To: Chris Walker, DOX Human Resources
From: Name Here
Date: March 2, 2015
Subject: Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

I am writing this letter regarding a reoccurring incident that has been happening throughout the workplace, making it an uncomfortable and unsettling atmosphere. I have been approached by a co-worker in regards to John Doe, who has reportedly been harassing co-workers and customers. On this note, I came in to supervise the work place and in doing so was harassed as well. I am writing to you with hope that this matter will be kept confidential and that reasonable actions may be made.

Reviewing John Doe’s actions by a countless number or employees, I find him to be going against our code of conduct. Evidence of his convictions were documented word for word with employee signatures of those present and signed on that day. I must rule out bias because Mr. Doe harassed me myself. As of now, Doe is being accused of verbal sexual harassment of workers and customers. As it says in the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission website, “It is unlawful to harass a person (an applicant or employee) because of that person’s sex. Harassment can include “sexual harassment” or unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature” (par. 1). This issue we are dealing with is no joke and what is being said by the EEOC is what Doe is being accused of. Because of this credible source, we must understand how big this situation is and potentially could be.

In order to protect the rights of everyone in our store, I suggest we consult John Doe with Human Resources immediately before any more extreme problems occur.

According to our company policy, “sexual harassment is not tolerated nor is the act of any misconduct toward workers or customers… If found guilty, the employee must be spoken to… Human Resources has the right to provide an online class for the employee to take in order to improve his/her behavior (par. 9 sec. 2). Therefore, I recommend we approach the employee, inform him that his behavior is not acceptable, and improvement is required immediately.

We must take disciplinary action with a written warning and require that he attends a sexual harassment training class prior to resuming back to work. He may not be aware that this is offensive and that sexual harassment is grounds for termination.

My concern regarding his behavior is that he is exposing our company to potential lawsuits, impacting our sales, reputation, and the feelings of others who will not take his comments as a joke.

For example, the Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Co. law suit, illustrates the same harassment we are facing with John Doe. In this case, Jenson was “harassed for being a woman in the workplace and ended up taking it to court… The woman then settled with the company for $3.5 million” (par. 3). This case could potentially be our own and we have a lot to lose. If not acted upon properly and efficiently, we could find ourselves out of business. What we need to do is take it upon ourselves and become aware of what our consequences are before speaking with John Doe.

Before attacked directly, he has been reported saying that “You should work at Google because you do not let anyone finish a sentence before making a suggestion” to a female worker on Friday February 2nd as well as “What is she doing out of the kitchen,” to a man regarding his wife on February 4th, and many more “jokes” to this day. The fact that I was recently informed about this incident and verbally harassed on March 1st, makes me worried about how close we are to going to court by someone who will not take the abuse any longer. I am also frightened about how we let this happen for so long without us realizing it. I found Doe harassing not only our workers, myself included, but our customers as well which means we have the right to be sued by either. If this does not stop soon, we could be in serious trouble and face the judge in court or even be sued by his victims.

I suggest we set up a meeting with Human Resources and the employee as soon as possible, documenting the disciplinary actions, and arrange to set up an online sexual harassment training that he must pass in order to improve his understanding of what is expected behavior in the workplace. This employee should not return to work until this training is completed satisfactorily.

This action is intended to educate John Doe and improve his performance at work and set him in the path to success in the future. In order to maintain order in the workplace, we must abide by our rules and ensure everyone understands and implements them. This situation may even strengthen our workers morale coming together for a just cause. All in all, if we take these actions toward this issue, we may be able to get passed this without it getting out of control where we would have to settle the situation in court putting our company on the line.

Thank you for considering these requests. If you have any questions, please call me at Extension 455 or email me to discuss the reports further.

Respectfully,

Name Here
Assistant Manager
Tel:
Email: