December 15, 2007
Dear Jacqueline,
I regret the circumstances under which I am writing this letter to you. I am extremely upset about what happened, and I hope you will accept this explanation. I have believed from the beginning that my employment at Fiserv was the result of your positive endorsement, and I feel terrible that your colleagues might think your good faith in me was ill-placed.
Attached to this letter is a statement that I have prepared regarding the allegations against me. MANPOWER will be furnished with a copy to keep in my file, as Cher Malone of that company has already expressed an interest in continuing the business arrangement between us.
As stated in my statement, I plan to submit to a polygraph test, at my own expense if necessary. I would like to invite Fiserv to submit any questions that they would like to have asked in the course of the test. I am confident that the results of the test will help to clear my name, and I swear to you here and now, as God is my witness, the allegations against me are completely false. You can be assured that I do not intend to pursue legal remedy; my interest in this matter goes only as far as clearing my good name of these false charges, and perhaps in effecting change so this won’t be able to happen again.
Jacqueline, you have a liar in your midst at Fiserv; someone who is capable of ruining someone else’s life to further their own agenda. What other treachery is this person willing and able to do? I shudder to think. And by terminating me, Fiserv has essentially traded a faithful, hardworking and productive employee for one that is capable of causing unconscionable damage to their team and employer.
Perhaps, as a human resources professional, you can appreciate some of the following ideas. The laws regarding sexual harassment are extremely broad. But let’s not kid ourselves; I witness daily, as I’m sure you do too, behavior (often not all that innocent!) that falls under the legal definition of sexual harassment. In order for this to change, more legitimate complaints would have to be filed. But the victims of this rather commonplace behavior don’t usually file complaints. Rather they choose cope, and carry the burden of the oppression alone. The reasons for this are legion, and I’m sure you’re well-versed in all of them.
Because of the legal liability many companies have adopted the policy of unilateral termination of alleged offenders. This gives anyone lacking conscience enough to bear false witness against a colleague the power to get virtually anyone else fired. And we are all vulnerable. So, on the flipside, I have to wonder – of all the complaints of sexual harassment that do get filed, what percentage of them are false? I’ve researched it and found information on this question to be sparse and disparate.
As I’ve heard one lawyer put it in regards to false allegations, “Be afraid. Be very afraid!” But is this anyway for a modern, civilized workplace to operate? False sexual harassment claims result in a frigid, mistrusting work environment where one could not engage in normal human interaction such as clasping another person hand in a handshake, and squeezing a colleague’s shoulders, for example, without fear of losing their job and having their name raked through the mud.
So, we have a problem; and the solution currently in place doesn’t really help, but rather, it creates new problems; ultimately, bigger problems; because while sexual harassment is more heinous than false accusations of sexual harassment, the latter is actually more damaging and costly in the long run, having the potential to undermine and destroy entire businesses!
Luckily, I have an idea for a fix. Maybe you are in a position to implement change for the positive. With today’s modern surveillance technology, it would be easy for legitimate victims of sexual harassment to get proof to support their allegations. Picture the following scenario: A female feels sexually harassed by certain behaviors of a male
co-worker. He exhibits the behaviors regularly, but never when anyone is around to witness. Summoning her courage, she meets with her HR counselor, and files a complaint. Rather than unilaterally terminating the offender, the HR counselor and the victim devise a way to capture video and/or audio of the offensive behavior. To do this is easy and affordable as this kind of technology is now small enough to fit in a cell phone, or be hidden on a person’s clothing. Armed with the surveillance equipment, the victim no longer feels helpless because she is doing something proactive to cure the situation. I think you can see how this story would end.
And what we would no longer have is a way for any one person to get anyone else fired solely on allegations based on hearsay. Done right, any captured video footage and audio might even be admissible in court.
Isn’t Fiserv Lending Solutions a Fortune 500 company? Perhaps by implementing new methods for the handling of complaints, Fiserv could lead the way in making the workplace a more comfortable and safe environment for all professionals. But then, I always have been an idealist.
I truly appreciate the opportunity you gave me by allowing me to come work at Fiserv. I am terribly sorry about what happened.
Sincerely,