have questions about responding to a #MeToo posting.