Workplace harassment or even worse

[bridget]

I am classified as an independent contractor by the 501C I work for. I have regular office hours and get a monthly salary. I have been with this organization for a few years. I am the only paid person in this 501C. For the last 12 months I have been harassed by the President. I had reported this to 2 Board of Directors and one Officer of the Board of Directors. No action was taken on their part. The harassment escalated until at our last Board meeting, the President stopped the meeting and said "I am going to ask you to leave the Board room at this time and wait outside, I have issues to discuss with the Board about you." For the next 30 minutes he read off a list of accusations about my job performance according to various Board members. When I was told I could return to the meeting I walked into the Board room only to be told the meeting was over. I heard from 3 Board of Directors later that day and each one told me some of the accusations, one Board member took notes as the President read off his accusations. The Presidents accusations are false, he knows them to be false, and some of the Board members know they are false and have confronted him about it. I asked to have the President make a list of his allegations and allow me to meet with all the Board of Directors to show my evidence (which I have) and prove that he was not telling the truth. The Board met with the President, I was not allowed to attend this second meeting, and they asked that he make a written list of his accusations and send it to me and the Secretary of the Board. He has done this, although the list he has sent is reported to be much shorter and missing several accusations from the original meeting. The Board has scheduled another meeting when I will be able to address these allegations. I am the Executive Director for this 501C. Do I have any recourse, is this slander or just harassment? I have been told by one of the Board that it was even brought up that the Board should just vote, and either me or the President goes. If I lose my job because of his false allegations, with proof that they are false and he knew them to be false, what can I do. Also what about my having been reporting his harassment for the last 12 months with no investigation or help from the Board. I first reported his harassment 12 months ago in 2009 with at least 5 more reports since then, most of them in the last 5 months. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. If it matters the President is a male. I am female, and over 50.

[Shagnasty]

All anyone is going to be able to tell you here is to talk to an employment lawyer licensed in your jurisdiction.

[astro]

What exactly do you mean by "harassment". Most of the time people would assume you mean overt sexual harassment of some kind, but you don't use that word anywhere in your entire description of the scenario.

Are we talking sexual harassment or what? How exactly are you being harassed?.

[Colibri]

Since this concerns a specific legal issue, and the OP is seeking advice, this is better suited to IMHO than GQ.

Colibri
General Questions Moderator

[Larry Mudd]

<lf>
<cr>

[EvilTOJ]

I've tried, I just can't read solid walls of text.

[sandra_nz]

Originally Posted by bridget

I am classified as an independent contractor by the 501C I work for. I have regular office hours and get a monthly salary. I have been with this organization for a few years. I am the only paid person in this 501C.

For the last 12 months I have been harassed by the President. I had reported this to 2 Board of Directors and one Officer of the Board of Directors. No action was taken on their part.

The harassment escalated until at our last Board meeting, the President stopped the meeting and said "I am going to ask you to leave the Board room at this time and wait outside, I have issues to discuss with the Board about you." For the next 30 minutes he read off a list of accusations about my job performance according to various Board members. When I was told I could return to the meeting I walked into the Board room only to be told the meeting was over.

I heard from 3 Board of Directors later that day and each one told me some of the accusations, one Board member took notes as the President read off his accusations.

The Presidents accusations are false, he knows them to be false, and some of the Board members know they are false and have confronted him about it. I asked to have the President make a list of his allegations and allow me to meet with all the Board of Directors to show my evidence (which I have) and prove that he was not telling the truth.

The Board met with the President, I was not allowed to attend this second meeting, and they asked that he make a written list of his accusations and send it to me and the Secretary of the Board. He has done this, although the list he has sent is reported to be much shorter and missing several accusations from the original meeting.

The Board has scheduled another meeting when I will be able to address these allegations.

I am the Executive Director for this 501C. Do I have any recourse, is this slander or just harassment?

I have been told by one of the Board that it was even brought up that the Board should just vote, and either me or the President goes. If I lose my job because of his false allegations, with proof that they are false and he knew them to be false, what can I do.

Also what about my having been reporting his harassment for the last 12 months with no investigation or help from the Board. I first reported his harassment 12 months ago in 2009 with at least 5 more reports since then, most of them in the last 5 months.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. If it matters the President is a male. I am female, and over 50.

Wall of text reformatted.

[Nava]

For us foreigners, a 501(c) is a tax-exempt Not-for-profit Organization.

[Quartz]

Never mind - missed Nava's post.

[NinetyWt]

Time to lawyer up. Bring your notes with you. Good luck.

[Sister Vigilante]

Of course, for tax exempt companies I am not sure if what I'm about to say is true but I'll throw it out there anyway in case it helps someone else.

First of all, if you have regular office hours and use their location and their equipment to perform your duties on their deadlines, you are not an independent contractor according to the Department of Labor (at least in my state) and the IRS.

If you're let go, apply for unemployment anyway and provide documentation of your work environment (as I briefly outlined above) to the DOL and the IRS. The IRS also has a form on this page you have to fill out.

This is personal experience, my employer fought my unemployment claim and lost.

[Cat Whisperer]

So, you think you're being harassed by your superiors, and your superiors think you're doing a terrible job. Is it possible what you see as harassment is them trying to get you to do your job? Barring that, this job doesn't sound like a good fit if everyone is pointing fingers at everyone else for what they perceive as bad behaviour.

[Spoons]

The facts as reported by the OP are quite general, so I will speak generally. Note that IAAL, but I am not the OP's lawyer, nor is it likely that I am licensed to practice in her jurisdiction. Bridget, the only hard advice I will give is to consult a lawyer licensed to practice in your jurisdiction. I will, however, offer some general comments.

Generally speaking, if it isn't sexual harassment, or some sort of harassment that can be traced back to a protected ground under anti-discrimination statutes, it usually isn't harassment at all; at least, not legally. It is--to put it as plainly as I can--one or more persons bothering another. While workplace bullying (the term for one or more employees severely bothering another) is becoming more recognized, it is not yet at the point in most jurisdictions where it can be legally actionable. Note that in the vast majority of workplace bullying incidents I've studied and analyzed, one pattern that emerges is that unless the bullying is causing physical or psychological reactions causing you to seek the help of a physician or other qualified professional, you won't be terribly successful. In other words, you won't get very far simply stating, "He's bothering me!" or "He's trumping up allegations against me!"

Bridget, according to your post, you've reported his harassment, and a review of your actions in this way may provide some insight as to why nothing has been done. Have you reported it based on a breach of a company policy? Does company policy state what behaviour is acceptable and what is not? Does company policy outline a process through which employee complaints such as yours can be resolved, and if so, have you followed it? Unless you have exhausted every avenue available to you at the company level, you will typically have little to no luck trying anything legally.

Have you reported it based on a breach of an anti-discrimination statute? If so, then there may be an actionable matter, and you would do well to consult with a lawyer in your jurisdiction as to your options for pursuing it. But understand that the president being a man and you being a woman isn't enough for such a "harassment" complaint--you have to prove that there was a sexual or gender-oriented basis for your complaint.

While company policy and anti-discrimination statutes may offer a hope of relief; overall, it seems to me that one of the best things you can do is to accept that, for whatever reason, the president and/or the board don't want you around. Get your resume in shape, find a co-worker there who is willing to give you a good reference, and start looking elsewhere. Be proactive; turn your efforts towards finding someplace that does want you instead of one that is discussing getting rid of you. Don't waste your valuable time and emotional energy in filing yet another fruitless and/or baseless harassment complaint.