A VP at our organization was accused of sexual harassment and admitted to the behavior. He was not fired and then spoke about it with staff at lower positions than his. Still not fired after these employees reported him talking about it nonchalantly. Should he have been fired?

5 Comments

1. AnonymousJuly 16,2024 at 6:41PM UTC

   That's up to your leadership. Evidently the leadership does not feel it rose to the level of termination. It's all dependent on your company's "read" of the situation.

2. AnonymousJuly 16,2024 at 8:28PM UTC

   I don’t know what the particular circumstances are and I don’t think it would be appropriate to make that call without all the details. He admitted it to whom? HR? In casual conversation at the “water cooler”? Randomly to other co-workers? What did he say specifically? Maybe he doesn’t consider it harassment. If the person(s) he harassed didn’t go through the proper channels to report it then how would it get escalated to the point of his employment termination? If it’s just “office talk” then there is no paper trail and without that, he’s not going to get fired. If you are comfortable talking to the victim of his alleged harassment and encouraging them to formally report it, you should do that. If he has harassed you, then you should formally report it. The company won’t take action if they have no formal harassment complaints on record. Employees reporting that he was talking about it, is not necessarily grounds for termination. After all, without actual harassment complaints, it’s just talk at this point. It might have other consequences or disciplinary actions that are either being investigated or disciplinary action already taken but you probably wouldn’t hear about that since it clearly didn’t lead to his termination of employment.

3. AnonymousJuly 17,2024 at 4:47PM UTC

   The person who was harassed reported it to HR. Thats what prompted him to speak about it.

4. Cindy GloverJuly 17,2024 at 1:12PM UTC

   Situational I think….

5. Paulla Fetzek, MSEdJuly 17,2024 at 1:26PM UTC

   This is a very delicate and difficult situation. From your post, I get the impression the person admitted to the problem and then has gone around bragging to others about the situation. If this is how things are going - then yes, I do believe the VP should be fired.

   The company I work for has a zero tolerance policy for this behavior. the VP would have been fired if the investigation revealed that the allegation proved to be true. He'd never have had the opportunity to walk around telling others about it.

   On the flip side of things... admitting to behavior doesn't mean the person admits to abuse. As crazy as that sounds - what someone might consider ok, another may consider inappropriate. Not knowing the situation, the VP may be talking with people about it because he doesn't see it as an issue. If this is the case, I believe he should have to take a harassment course and make sure he understands the concepts of appropriate talk/behavior.

   Someone else noted that if you're comfortable talk to the victim(s), and encourage them to report. As uncomfortable as it may be for you to get involved, you have a right to do so. If anything, go to HR yourself with concerns. It would be far better to be revealed that what you've seen/heard is incorrect - than for people not to say anything leaving an abusive person to continue.

   You're not in an easy position either way. I commend you for considering things by making this post.