Sexual harassment is never pretty, but what if the allegations are false? Rick Roy is founder of Rix Investigations, a full-service private investigation firm based in Phoenix Arizona. He is frequently hired on behalf of the defense to help disprove sexual harassment allegations.
The definition of sexual harassment is unwanted verbal or physical contact in a sexual manner or with a sexual tone that continues despite your protests, and which over time inhibits you at work or detrimentally affects your productivity. Obviously, whether we choose to define actions as sexual harassment is a bit of a personal decision, as what may be seen as harassment by one person may seen as something else by another.
As private investigators, we are periodically hired by corporations who are going through a sexual harassment lawsuit, or a potential one, most of the time for the defense. They are, in effect, hiring us to keep themselves out of trouble – to prove that the sexual harassment, as defined by the person making the allegations, did not really take place.
Typical Scenario
A common scenario is when a complaint has been filed against someone for sexual harassment, almost always a man. The company where he works wants us to conduct surveillance to ascertain the habits of that person, and to determine if he has the proclivity of being a sexual harasser. This could be someone who asks girls, “When was the last time you wore that favorite shirt of mine?”, someone who is an active flirter, or who loves to flirt a lot.
So we as private investigators try to ascertain what the person is like outside work as well as at work. To accomplish that, we conduct surveillance about what they are talking about, who they meet with and what types of activities they are involved with. We also pay close attention to the people who have asserted they have been harassed.
Profile of the Alleged Victim
We want to know whether the alleged victim is sincere in her desire to resolve the issue, or simply looking for a good payout. Our whole goal is to submit some type of positive evidence so if the employer has to make an arbitrative move, they have the evidence to cover themselves.
An example that happened in the last year was an employee who had accused her boss of sexual harassment. In the boss’s mind, the reason he was accused was because she was passed up for promotion. Our intent was to establish she was doing it as a tactic of revenge against him. We were able to prove through the help of a co-worker that her entire goal was to simply procure a lucrative lawsuit settlement with her employer. She was dismissed, and she signed an agreement that she would take no action against the employer in return for no evidence being released about her. In fact, the day we met with her and marched her out of the employer’s business, the employer was more upset than she was.
Types of Harassment
The Equal Opportunity Employment Commission has outlined two specific types of sexual harassment, assuming that most cases fall into one of the categories listed below:
- Quid pro quo: This represents about 5% of all allegations, when a boss demands sexual favors in return for keeping a job.
- Hostile work environment: When another employee – boss or not – regularly engages in offensive or intimidation language or actions, such as using crude language, making inappropriate emails, or sending around erotic emails.
It is interesting to note that sexual harassment is more often than not less about sex and more about domination. Preventing it at the workplace is important, but sometimes calling in a private investigator is what is needed in the long run.
