Q–Our supervisor, who is an attractive married man, is constantly handling the younger female employees in our department. The contact rarely goes beyond back, neck and shoulder massages, but it is distracting for other employees.
The women involved in this behavior seem to vie for his attention. He also touts these women for desirable positions, while rarely complementing other workers to his superiors.
Is this sexual misconduct? He runs a profitable division, so the company looks favorably on him and is not likely to do anything about it.
A–This situation has an interesting legal bent. Let’s assume the writeris a woman over 40. If she says the supervisor is always touching the younger women in the office and favoring them because they accept his attention, there is a potential age-discrimination claim, said Harry Sangerman, employment law partner at the Chicago office of McDermott, Will & Emery.
Also, even though he is not physically harassing the writer, he may have created a hostile work environment because he apparently has created the impression that his female subordinates must be young and compliant to get ahead.
Sangerman says that in addition to the supervisor’s physical conduct, the fact that he has disadvantaged other females may cause the company to be liable for his actions.
No company can afford to permit this type of behavior, and a smart company won’t. Reporting it confidentially to human resources should result in a company directive telling the supervisor to stop his behavior. If the company takes no action and the conduct continues, you may want to file a lawsuit.
Q–I’m in a weird situation. My first supervisor hired me as a designer but gave me drafting assignments, which are more basic and for employees at a lower level. I put in for a transfer as a designer to another department and got the job. This boss let me work on designing.
The trouble is that she has been promoted and my former boss (the one who wouldn’t let me design) is taking her position.
I don’t even think my former boss knows that I was in a higher designer position than when I last worked for her. What do I say to her to let her know?
A–You need to show your former boss that you have been working as a designer and have a resume to prove it. Make a list of all your on-the-job designs and show it to this boss. No one can argue about accomplishments.
Q–I know it’s not fair to lie on a resume, but sometimes we have to. Until hiring managers learn that it is sometimes better to hire someone with a good aptitude (high IQ) than to hire someone with experience, it may be necessary to fake experience.
When I know I can do the job, especially with my knowledge of software, I have created samples on my own to represent past projects. If a guy does his groundwork, he can get a job without difficulty.
A–Sometimes it is better to hire someone with a high aptitude over someone average with more experience.
It sounds like you are highly proficient in your field, but you would likely seem even more impressive as a potential employee if you presented your accomplishments as work you have done on your own rather than falsifying your work history.
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Write to Lindsey Novak, Jobs, Room 400, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611. E-mail: AtWorkbyLN@aol.com.
