We must be cautious even within the workplace, as we cannot be certain that harassment will not occur or that the company will protect employee rights. As it happened to this employee in California, who was not only harassed by a coworker but also physically attacked, and now their workplace is trying to fire the victim.
The redditor ChronoDragonKnight sought advice on r/legaladvice, as his case is an absolute outrage and an abuse by the coworker and the company. It all happened because another employee was already molesting OP, but the last thing was that this coworker tricked OP into staying in a room alone. There, the coworker stayed behind OP’s back and took the opportunity to touch them in a “sensitive area” while laughing. So, OP went to report how the other employee harassed them to the supervisor, but the first decision of this California company was to put OP on temporary leave and initiate an investigation.
After that, OP said that in the following days, they had meetings with the bosses while they were doing the investigation. The investigation took only about three days because OP’s version was “unsubstantiated”, yet it still resulted in the coworker supposedly receiving a final warning. In addition, OP’s witnesses did not respond to the claim, but the truth was that the compañi only sent messages to them. That’s why the OP sent an email to HR requesting an interview with their real witnesses. However, the company treated the matter as a problem between friends or something personal.
By day eight, OP was back at work with his deal to have different schedules from the coworker, but by the next day, it was over. Although they both worked in different buildings, OP still felt intimidated by having to be near the coworker. All this while the company had offered an accommodation for OP, as well as a change of work location. However, the relocation options were absurd or a huge downgrade in their position and payment. In the end, the company ended up threatening OP to resist work even though they gave him several “options that they refused”.
Get a lawyer. You got a case. Unless you signed any of those forms they were pushing on you. Sounds like they were trying to get you to admit they were not at fault.
User—Unkown
The company is trying to avoid liability, but it is not taking any steps to hold the coworker accountable either. Everything this company is doing is illegal and unethical, something that all Redditors agree on.
