Unfortunately, being accused of sexual harassment in the workplace is common. It’ll result in a thorough investigation, so you need to be prepared. We’ve run through all the ways you can do this below.
Comply With the Investigation
The law says that a complaint can only be filed after a set period of time, which is 180-300 days. Be sure to comply with the investigation. If you’re innocent, this would help them find evidence that you’re being falsely accused.
To help with the investigation, you can compile a list of witnesses. This would make it easier for the HR department to come to a conclusion. How many witnesses do you have? Include everyone available; don’t pick and choose.
Compile Evidence
Just like you should create a list of witnesses, it would be great if you can find evidence to prove that you’re being falsely accused. You don’t need a lot, thankfully. Anything concrete would work.
Apologize
There’s a chance that the victim is lying to get rid of you. Maybe you’re competing for a job post? Or they may have taken a joke too seriously. Apologize to them, as you might have offended them. Hopefully, they can understand that you didn’t mean to hurt their feelings.
Hire an Attorney
Depending on how serious the situation is, you might find yourself going to court. Sexual harassment is not illegal, so it would be dealt with in the workplace. Sexual harassment would be any inappropriate comments or jokes that you told or wrote.
Meanwhile, sexual assault is a major crime. It involves some sort of physical contact against the victim’s will. If you’re facing sexual assault charges, hire criminal lawyers – you could have several years behind bars.
If the victim is falsely accusing you of something major, they’ve likely collected evidence to pin against you. If you are found guilty of sexual assault charges, you might also have to pay a hefty fine. In the worst-case scenario, you could get 25 years to life in prison.
Being accused of sexual harassment is not as bad as sexual assault. However, if you’re being falsely accused and can’t prove otherwise, an attorney would be able to help.
Confession
As mentioned, a joke you happened to make may have been taken the wrong way. Don’t hide what you said. Coming clean to the investigative team would let you clear your name.
You might have had an inappropriate relationship with a coworker which ended badly, which led to the sexual harassment claim. You might get in trouble for mentioning the relationship, but it’s better than being blamed for something you didn’t do.
A lot of things need to be done if you’re being falsely accused of sexual harassment at the office. Be sure to comply with the investigations every step of the way. You’ll be able to provide as much evidence and witnesses to prove that you didn’t do what you’re being accused of. If it’s hard to prove, an attorney would be able to help. A lawyer would be needed if the charges include sexual assault.
