Misplaced Affections
| Case Study 1| Memo To:Abbe Siver From:Nihad Polimac Date:9/22/2011 Re:Misplaced Affections Situations: In the case of “Misplaced Affections” sexual harassment occurred by creating a hostile environment for Mrs. Beverly Gilbury by Mr. Peter Lewiston. Lewiston started changing during the 2007-2008 school year. Lewiston created this hostile environment by paying more attention to Mrs. Gilbury and participating in visiting her classroom more often, writing Mrs. Gilbury letters and sending her flowers. On June 8, 2008 during the close of the school day, Lewiston showed up around Gibury’s car trying to explain himself.
The parking lot scene got more disturbing and physical as Lewiston reached to touch Gilbury by her shoulder, but touched her head instead. This made Gilbury very uncomfortable so she drove away, very upset. Mr. Lewiston was frequently told by Gilbury that she thought of him nothing more than a friend. On June 9, 2008, Gilbury received another letter from Lewiston. The letter stated that he was wrong for trying to develop a relationship with her and hoped they could still remain friends. June 11, 2008 Gilbury obtained an injunction prohibiting sexual harassment by Lewiston from the Western Justice Court.
Lewiston appealed the injunction shortly after and Gilbury received a notice in the mail showing her the dates of the appeal hearing. Failing to appear at the hearing meant the injunction may be vacated. On July 11, Gilbury filed a sexual harassment complaint with the district’s EEOC officer against Lewiston. In the end the court concluded that Lewiston’s actions created an “extremely sexual hostile’ environment for Gilbury. The court recommended dismissal based upon the previous conduct of Lewiston and the initial injunction granted by the Justice Court. Main Problem: As a result of Mr.
Lewiston’s sexual harassment behavior towards Mrs. Gilbury the key problem arises. Mr. Lewiston has created an extremely sexual hostile work environment at the workplace. By taking actions into his own hands he made Mrs. Guilbury very uncomfortable; therefore, impacting her performance at work. The situation got worse when Mr. Lewiston did not get the message that Mrs. Guilbury was happily married and did not want to have anything more than a friendship with Mrs. Lewiston. This was told to Mrs. Lewiston more than once but he simply did not care, therefore escalating the problem and pushing Mrs.
Guilbury to obtain an injunction thus resulting in the termination of Mr. Lewiston. Key Issues: The key issues that resulted in Mr. Lewiston’s sexual harassment behavior as well as his termination include the following. * The first issue started when Mr. Lewiston sent letters and flowers to Mrs. Guilbury hoping to start a relationship with her. * Following Mrs. Guilbury to the parking lot Lewiston created an uncomfortable situation, by accidently padded Guilbury on her head instead of her shoulder. Guilbury knew Lewiston meant no harm, but his actions made Guilbury nervous so she drove away quickly. One of the biggest issues is the fact that Mrs. Guilbury only wanted a friendship with Mr. Lewiston but Lewiston wanted more than just a friendship, describing how he felt about her in some of the letters he wrote her even though he knew she was happily married. * Mrs. Guilbury decided to tell a co-worker/friend about Mrs. Lewiston’s action, but she did not tell the right people. Instead of a friend Mrs. Guilbury should have had a talk with the human resource department to see if they could stop the problem from escalating. * The last and most important issue that cannot be overlooked is the fact that Mrs.
Guilbury obtained an injunction prohibiting sexual harassment by Lewiston. The problem that occurred is that Guilbury did not attend the hearing therefore the injunction was set aside. The problem could have been resolved by her attending the hearing in court. Alternative Solutions: 1) A final warning should be sent to Mr. Lewiston to stop the sexual harassment and his actions towards Mrs. Guilbury. This warning should threaten his occupation status and should say that he will be terminated if he continues to create a sexual hostile work environment for his co-workers. I believe a final notice is the right step toward a solution.
Pros; * By Giving Lewiston a final warning chances are he might come to his senses and stop his sexual harassment behavior. * A final warning could help Lewiston keep his job and avoid termination * Lewiston would not have to deal with looking for another job and having fired on his record. Pros; * By Giving Lewiston a final warning chances are he might come to his senses and stop his sexual harassment behavior. * A final warning could help Lewiston keep his job and avoid termination * Lewiston would not have to deal with looking for another job and having fired on his record. Cons Giving Lewiston a final notice would mean that his past action have no consequences. * A final notice would be risky because it would be hard to tell if he might do it again in the future. * A final notice would not resolve the actions that have been made and would not teach Lewiston a lesson Cons * Giving Lewiston a final notice would mean that his past action have no consequences. * A final notice would be risky because it would be hard to tell if he might do it again in the future. * A final notice would not resolve the actions that have been made and would not teach Lewiston a lesson 2) Instead of termination, Mrs.
Guilbury should report the sexual harassment to her supervisor or human resource manager; therefore, he would have been suspended and sent to get help and training on what he did. In my opinion due to the fact that Mrs. Guilbury did not attend the hearing shows that he did not offend her as much as she said. It is possible that Gilbury might have liked the attention she first got from Mr. Lewiston because she said “it has been a long time since anyone sent me flower. ” Suspension and treatment is a great alternative solution. Companies should also look for pro-active solutions instead of instant termination.
