He told me not to say anything about it
Katrina, Denver
I switched to an overnight shift from my previous day shift because my family needed the extra money.
At first, I didn’t think anything of it when my new supervisor started asking me personal questions. He asked about my home life with my husband and my sexual past and things like if I had ever been with a black guy or did I ever want to.
He did this all on our office IM. At the end of the night he would delete the IM from the computer and would tell me not to say anything to anyone about it.
One night I was outside smoking and he was all of a sudden behind me grabbed me and hugged me. He could tell I was uncomfortable but didn’t care. He then started commenting on my body and asking what color my bra’s were. He always did it when nobody was around.
He kept doing this and I finally couldn’t take it after 7 months. I filed a complaint at work and they did an investigation. They spoke with people who heard him say things about me. They concluded the investigation and said since there is no proof nothing can be done. So they are making me switch my shift to something I cannot work.
I feel embarrassed and my old supervisor smiles when he sees me. This is not the first time he has done it but it doesn’t matter. He’s still there. And now I feel the big boss thinks I was lying about the entire thing.
Harassers can often test boundaries with small encroachments that get more and more extreme. It’s a form of “grooming.” And the fact that he deleted these message from the IM and told you to keep quiet proves he knows what he was doing was wrong.
Has he done this to other women he has supervised? If so, maybe you could get them to tell HR what they have experienced. If he has a history of this, and you can gather multiple witnesses, there may be more the company can do to confront his behavior. –Jennifer
Yeah he definately knows what he can get away with and what he can’t. Who he can target and who he can’t. What a sick man!
I hope you can find some other women he has done this to because it sounds like he will continue in his little escapades because he continues to get away with it!
vangogh
november 10,2009
Never mind what the boss thinks you know
exacly what happend and that should make you stronger with me as soon as I told my manager her attitude changed towards me THe mistake I made was to have consideration for one of my bosses and not filed a formal complain now it’s been one year end 7 months and they fired me believe it or not and that employee still there because the manager protects him. and to top it off they are fighting my unemployment I am waiting for
the answer from EDD it’s been 6 weeks now with no check, but god see’s everything this has only made me stronger never dought you’re self.