Do I have a case for be fired for sexual harassment when there is none and it was a false allegation?
Question Details: The allegation is that a female coworker said to another female that she needed to stop at Wal-Mart to get batteries. I was accused of saying to them that "I want pictures." I at no time said this. Another male in the room wrote a report backing the female and two other males in the room state i never said it. I was immediately fired on the grounds of sexual harassment. I never signed any paperwork and was not given a termination letter. I was not even suspended pending the outcome of the investigation. Is this really sexual harassment in the first place? Do I have any kind of case?
Employment and Labor Law Answers
I'm assuming that you didn't have a written employment contract, which made you an employee "at will." This means that the company didn't legally have to have any reason at all to fire you, and had no duty to investigate or give you a hearing or anything else.
You can't do anything about this, I'm afraid. You were accused of sexual harassment, and that's more than enough reason for your firing. The alleged remark could have been interpreted as a sexual comment, and the company has a responsibility not to allow that, because enough of that sort of thing can cause what's called a hostile work environment, and that is, indeed, sexual harassment.
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