Sometimes instant termination without considering other solutions can result on lawsuits. ” Failure to adopt a pro-active/aggressive stance can result in costly lawsuits and loss of employee morale, a decline in productivity and an erosion of a company’s public image”. (Robert, B. S. , and Mann, R. A. , 2008). Training and help on ones work behavior looks very good for the company, especially when hiring new employees. Cons; * Suspending Lewiston would mean the company would be losing out on his services in the mean time. * Receiving help and training would mean that the company would have to finance Lewiston’s treatments. Once again money would be involved in joining a social club and the company would not know when he would be able to return to work. * Some co-workers might argue that Lewiston should have got fired. Cons; * Suspending Lewiston would mean the company would be losing out on his services in the mean time. * Receiving help and training would mean that the company would have to finance Lewiston’s treatments. * Once again money would be involved in joining a social club and the company would not know when he would be able to return to work. * Some co-workers might argue that Lewiston should have got fired.
Pros; * Suspending Lewiston off gives him the chance to rethink his actions and consequences as well as his work ethics. * Lewiston would have to receive help and training on his behavior in the work environment. * Suspension could give Lewiston time off to join a social club and get help to reduce his loneliness. * Suspension, instead of termination makes the company look a lot better. Pros; * Suspending Lewiston off gives him the chance to rethink his actions and consequences as well as his work ethics. * Lewiston would have to receive help and training on his behavior in the work environment. Suspension could give Lewiston time off to join a social club and get help to reduce his loneliness. * Suspension, instead of termination makes the company look a lot better. 3) Another possible solution to Mr. Lewiston’s actions would be to report him to the manager and talk to the human resource department. By reporting the sexual harassment to the manager Mrs. Guilbury would not have to deal with any injunctions or legal issues. Instead the Human resource department would have to solve the problem and the problem would have escalated. Cons; * Co-workers might be scared off and avoid contact with Guilbury * Mrs.
Guilsbury could lose the existing friendship she has with Mr. Lewiston. * Mr. Lewiston could have a hard time finding a replacement job. Cons; * Co-workers might be scared off and avoid contact with Guilbury * Mrs. Guilsbury could lose the existing friendship she has with Mr. Lewiston. * Mr. Lewiston could have a hard time finding a replacement job. Pros; * Lewiston’s behavior could have been resolved without any actions from Mrs. Guilbury. * The sexual harassment behavior would not be escalated nor excepted by neither the manager or the human resource manger * Mr. Lewiston could be terminated of laid off without pay.
Pros; * Lewiston’s behavior could have been resolved without any actions from Mrs. Guilbury. * The sexual harassment behavior would not be escalated nor excepted by neither the manager or the human resource manger * Mr. Lewiston could be terminated of laid off without pay. Select Solution: The selected solution to this particular problem is not to terminate Mr. Lewiston, but instead to send him off on suspension and to make sure he gets training on his behavior in the work environment. Sending Mr. Lewiston to get treatment is better to a company’s ethical work standards and looks good at the same time.
By doing so Mr. Lewiston is given another chance to recuperate himself get training and special care. One might say that sending Mr. Lewsiton off to get help is going to cost a lot and the company will lose money on him. This is a good question but in fact the company will lose more money by hiring a new worker and having to put in many hours of training on him. I chose this solution because it does more good than bad. Also Mrs. Guilbury won’t have to feel bad about telling her manager about the sexual harassment she’s been going through. This solution will also benefit Mr.
Lewiston by giving him the opportunities possibly join a social club in order to help cure his loneliness. After considering the other alternatives I have talked about this solution is the best. Giving Lewiston a final warning to stop the sexual harassment behavior will only fix the problem for the time being, but Lewiston would not learn from this warning because he has had no consequences to face. The last alternative was to notify the manager or the human resource department and speak about Lewiston’s behavior in the workplace. This idea would not give Mr.
Lewiston the opportunity to seek help and possibly keep his job. Implementation/Recommendation: To implement this recommendation, Mr. Lewiston should sign a final warning statement and should be sent off on suspension until his treatment/training is finished, but should not take any longer than one month. Actions By:| Action to take:| Timing:| Mr. Lewiston/Human Resource Management | To sign a final notice statement, and leave work to start treatment immediately| 2-3 days should be given to implement this action| Mr. Lewiston| Start treatment/training on behavior in the work environment. One week should be given to enroll and start the training and treatment process. | Mr. Lewiston| Finish the training and become more aware of his actions and how to professional behave at work. | 2 and a half weeks should finish the recommended course on sexual harassment behavior | Company| To accept Lewiston back from training and treatment and to start his job again. | One week right after the complement of training. | References Roberts, B. S. , ; Mann, R. A. (2008, November 16). SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE: A PRIMER . Retrieved from http://www3. uakron. edu/lawrev/ robert1. html
