What If An Employee Reports Sexual Harassment But Wants You to Do Nothing?

What if an employee reports sexual harassment but also tells you that he or she does not want you to do anything about it? What if the employee says that he or she just wants to give you a heads up?

If your answer is to abide by the employee’s request and do nothing, you could end up in big trouble with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and/or Utah Antidiscrimination and Labor Division (UALD). Although an employee may not want you to do anything, these agencies are clear—an employer has a duty to investigate promptly and thoroughly and take immediate and appropriate corrective action.

This means that an employer is under an obligation to act even if a reporting employee requests the employer to do nothing.