During the meetings with HR it quickly became clear that there was no way for me to defend myself. I had already been found guilty and the meetings I was attending existed only to gather more evidence against me – not to uncover the truth.

The disdainful look on the HR Director’s face and the accusatory way she asked me about my business trip with two female subordinates immediately put me on guard. There was an aura of, “I finally caught you. You executives think you’re above the rules but not this time.”

Again, my mind was full of questions:

• Did one of my female subordinates complain about me coming onto them?
  
• Could I have inadvertently done something she thought was inappropriate? 
• Was she getting even for something other than sexual harassment that I did or didn’t do for her?
• How can I convince HR that it wasn’t true?  Who will they believe:  me or the alleged victim?
• What will the outcome of this be?  Am I really about to be fired for this?  How could this be, I’ve worked here for over eight years?
• Where is my boss on this?  I work for a very senior executive in the company, he must be able to help me somehow…
  

I was fired within 3 business days of my meeting with HR.  Several years of commitment and hard work … then one person makes an accusation… and whoosh right out the door I went with absolutely no way to defend myself.

      "...take advantage of the lessons I learned and be smarter about how you immediately contain the damage"

Believe it or not, this is happening to executives and middle managers more and more every year in the U.S. Ironically, the more successful you are in your career and the higher you climb the corporate ladder, the easier it is for you to be implicated in this way. If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone.

If you’re still reading this, chances are it has happened to you as well. If this is true, I hope you’ve been confronted with this recently so you can take advantage of the lessons I learned and be smarter about how you immediately contain the damage.

The anger, embarrassment, and disbelief that hit me the week it happened still feel as raw today. However, the fear and concern I felt immediately about the potential ripple effect of such an accusation have since subsided as a result of how I managed the situation and the incredible support I received from my spouse.

While many ex-colleagues and friends think something bad must have happened for me to have abruptly “resigned to pursue other opportunities,” none of them are aware of what really occurred. My ex-boss, wife, and I have carefully delivered a consistent message to friends, family, and colleagues that admits some legal problems between myself and “corporate HR” that lead to my departure but brushes them aside as baseless.

• Severance of six months salary
• Pro-rated payout of my annual bonus
• Removal of any official language from my employee file about sexual harassment
• Formally restrain my previous employer about discussing the allegation with anyone including other employees and prospective employers

One of the first things I did the day after being fired was search for help on the web. I tried to find some advice on how to deal with this and examples of what others had done. I found absolutely nothing for those accused. It struck me then that this must be some kind of taboo topic – a modern day Scarlet Letter so to speak. Maybe people are just too embarrassed to talk about it? I certainly was.

I’ve since put together a “how-to” guidebook based on my own experience and the experience of several other individuals brave enough to share with you their own stories. It addresses the legal, social, and career challenges you’re now facing.

In the Roadmap Forward Guidebook you will find a framework that will help you deal with the following questions and topics:

Tactical and Immediate Guidance: What to say to your employer if you’re still being talked to (i.e. interrogated)? What to say to your wife, family, friends, and colleagues? How to find, and as importantly, manage your employment law attorney? How to keep a handle on your anger and be smart about your next moves. What are your real legal options? How to forcefully negotiate with your employer?

Accepting and Moving Forward: How do you deal with the embarrassment and put this behind you? What is your wife going through and how can you support her need to talk about this with someone other than you without word getting out? How do you deal with your desire for vengeance, the need for recognition of your innocence, and / or learn from your mistake? How do you shift gears, start an unexpected job search, and put on a positive face for prospective employers in the middle of a potentially ugly legal battle? How do you explain why you left to prospective employers

The Roadmap Forward Guidebook also provides disappointing facts about how frequent Sexual Harassment-based firings are occurring today, an analysis on why it has become so commonplace. It also discusses the obvious and not-so-obvious ways to avoid this ever happening to you again.

Before you accept defeat or spend $10K+ in legal fees defending yourself, download and read this guidebook.

You can also download a free preview of the Roadmap Forward Guidebook if you'd like to review the content first.

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