Workplace hostility or harassment

We have recently had a situation where an anonymous group of members has circulated a letter asserting some financial problems (liens, foreclosure notices) by our General Manager, and attempting to cast doubt on his ability to do his job. " Should our monies and Country Club be managed by someone who is not capable of managing his personal finances and blatantly disregards the payment of his debts".
The GM has been in place for 7 years and has always performed his duties in an exemplary manner and to the satisfaction of the Board.
My question is: does this letter constitute either harassment or the creation of a "hostile work environment", even though written by members and not management.
I believe it is causing undue stress on our GM.
What can we do?

Bob,

I think the board should just ignore the actions of this mean-spirited group of individuals. You state yourself the GM has always performed his duties in an "exemplary manner and to the satisfaction of the Board", so why would you now question his capabilities to manage his private finances based upon these unsubstantiated allegations? IMO, his personal life has nothing to do with his job performance.

Since the letter was directed to the GM, it's up to him to decide if it constitutes harrassment and whether or not to do something about it.

Bob:

If the letter is directed to the GM, let them deal with it...if it is directed at your board then address the situationas you already said, he has performed a great job for 7 years and thorough review of his work leaves no question about his ability.

Paula,

I have to say that once you run an association or deal with many matters similar, you will find that the last expense any Board or association wants to deal with is to pay an attorney for basically a matter that can be handled from within. Boards should not call the attorney for any matter unless it is for advice on how to handle this. Sorry! but I've been there and done that with our own Board and 2 goof balls who wanted to do things their own way

Not sure that I understand: Is the GM a resident of the HOA, and is having financial problems that include foreclosure? Then his personal finances are of no one else's business. . . . and the "anonymous" group needs to be told that.

On the other hand, if this person is a resident, is he up to date with assessments and/or dues? If not, then there should be some concern coming from the Board.

MaryA1

I agree with you in the fact, that I too don’t believe that the GM is a resident of the association. However, “IF” he is a resident, I feel that the board SHOULD investigate those remarks. Otherwise, (IMO) his financial affaires shouldn’t be of any concern to the association. Although, it certainly does look as though the board isn’t defending the accused or agreeing with what was written, thus far. THAT’S WHERE THE MISTAKE LIES. These may be early signs that should be verified.

As a member I wouldn’t be easily influenced into believing “hearsay”, before gathering adequate information needed to make a clear and decisive decision at my own leisure.

Your last statement troubles me considerably. That’s like having an alleged child molester (others have informed you of his sexual preference) as YOUR baby sitter, even though he has done a wonderful job for seven plus years, ONLY YOU ARE AWARE OF HIS CURRENT PERFORMANCE. Unfortunately, even “IF” he is the greatest babysitter you have ever hired. You would still want to “clear” his name. Due to the fact that you hired him therefore; you look as though you made a poor choice and have endangered your child and possible your family.

The board looks (to the members) as though their opinion/views aren’t relevant. If these claims are indeed truthful, then the appropriate course of action should be taken. I believe “IF” left to the members, unfortunately, they will draw their own conclusions, based upon personal experiences. Which the majority of the time isn't always good!

I would follow all this up with a notice or bulletin (to the entire community) verifying or falsifying those specific claims distributed earlier.
That’s just my opinion though.

Best of luck and keep us posted.

Chuck W

My thoughts:

It's an anonymous letter suggesting that your GM may not be handling your finances properly due to alleged unrelated issues. Sounds like a grudge to me.

I would not send or post a response. That just lends credence to it and will encourage more anonymous challenges about other things in the future. Ignore it.

I also would review your finances. Not because I think he is doing anything improper, but so you will have a record of having followed up even though the notice was anonymous.

If anyone contacts you about the letter, just let them know that you have looked into the anonymous complaint and the allegations have proven to be groundless. Prepare a canned e-mail to this efect and use it for any e-mail inquiries that you may receive. Make sure to include somethng along the lines of "after performing our due diligence, the Board has determined that the concerns of the anonymous writer are groundless."