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Do we need an attorney for harassment charges preventing my husband from fulltime employment?
Anonymous2 views2 answers
My husband & I work for the same company, different areas. I'm a permanent & he's a contract employee. Within the last year, fulltime positions were opened twice. Both times I was mysteriously accussed of harassment and favoritism towards my husband. The accusers said I was negotiating a fulltime job for my husband w/ those who have no say or control. They said I was allowing my husband days off & to leave work early. Even though my boss knew these allegations wern't true, my husband was still denied a position because of them. Currently, new jobs are posted and I am once again under these same allegations. HR is involved, but doing nothing to protect us. I'm afraid my husband will once again be denied employment. My boss had lied to me last year when he said HR had handled the issue.
Employers can decide who to hire, or not hire, on any grounds that does not implicate discrimination based upon race, gender, national origin, or another protected class. This is true even if their decisions are wrong or are unwise. For that reason, you do not have any legal recourse if management decides not to hire your husband because they do not want spouses working together or because they don't want to offer permanent positions to two people who are married, because they just don't like him or because they just don't want to upset people who don't like him.
Unfortunately, the only real solution is probably for you and/or your husband to find an employer with better management and work there.
Your use of the term "hostile work environemtn" is intriguing, but a bit misplaced. While it is indeed true that your co-workers are creating such a workplace, that term is one that is typically attached to sexual harassment claims. In your situation, I did not read any facts that lead me to conclude you are running into that. isntead, you are the victim of gossip and innuendo and there is really nothing you can do to stop that. Short of being a signatory on an employment contract or protected through some sort of collective bargaining agreement, we are all "at will" employees, meaning that bosses can hire us, fire us, promote us and not promote us for just about any reason they choose.
If you want a better understanding of the sorts of claims employees can bring against employers in Colorado, sit down with a labor and employment attorney for any hour or two.
Best of luck to you both!
