Facing False Sexual Harassment Allegations at Work: How Should I Defend Myself?

I have been charged with false sexual harassment by my female manager.

Incident Details

Below are the two incidents on which I have been alleged.

Case 1: Meeting Room Incident

Eleven months ago, I took her inside a meeting room located at the center of the floor, with transparent glass doors, in the middle of the day, in the presence of almost 60-70 employees around, to discuss work-related issues. I "locked" the door to avoid any disturbance to fellow teammates sitting just outside the door. The intent behind locking the door was to prevent any loud noise from reaching outside the meeting room if we got into any arguments because she is very loud and has no manners. I didn't want anyone to make fun of that meeting. After that meeting, she went out normally and smiling. The very same day, I thanked her on WhatsApp for understanding the issues, and she responded with a smiley. I have the screenshots of that. Here, charges were dropped on me because of the locking of the door.

Case 2: Argument with Male Manager

Recently, my new male manager and I had a huge fight. In that argument, I abused him. I admit it is not ethical and should not have happened. He has no manners at all and suppresses everyone, and that day he yelled at me in front of other team members, which was an abuse and harassment for me, and that's where the fight started. The female manager I wrote about above has charged me with sexual harassment as I abused in front of her. She was present there and witnessed the entire scenario with her own consent and awareness. I didn't say anything to her.

HR Involvement and Allegations

The HR called me spontaneously a few days back and started threatening me in the name of police, court, and the MeToo movement, and asked me to write a statement saying that I understand I have been alleged with sexual harassment charges and asked to apologize for the abuse. At that time, due to the way they were talking to me, I could not understand anything and did what they said. This is a conspiracy to fire me as I never bowed down in front of these corrupt managers.

Seeking Advice

Please suggest what I should do. My team members suggested writing an email with WhatsApp screenshots about all this to the higher management from both the team and HR end and include all the team members, and ask the team if they felt anything like that as they were there. Also, to ask for CCTV footage for that day. A few team members are willing to respond to the email telling the truth, which is against the female manager. Is this the right way? Please suggest.

Case 1

Locking the door was wrong. Closing the door could have served the same purpose of avoiding disturbance, etc. Anyway, you have evidence that the lady did not misunderstand the locking of the door.

Case 2

You abused your manager, and it cannot be considered sexual harassment of the witness. Please try to sort out the matter in-house itself. If this is not possible, then seek legal help. Your issue appears to be an interpersonal incompatibility problem resulting in legal issues. What evidence do you have about corrupt managers?

May be the fellow employees can express their views as how they have harassing by suppressing.
Won't the biggest corruption evidence be when I email the thread to the higher managment and the team members, and the team members respond against them saying that these are false allegations?
Is it a good idea Emailing higher management and team members because that's the only way to show my side of evidences which the HR is avoiding?

What has happened to you is quite unfortunate. If your teammates are willing to be witnesses, then I recommend that you submit an application to the Managing Director (MD) of your company requesting a thorough inquiry. In the application, describe the incident but do not mention any material evidence or witnesses.

However, please be aware that you should not solely rely on your teammates to testify before the inquiry officer as witnesses. Often, individuals may commit to something but hesitate to testify when the time comes.

You mentioned observing corruption by the managers. Do you have concrete evidence of their wrongdoing? If so, submit a separate application to inform the MD about the corruption without disclosing the specific evidence you possess.

Thank you,

Dinesh Divekar

Dear Anony, indeed, what has happened is very unfortunate. I suggest you go through the guidelines of the POSH Act to gain an understanding of the subject.

Case 1 - Help me understand how bolting the door will reduce the noise from going outside? The act of bolting the door to avoid noise from going outside is just silly and lame. And I can't recall seeing a full glass door ever with a lock or a bolt. The only thing that can come to your rescue under such a circumstance is camera recordings, if any, eyewitnesses who saw you both in a discussion, and maybe chats if they are relevant.

Cussing at work at a dear colleague is christened as misconduct. Please understand that the office is a controlled environment, and one really needs to keep calm. Yet, however, such an act can't be considered as an act of sexual harassment. While reviewing cases of sexual harassment, the internal committee assesses the nature of the issue and also the impact of the incident on the lady concerned irrespective of the intent of the offender. I think a mere apology is enough to close the case.

In case you are being framed by corrupt managers, you must approach your senior management with proof of corruption. If you don't have proof to substantiate your allegations of corruption, don't even bother wasting the time of your management.

Try to sort the entire thing amicably, make an apology if it works. Do seek professional legal advice if required.

