Life is good. You’ve served the county well for several decades and retirement is just around the corner. Just a few more months of routine work before that retirement check starts coming in and you and your spouse can jump in the camper to start seeing America. You don’t have a care in the world. Then it happens. An employee walks into your office alleging sexual harassment against another employee. So much for the uneventful few months before retirement.

Sexual harassment allegations should never be taken lightly. The county must act swiftly to pro-tect its workforce and its workplace, and so every charge ought to be investigated immediately.

In most cases, the employee only wants the harassment to stop, and when the county responds slowly or altogether ignores the complaint, a lawsuit against the county is often the result. The victim charges that the county had knowledge of the incident or complaint, but did not take action. If other employees are harassed, they too could argue that the county failed to provide a safe working environment.

The official or manager who investigates the complaint should make it his goal to obtain the necessary facts to determine if the harassment occurred. He must take care to remain impartial. It is unwise to assume guilt or fraud until all the facts are gathered.

Interview the complainant. Tell her (or him – victims are not always female and harassers are not always male – the roles can be reversed or even same-sex) how the complaint procedure will proceed. Make it clear that no negative action will be taken for filing a complaint in good faith. Also warn her about the liability involved if she makes false or malicious statements or discusses the matter with others.

It is important that the investigator be able to separate facts from opinions or emotional statements. Areas that need to be addressed by the investigator include the particulars of the alleged harassment: Who did it? How? When? Where? Learn if there were any witnesses, or if there are any notes, letters, e-mail messages or similar documents that support the complaint.

Ask the employee to put the complaint in writing, but do not demand it. Even though the investigator should take notes of all conver-sations relating to the investigation, the impor-tance of note-taking is evident if the complaint is not written. The complainant should be assured that all reasonable efforts would be made to ensure confidentiality. However, a total guarantee of confidentiality should not be given since there is really no way to completely prevent some breach in confidentiality.

At this point, ask the employee how the situation can be resolved. Perhaps the county can remove offending pictures in a coworker’s office, transfer the complainant to another job, or give time off with pay until the investigation is completed. However the county proceeds, it must not punish the complainant.

The next steps involve interviewing the alleged harasser and anyone else who might have information or direct knowledge of the incidents. During these interviews, the investigator needs to listen carefully to be able to separate actual knowledge from opinions and hearsay information.

The most significant information gained in the investigation is first hand information provided by the interviewees. Whenever possible, the investigator should obtain signed statements from the witnesses. The investigator should use open ended questions that do not reveal too much information to the witness. "Did you hear Fred say ‘Nice butt’ to Mary?" would be a leading question.

It would be better to say, "If you have seen anyone say something to Mary at work that seemed to make her uncomfortable, describe the incident and tell me when it occurred."

Interviewing the accused person is also a delicate situation. He should be told of the purpose of the investigation and that no conclusions will be reached until a full investigation has been completed. He should also be told that that the information gathered in the investigation will be limited to those who have a need to know. Before questions are asked, the accused should be given enough information about the complaint to be able to respond to the allegations.

During the questioning the investigator needs to ask about the relationship between the accused and complainant. It is important to know if there had been a previous consensual relationship between them. Is the accused the supervisor of the complainant? How did the complainant respond to the alleged unwelcome behavior? Has the accused any documentation or witnesses to support his statements?

The accused should also be warned that any retaliation against the complainant is prohibited and will result in severe discipline.

When the investigation is completed, a final decision should be made based on the facts gathered. Both the complainant and the accused should be informed of the results of the investigation. If there was, in fact, sexual harassment, the disciplinary actions that will be taken should be explained to both parties. Any action taken, however, should be appropriate to the level of harassment.

For minor problems, a written warning and suspension without pay might be suitable, but for severe infractions, termination would be preferable. In any action short of termination, the employee should be warned that any further such misconduct will result in termination.

And as in all matters related to personnel, document everything.