I have been falsely accused of sexual harrassment and I’m not sure what to do.

This is an incredibly difficult situation to be in, and I really feel for you. What I might do - which is risky, because unfortunately, there's an inherent bias against men -- is to go to the HR department (or designated HR person if the company is too small to have an HR department) and report the situation yourself. I would suggest that you disclose to HR that you are gay, but not out, as it will further support your position. And ask that HR immediately handle it.

Hopefully the other people in your office know who you are and will eventually stand up for you. What you may have is, unfortunately, an opportunistic asshole who takes a job for the sole purpose of creating a bogus sexual harassment charge to basically extort money out of the company. If your company is good at what it does, they will investigate this and see if there are other instances of this with previous employers.

I'm so sorry you're having to go through this. Keep us informed.

 

Um, I don't know what your experience in these issues is, plainoldme, but mine is based directly on a case where something similar happened. I was a senior executive who was handed the responsibility of dealing with such an incident with two of our employees. The law firm I retained to address the issue specialized in employment law matters, and what I described above was basically the scenario most commonly described by the lead legal counsel at that law firm. And yes, companies *do* investigate whether there is a history of such behaviors as it is then pretty much a slam-dunk to get the case dismissed.

While it is true that the company will want to handle the issue as quickly as possible, they will also want to investigate and look at their exposure on both sides, as they could easily make matters worse if they aren't careful. In a situation where a company has employed someone for several years with no prior reported incidents of any inappropriate behavior, and a sudden new hire makes an accusation out of left field, combined with inappropriate boundaries, it's going to be pretty obvious what's going on to anyone with a brain, and taking action against the accused employee will actually yield a second lawsuit.

I do agree that speaking with an attorney -- specifically, one who specializes in employment law -- is a wise choice. However, good employment attorneys in most parts of the country are upwards of $350/hour, and usually require a retainer, so my assumption was that the OP could probably not afford that.

So... unless you have some level of experience that you haven't disclosed here, I'd be a bit cautious about the advice you are offering up.

 

I would say wait a few days before you quit. It's at its worst now, and before too long, something will give. You may eventually decide this isn't the place for you, but I think if you hold out a bit you might feel differently.

You can't change how people react, but you can change how you handle people's reactions. You can choose to not let it get to you and simply continue doing your job. Not the easiest, but definitely possible. And it would be a whole lot better if HR comes out and things are vindicated. If not... you can always go elsewhere.

 

I'm sorry things aren't going well. Please keep us in the loop. It really sucks that you've had to hire legal help, but hopefully that will ultimately help resolve your situation in a positive way.