Regards, Rahul

Addressing False Sexual Harassment Allegations

In both instances, I see no acts of sexual harassment committed by you. The act of just locking the door for a meeting with your female manager in full view of many teammates neither amounts to sexual harassment nor does abusing another male manager in the presence of a female manager, who is just a witness to it.

However, your abusive behavior towards the manager amounts to misconduct if you are a workman under the Standing Orders Act, provided the Act applies to your establishment.

Understanding the Charges

You mentioned being falsely charged with sexual harassment. What does this mean? Have you been given the charge sheet, or has she filed a complaint to the internal committee under the POSH Act? In either case, you should deny the charges and face the inquiry. I am sure you will come out clean as you have committed no acts of sexual harassment. It would be advisable to consult a labor lawyer to present your case in the inquiry.

Regarding Your Written Apology

Regarding your written apology, you should state on record that the admission was extracted from you under threat and coercion, and whatever is stated therein is not true.

Remember, you can label some managers as corrupt only if you have reliable evidence in your possession.

Regards, Vinayak Nagarkar HR Consultant

I sent an email with all the details and screenshots to the top management and the team. I received four responses in my favor, but two of them were recalled because the employees were threatened by my managers. However, two responses remain: one from a female employee and one from a senior employee at my position. The lady who made the accusations gave me a missed video call on Saturday after the incident. I am unsure of the reason, but I have that screenshot now. Please share your point of view on this.

I may add to what has been said so far:

1) Do you have any information like this or something similar in the past involving these two people? If yes, tagging those incidents here might help you to protect yourself.

2) Was there any written complaint alleging these incidents so far, or were they only oral threats? In which case, is there CCTV footage that could be secured to corroborate your role in the circumstances?

3) What could have been the motives behind these actions? Simple professional jealousy? Apart from the bribery angle, which is difficult to prove with evidence, did you have any conflicts with these people in the past, leading to revenge like this?

4) Cussing on the premises is not seen as 'decent office manners,' especially against your seniors. Therefore, if you consider it reasonable, you can even express regret over the second incident.

5) What has been the reputation and rapport of these two in the office and with their seniors? Do you think if you escalate your side of the defense to senior management, it will be given due seriousness and judged on merits, or will they possibly take sides as well?

Take the next few steps carefully, considering all these aspects together. Let natural justice prevail. All the best.

Dear Colleagues,

The poster, despite asking to share details, has not bothered to do so. This has resulted in learned members proceeding to give advice based on allegations of sexual harassment. I have already stated that, based on the limited data provided, there are no acts of sexual harassment committed by him. The first incident of merely locking the door for the meeting by no stretch of the imagination amounts to sexual harassment. That matter is closed, and the poster has reliable evidence in this regard. The second incident of abuse also does not amount to sexual harassment, except that it separately constitutes misconduct. If the poster does not provide full information, the learned members may not bother to give views or advice.

Regards,
Vinayak Nagarkar
HR Consultant

Hi Vinayak, so a female (junior) and a male colleague (senior) have responded to my email where:

1. I asked the whole team to respond if they have ever felt, or on that day felt, in any way that she was being sexually harassed by me or ever. I even asked the team if I have ever sexually harassed any other female employee.

2. I asked the HR to bring in the CCTV footage for that day.

I received replies from them stating that they were present that day and didn’t see anything like that. One of them even questioned that if I did sexually harass that lady, then how come I was promoted to a higher position where she was the approver. The female employee has given her feedback that I was very respectful to her when she worked with me. They even said that they can’t relate me to any such activities, and they too demanded a fair investigation.

Provisions Under the SHWWP Act

If Incident No.1 attracts the SHWWP Act, then the following provisions will be implied:

- While the "workplace" in the Vishaka Guidelines is confined to the traditional office setup where there is a clear employer-employee relationship, the Act goes much further to include organizations, departments, offices, branch units, etc., in the public and private sectors, organized and unorganized, hospitals, nursing homes, educational institutions, sports institutes, stadiums, sports complexes, and any place visited by the employee during the course of employment, including transportation. Even non-traditional workplaces that involve telecommuting will be covered under this law.

- Every employer is required to constitute an Internal Complaints Committee at each office or branch with 10 or more employees. The District Officer is required to constitute a Local Complaints Committee at each district, and if required, at the block level. The Committee is required to complete the inquiry within a period of 90 days. Upon completion of the inquiry, the report will be sent to the employer or the District Officer, as the case may be, and they are mandated to take action on the report within 60 days.

- The Complaints Committees have the powers of civil courts for gathering evidence.

- The Complaints Committees are required to provide for conciliation before initiating an inquiry, if requested by the complainant.

- The inquiry process under the Act should be confidential, and the Act lays down a penalty of Rs. 5,000 on the person who has breached confidentiality.