Partner Mark Konkel was quoted in the Corporate Counsel article “HR’s #MeToo Dilemma: How Much to Say About That Fired Employee?,” discussing the wave of sexual harassment allegations in corporate America and how human resource departments are forced to decide how much information – if any at all – should be revealed to the public about employee misconduct.

“Companies are facing two distinct forms of pressure: being open about concerns of women in the workplace and grappling with an uneasy sense that the #MeToo movement might go too far,” said Mark. “Companies must make sure any response to alleged misconduct involves an investigation and due process.”

Mark also mentioned he has “seen a few careers destroyed at this point not because someone engaged in sexual harassment, but because a mere allegation tainted the employee – and the employer reacted by protecting its brand, erring on the side of abundant caution, and terminating the employee. That’s a problem in that it doesn’t just credit the female employee with ‘I believe you’; it positively discredits the ‘accused’ without giving him any real ability to understand what allegations he is facing or providing him with an ability to respond.”

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Corporate Counsel Quotes Mark Konkel on HR’s #MeToo Dilemmas