We received a “911” text from an operations manager, asking us to call immediately. He had sent us a written complaint filed by an employee claiming harassment and a hostile work environment because she had rejected her supervisor’s offer for an “extra friendly” environment. The employee had recently been dismissed because she wasn’t a “fit” with computer technology. This seemed like a pretty easy, open and shut case. I met with the former employee and she told me an interesting story with good detail. Unfortunately there were no witnesses or incriminating emails or text messages. I then met with the supervisor to hear his side of the story. He also gave me a very interesting story, but in his version the claimant was the harasser. He said she had men coming and going from the location all the time and the foulest mouth of any woman he had ever met. We proceeded with the investigation and standard operating procedure required that we perform a computer forensic audit. Oh boy, the things that we found. I can’t even repeat what was in the pictures we found saved on his hard drive and that he had sent via email. Along with the images there were responses to Craigslist ads to have a “good time” and emails between him and former employees discussing their “good times” and when they could occur again. The supervisor was terminated for violation of computer pornography and email use policies. Hopefully the work environment returned to being ACTUALLY friendly once more after he left!
