Facing Workplace Harassment and Defamation: Can I Take Legal Action Against My Manager?

I am working in a top MNC company and have been harassed and abused by a project manager. He is asking his subordinates to go after me and damage my reputation in my previous organization so that a negative background check can be obtained. He is even threatening me that he will not allow me to work anywhere. He says that wherever I go, he and his subordinates will defame me through Facebook so that I should get terminated.

Also, he himself has a fraudulent experience certificate and used this to obtain a USA Visa. He used to engage in fraudulent recruitment, hiring candidates with fake experience. He has the full support of a director who is getting his known persons recruited through him. I have complained to the HR department, but instead of taking any action or warning him, they are saying that I have made false allegations against the manager. These people have the full support of the Human Resource department as they have posted their relatives there. I don't know what to do in this case. Can I file an FIR against him?

The simple way to get out of this scenario is to quit the job and search for other opportunities. Once, as you said, the entire team is corrupted, you cannot survive in that organization. Please change the people. If that is not possible, change yourself. If both are not possible, stay away from the scene.

If the Project Manager can keep all his teammates along with the HR Team, do you think it will be difficult to convince the police against you? Think in that way and act wisely.

Regards

What you have written is quite concerning. You have not mentioned your industry, but it appears to be an IT company. That such a thing should happen in an "MNC" has stunned me even further. Your post goes on to show that whether MNC or otherwise, like humans, companies also have "feet of clay."

We need to assess the situation objectively. I have the following questions to ask you:

- Do you have evidence of the threats that your project manager has given to you?
- Do you have evidence of the fraud that the project manager has committed?
- Do you have evidence of your correspondence with the HR Department? If they dismissed your report as a "false allegation," then how come they did not take action against you?
- You have written that "These people have the full support of the Human Resource department as they have posted their relatives over there." Do you have evidence of a nexus between HR and the project manager to show that they are in cahoots with each other?

Options Before You:

Now you have a couple of options before you. These could be as follows:

- Just chicken out, i.e., quit the employment. That is what a previous member has said.
- Throw in the towel, i.e., continue the employment but accept the supremacy of the project manager. Ask for a verbal apology. Whatever he is doing, treat it as none of your business. Just work for your salary and continue.
- Take up the cudgels for yourself, i.e., fight it out. If you have sufficient and incontrovertible evidence, then send that evidence under Registered/AD letter to the MD of your company. Your letter should be concise and give a chronological order.
- If you wish to take up option (g), then for the time being just lie low until you gather sufficient evidence. In the meantime, approach some lawyer as well. The second thing is to give them a chance to defame you on Facebook. This will give you a chance to hit them with a libel suit. Before filing a libel suit, approach the cyber police. Let them investigate the case.
- After following option (g), if the MD also does not do anything, then send the lawyer's notice to the MD.

Final Comments:

Now, which option to take you have to decide. Before making the decision, please think of your family responsibilities, how far this job is important to you, financial obligations like loans, support from your family members like spouse or parents, which option will impact your career, what type of personality you have, and so on.

Corruption at high places is a challenge to leadership. It would be interesting to see how your leadership handles this situation if you take up option (g).

Other senior members may give their opinions.

Thanks,

Regards,
Dinesh V. Divekar

While Sushma answers the above questions, I would simply say there are plenty of options, some of which have been outlined above. But to exercise or put them into practice successfully, you must have a relaxed mind and be free from panic. So the first thing is STOP PANICKING. Once you relax a bit, you will see what exactly is happening and what can be done. You can also then help us assess the situation more clearly, and then we can all chalk out the way ahead.

It's very often, especially with girls, that they are threatened with defamation on social media handles. While it was very easy and almost untraceable 3-5 years back, it's not that easy now. So relax on that front too. If a person can be arrested for posting personal defamation against a politician, don't you think a person could be arrested for the unlawful defamation of another individual?

Thanks

Regards, Puneet Sarin

Suggest tackling the issue from Another Angle Altogether—this is presuming that you have evidence of your Facebook page being tarnished by your PM and/or HR. Just file a police complaint through their cyber crimes cell—that your name is being tarnished through Facebook. As far as the police are concerned, you are not sure that it's the PM, etc., who is behind this. At most, you only suspect that they could be behind this. Let the police figure it out for themselves.

Reasons for This Plan of Action

There are many reasons for this plan of action:
1. It saves you the trouble of collecting evidence to back whatever you have mentioned in this posting—including corruption.
2. The evidence collected by the police would stand legal scrutiny.
3. The police have the legal and administrative access to many aspects of such cases that you, as an individual, don't have (like IP addresses, locations, etc.).
4. Whatever you mentioned about corruption is, at best, background material and not the primary area of concern of yours. But your name being tarnished is first-hand info as far as you are concerned. Quite often, when you hit at the most vulnerable point, the rest of the 'skeletons' tumble out without any extra effort.

Hope you get the point. All the best.

Regards,
TS

I appreciate all the suggestions given earlier. Since you are working in a "top MNC company," it is surprising how a manager can be so ignorant of laws and stoop so low to harass a female colleague. It is apparent that he is trying to "bully" you into submission. What you should realize is that such bullies have no real courage, and they just thrive because the victims are too terrified to oppose or fight.

You must be absolutely confident that he cannot get away scot-free if he really intends to carry out his threats. The simplest solution would be to call off his bluff! Since you seem already over-stressed by the situation, I shall not burden you with technical legalities, but just a plain do-able suggestion.

