Texas-I am a guest at a hotel. I have been staying here from a while because of work, about 6 months or so. My gf had a run in with a person at the front desk in which this person rub her hand and arm as she being handed something. This made her very uncomfortable and she still refuses to look at the guy or go around him. This sounds like sexual harassment to both of us. I have let the owner of the hotel know and he said that he would try to get this person to quit by putting them on weekends because this person my go to the Labor Board with a complaint. It sounds like a bunch of crap to me and I am very upset that nothing has been done. Is there anything this person could say to the labor board that would justify their actions? There are other employees here that have also complained of the something from this same person. What can I do? What can the staff do? Who is to say that this person has not done this to someone else?

Anybody there?

Contrary to popular belief, an employer is not obligated to fire an employee who harasses. An employer's obligation is to make the harassing behavior stop. If the behavior has stopped, the employer has met its obligation. If it hasn't, then the employees should report it to the EEOC.

If you are still uncomfortable staying in this hotel, you might wish to bring the situation to the attention of your company and see if they will allow you to stay elsewhere.

Your gf is not an employee of the hotel, therefore, she has no standing to allege employment sexual harassment. However, if employees of the hotel think that they are being sexual harassed by a co-worker and have complained to management and it didn't take effective action to stop the harassment, they can contact the federal agency EEOC or the state human rights agency.

What could the EEOC do about the situation? What would they need? I know I have nothing against Employment Sexual Harassment because she is not an employee, but sexual harassment is still a crime no matter who you are. The hotel knew of similar problems and leaving this guy at the front desk seems to be neglect, does it not? Would we have any leg to stand on if we went for a lawsuit?

The EEOC is the federal agency charging with investigating and resolving cases of sexual harassment. Under federal law, the employees cannot sue until the EEOC issues something called a right-to-sue letter. Thus, the employees who feel that they are being harassed need to report the situation to the EEOC first.

And, again, there is no law that says that the employer has to fire an employee suspected of harassment. The employer's obligation is to make the harassing behavior stop. If the harassing behavior has stopped, then there is no neglect. If it hasn't, then it's a matter for the EEOC.

I'd just like to point out that you posted after business hours (at least for the East Coast where many of our responders are located) and waited less than half an hour before getting impatient about not having an answer yet. The responders here are all volunteers who do this on their own time when they get a chance. Please have patience; it is not always possible to provide an immediate response.

How about filing assault charges with the police?

That might achieve everything you're looking for.