what to do if someone accuses you of harassment

How to Defend Yourself Against False Harassment Charges

Harassment is a serious charge that will follow you lot everywhere.

Since the #MeToo Movement in 2018 , harassment cases are slowly being taken more seriously, especially in the workplace.

It'southward a wonderful thing for most. All the same, in rare cases, there might be faux charges mixed in with genuine ones. According to this Forbes article , there might be anywhere between 150 to 750 imitation charges out of the 7,514 sexual harassment complaints filed to the EEOC in 2019.

Various things might crusade someone to create a fake harassment charge.

Some individuals, both men and women, want to take advantage of this sensitive topic and falsely accuse someone of harassment. Reasons may vary, including a recent pause-up or fallout, wanting to take downwardly the competition, or simply wanting to set on someone they don't like in the hopes of their termination.

Conversely, it might be a misunderstanding that can be resolved after a quick investigation, equally people take vastly different senses of humor and understanding.

Regardless of the reason, imitation accusations take consequences that may follow you for the rest of your career. You need to know how to defend yourself if, past gamble, you're a victim to one of these misleading claims.

What to Do If You're Falsely Charged or Defendant of Harassment

*Please note that nosotros aren't equipped to give legal advice. If you are falsely accused of a crime or harassment, we propose seeking legal counsel from an experienced chaser.

If the threat of defamation isn't plenty, the punishment of a harassment charge as well varies depending on the severity of the claim. It might be categorized as a gross misdemeanor or a felony. Serious charges, like physical harassment or domestic violence, may even autumn under criminal police force. With that said, hither are a few steps you can take if you take imitation allegations confronting yous.

Stay at-home and avoid retaliation

While your first instinct may tell you to defend yourself at all costs, defensive beliefs makes you expect unprofessional when you're existence investigated. Retaliating , in item, may make y'all await more guilty and backlash against you.

Remember to stay at-home and think of your next steps thoroughly so you lot don't lash out. Retaliation can be used confronting you as evidence that yous're guilty of harassment, fifty-fifty if yous aren't to begin with.

Review your employer's harassment policy

Reviewing your employer's harassment policy might shed light on whether what y'all did is harassment or not. Consider the possibility that you lot did brand a fault and accidentally offend someone along the way.

Additionally, your company'south harassment policy should besides outline what happens next during the investigation and then you tin can prepare for any proceedings. Knowing what to expect, who to talk to, and how to clear your proper noun will be beneficial in the process of defending yourself.

Practice not confront the accuser

When yous're told that you're beingness investigated, your first response might be to meet the accuser and try to reason with them. Notwithstanding, the conversation can take a turn adequately rapidly and they might get even more materials to prove that you're guilty of something that you're not. If the accuser has a grudge confronting you, they could especially misinterpret your words and paint you unfavorably.

A conversation between y'all and your accuser to "clear the air" isn't a adept thought in nearly cases. Fifty-fifty if you think it's a misunderstanding, refrain from confronting the accuser.

Consult your HR department

Consult the Human Resources department to see what you can do to resolve the matter according to your company's workplace harassment policy. If you take an internal HR section, it'south highly likely that they'll exist doing the investigation. They can provide you lot with guidelines on how to defend yourself and sometimes even mediate if the harassment charge is a simple misunderstanding.

Your Hour section should be trained to handle situations like these . They can inform you lot almost what yous should expect from the investigation or what evidence you need to defend yourself.

Collect your own prove and notes

If you're existence reported for harassment, information technology'due south highly probable that the accuser has their own trove of testify, whether y'all're being accused of a hostile piece of work environment or quid pro quo harassment . Outset collecting your own to prove your side of the story and defend yourself. Every bit you assemble evidence, write downward the encounter in equally much detail as y'all can so you can refer to it and effigy out what went wrong.

A written note might also help the investigation every bit you lot tin can compare the evidence each side has and come across the discrepancies.

Provide your truthful alibi and witness accounts

Besides writing down your point of view of the incident, it's also important that you present an honest alibi and witness accounts that might prove your innocence.

Effort to recall the incident. If you lot were somewhere else when the alleged harassment happened, find show of that. This can include materials such as receipts, parking tickets, witnesses, or fifty-fifty pictures that may show that y'all were elsewhere.

Additionally, if there are witnesses to the harassment, consult them and ask them to step forward and so yous tin resolve the misunderstanding.

Highlight your history

If you've been a model employee with clean records and outstanding performance, remind your employer well-nigh your history with the company. Draw their attending to the fact that yous've been treating your colleagues with respect and professionalism.

A history of good behavior, or at to the lowest degree 1 that's not problematic, can aid you convince the investigators that the harassment claims against you are false.

Cooperate with the investigation

Hindering the investigation will merely make yous expect guilty. Aid the investigators go to the truth by telling the truth of the incident. Don't try to hibernate the facts either, as your company volition certainly find out most it one mode or another.

Instead, cooperate with the investigation and provide any details that are asked of you.

Contact an attorney

While your 60 minutes department and the investigator(s) will instruct you on how to go on with the investigation, they won't dedicate their time to building a defence force for you. Instead of doing it on your own, you may consider getting legal advice from a professional attorney so yous have someone with your best interest in listen and can inform yous of your legal rights.

This is specially important if information technology's a serious complaint, such as sexual assail allegations that could end in termination or involve criminal charges. A lawyer tin can help you build a stronger example and inform you lot of your rights and any laws yous or your accuser may suspension.

Furthermore, make sure that you're consulting the correct kind of lawyers. For example, if you lot're battling in a criminal instance, choose an experienced criminal defense force lawyer.

If you lot're concerned about the costs, yous can e'er find a police force part or a law business firm that offers a free consultation to see if the imitation claims are worth paying a lawyer to assistance you decide the all-time form of action.

Effective Harassment Training with Inspired eLearning

While it's rare, false charges do happen. If you're currently battling a imitation accusation, follow these tips to make sure that you're sufficiently defending yourself. You might exist thrown off due to the untruthful claims, but you demand to prepare your defenses appropriately by consulting an attorney and gathering all the evidence to bear witness your innocence.

False charges acquired past grudges and personal tension are some other thing entirely, but ones acquired by a misunderstanding are avoidable with adequate training. Some states even crave yous to have mandatory harassment training .

Effective harassment training ensures that you're not crossing the line when y'all joke around with your colleagues and keep your jokes advisable for a professional person setting.

Looking for an effective training plan to recommend to your Hour section? See the comprehensive curriculum we've prepared then that yous, your co-workers, and your employer know how to minimize workplace harassment and false charges.

Contributors

Alexis Best

Digital Content Manager

Content marketer with five years of experience in the cloud security and compliance industry. Using SEO to continue security get-go by keeping it on the outset folio.

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Source: https://inspiredelearning.com/blog/how-to-defend-yourself-against-false-harassment-charges/

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