Next time he comes to bully you, just let him know that you have taken professional help on this matter, and any such action from him would land him in trouble with law enforcement authorities. Tell him that you'll not hesitate to file a case of sexual harassment against him if he persists. Meanwhile, try to have someone who can be relied upon as a witness for you.

Be brave and take the bull by the horn; and be assured that you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Do let us know the developments and if you need further help on this.

Warm regards.

Before anything else, close down your Facebook account immediately and cut off that avenue of harassment to them. Facebook is totally unnecessary for anyone, and as shown by this example, more trouble than it's worth. Make sure you document everything and keep copies of all emails, etc. That has probably already been mentioned in earlier posts.

I have gone through the grievance and the advice offered by many senior members. Frankly, I did not like their suggestion to "quit the organization." Why quit? On the other hand, be brave and fight against the harassment and threats. If you have received or are receiving threats of damaging your image on public platforms such as Facebook, the Project Manager and his accomplices are certainly inviting trouble. If they do so, they could face imprisonment. You can file an FIR at the police station.

If your superiors are not taking cognizance of your complaints, they are also inviting trouble. In view of the Supreme Court Judgement in the Vishakha Raut Case, the employer is supposed to appoint an Inquiry Committee to investigate the complaint. If they fail to take action, you have certain rights and recourse to proceed.

There is a notable difference between "issuing a warning or memo for negligence in work/poor performance" and "making threats of damaging one's image on a social website." The former is a legitimate exercise of authority, while the latter is a criminal act warranting legal action. Therefore, my advice in this situation is instead of considering quitting the organization, seek the advice of a good advocate specializing in criminal law and proceed accordingly.

Such situations should not be encountered in life, but if they do arise, stand up and fight against them.

Wishing you good luck,

Regards,
Adv. K. H. Kulkarni

Do not worry, follow the steps.

1. Write a complete report to your Managing Director and submit it through email only. After submission, take an immediate printout of your email. If your MD replies, take a printout of his email as well. Take all correspondence home and create/build up a file.

2. Be careful in your duties.

3. In spite of your detailed report/complaint to the MD, if the MD has not taken cognizance, then gather all evidence and file a criminal complaint/FIR with proper proof at the police station of your office against the culprit. When you decide to lodge a complaint, discuss it with your lawyer and go to the police station with him to lodge the complaint.

Do not worry; this forum is with you. All the best.

I appreciate your opinion and reply to the needy person, but misleading the person to file a fraudulent case of sexual assault is not acceptable. We do not know what actually happened in the office. After listening to one side, we can give suggestions only up to a certain limit. Let us stay within our limits in giving suggestions and avoid misleading. If the entire company is against her, then immediately the company can bear any cost and twist the case against the lady, which will further harm the lady's reputation.

Thank you.

From post #1, we cannot know whether 'Anonymous' is male or female. Many subsequent posts have given suggestions assuming that it is a female. Without knowing exactly whether it is a male or female, it will not be appropriate to give such suggestions. Therefore, 'Anonymous' should clarify whether they are male or female. It would also be better if they provide their age and financial status so that better solutions can be found, keeping these vital factors in mind. Better solutions also depend on the ease with which they can find an alternate job.

That apart, there is a common point to be noted. We may many times come to a conclusion that someone is committing fraud or favoring certain people in the workplace because they are relatives. Jumping to conclusions should be avoided. We must be able to substantiate our allegations. Without substantial evidence, we should not label anyone as 'good' or 'bad'.

In the circumstances now created in this case, it is better to quit and find another job and be prudent in the future.

I have gone through the advice of our colleagues, and they are fine. I feel that it may not be possible to fight it out yourself against the hooligans you have referred to. My advice is as follows:

1. Please close your FB account.
2. Change your job.

In case you opt to fight it out by remaining in the same organization, it may be too difficult for you to survive and save yourself from the harassment of the kind you do not know.

Regards,
S.K. Johri

You've received a lot of advice so far. What we all get to hear is from you, which may be one-sided and fair too; however, what others have to say isn't known. I am not suggesting that you aren't stating the facts; it is merely to let you know that they could produce something that can become difficult and embarrassing for you to handle.

Like I always say, "We can empathize with you, but you are the one right there on the 'battlefield,' and you alone know the people, so you are the best judge. Whatever our professional colleagues spell out here are professional, ethical, and legal aspects. It needs you to put up a brave front to tackle situations. Be sure that you have the total support of people back home. Also, be sure wherever you go next to work that this episode will not figure or resurface to hamper your growth there too.

I've faced one such situation in 1994. I could have fought it out, chose to opt out, but 14 years later, our company was acquired by the same people whom I bid goodbye to in 1994. Time has changed, and so has the situation. I could stand up and tell them in no uncertain terms that they keep away from me lest they burn their hands trying to take me on, and that too with 70-odd high-class professionals willing to back me to the hilt. I was deprived of a lot of things, including designation and money, but to me, it didn't matter. I held my head high and walked out of the whole thing like a "colossus," but not too many will get what I got.

Finally, I submit, "Fight if you can; else, quit if you think you are fighting against several odds, including the fear of your future. Make up your mind, giving yourself a good time to think and that too decisively. The first option is going to be endlessly on with probably no end date, whereas the other option lets you have complete control of the situation and time."

Warm regards,

TSK. Raman

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