Opinion ID: 152316
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Complaints of Sexual Harassment

Text: On February 10, 2003, Diana Hiraldo, one of the scientists under Collazo's supervision, approached him and told him that she felt sexually harassed by Acevedo, another scientist in her group. Hiraldo explained that Acevedo was making comments against her person, following her, asking other employees what she was doing, and frequently calling her to ask what she was working on. She said that her husband felt very uncomfortable with the situation. Hiraldo further complained that she had overheard Acevedo criticizing her professional work, stating to other employees that she did not deserve certain work accolades. Upon hearing Hiraldo's complaints, Collazo recalled noticing that Acevedo called Hiraldo on a regular basis to check what she was doing, stare[d] at her all the time, undress[ed] her with his eyes, and looked at her with elevator eyes. Collazo also recalled an incident in which Acevedo commented, in Hiraldo's presence, that his wife was not giving him anything to eat. Collazo understood this comment to have sexual overtones and later told Acevedo to be careful with comments like that in front of female employees. Collazo spoke to Acevedo individually about Hiraldo's complaints of sexual harassment. Acevedo apologized for criticizing her work performance, but stated that he preferred to speak with his immediate supervisor about Hiraldo's other allegations. At Hiraldo's request, Collazo then arranged a meeting with Edgardo García, a Human Resources Specialist, and accompanied Hiraldo to the meeting. Hiraldo explained her concerns to García and received information on how to initiate a grievance. After Hiraldo left, Collazo noted to García that this was a serious case, a serious case where this girl alleges that she is being sexually harassed by this guy. At García's suggestion, Collazo then emailed López to inform him of Hiraldo's complaint and the steps taken to address it. [1] Two days later, on February 12, Hiraldo approached Collazo to express concern that Human Resources had not yet taken action on her sexual harassment complaint. Collazo again accompanied her to meet with García, and Hiraldo explained the basis for her complaint in more detail. On February 20, Hiraldo came to Collazo to request another meeting with García. Collazo could not find García, but left him a voicemail message stating that he needed to speak with García about Hiraldo's sexual harassment case.