<p>True. We had a case against us that was baseless…we settled for about 5% of the original demand, because the amount we paid was way less than the cost of litigation.</p>
<p>I really wish they’d bring back the Politics section! I miss it terribly. </p>
<p>None of these candidates have been truly vetted. As they run for President, everything they’ve ever said or done–even to their best friend in middle school–will be examined. I have no idea if Cain has done anything (although my bet is yes, he has, but we’ll see)–but I think denial hasn’t worked out well for anyone in the years, whether it’s Gary Hart, Bill Clinton, Weiner… the last one to get away with it was Clarence Thomas, and that was luck.</p>
<p>A business variant of this is the patent ■■■■■. Someone comes up to your company and claims infringement based on some software product that you’re using. You’re ready to talk to your lawyers until you find out that they want $2,000 to go away. What are you going to do? Spend money to have someone look into your software and then hire lawyers to negotiate something or just pay the two grand?</p>
<p>Lots of things are viewed as sexual harrassment of late. A guy I know made a vulgar reference, to a group of guys who thought it was funny…but he was in the same room as a woman who overheard it and claimed that he had created a hostile work environment. He was fired on the pretense of sexual harrassment, but in reality, he wasn’t very good at his job and his employer jumped on the excuse to fire him. Woe be to the world if this guy ever ran for office (he probably considers Fox New to be far too liberal), but a background check might show that he was fired for sexual harrassment when that was the smallest part of it.</p>
<p>Conversely, there are lots of cases where a person was truly victimized at work, but it’s unactionable, unprovable, or otherwise not worth a penny. Also lots of cases that are winnable and worth money, but if the plaintiff sued, s/he could never get another job in the industry, so it makes no sense to complain.</p>
<p>And that is also true, Hanna.</p>
<p>I always thought that Anita Hill was telling the truth because what she said Thomas did and said was just so stupid. I mean, if a woman was making up sexual harrassment, I would think she would make up something a bit flattering to herself, as in that he made vulgar comments about my hot body parts. To say that there is a hair on a Coke can…why would anyone make that up?</p>
<p>I wonder what the public - some of whom watch Mad Men - would say to a “the work environment was much different then” explanation? My colleague who started work five years before I did recalls that one particular guy loved sending red panties to the female lawyers via interoffice mail…the thing is, the female lawyers liked the guy and thought it was funny, too.</p>
<p>There were allegations of sexual touching & more by a hairdresser vs. a very high profile politician in our state. They were downplayed & he won by a landslide as usual, though many of us believed the woman. He’s just too valuable to vote out (too big to fail 
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<p>I would not have thought receiving red panties in the interoffice mail to be funny…</p>
<p>I tend to think that if the settlement was as reported, $35000, that that is what attorneys call " nuisance value ". If she had a really good case of real harassment, not just joking, and some documentation, or valid witnesses, she could have gotten a lot more.</p>
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<p>Lots of stories of what went on - even at a law firm - 20 to 30 years ago are appalling.</p>
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<p>To state the obvious, the history of our country would be quite different if all of our presidents (and other world leaders) had been subject to the same scrutiny as our current political candidates.</p>
<p>I read somewhere that Lech Wałęsa was a stereotypical “male chauvinist pig”…I doubt that the women of Poland would have traded him for a sensitive, supportive guy who couldn’t get anything done. </p>
<p>But on the other hand, I *do *care about a candidate’s personal qualities.</p>
<p>I think it is not for the candidates or their handlers to determine what is relevant to voters. All records should be opened for the voters to decide.</p>
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<p>$35,000 was more back then, and a year’s salary would sound pretty good to a lot of people. But I did read something written by an employment lawyer where he always got a settlement of at least in the low six figures for a decent case.</p>
<p>But as you said, one needs documentation or witnesses or a greater degree of credibility than the accused.</p>
<p>A lot of what goes on in the workplace fits into the category of “icky.” Actions or words that probably don’t meet the legal defintion of harrassment, but make you not want to work there anymore. We had a male staff member who lingered a bit too long at the secretaries’ desks, asked too many personal questions…ladies were just creeped out by him. Personnel told him to keep to himself and he did. But if he hadn’t…as a firm, would we be guilty of creating a hostile work environment because a low level employee paid a bit too much attention to certain females?</p>
<p>missypie, My mother was one of 8 children, and my father one of 11. Many of their siblings had 8-11 children. My family could keep an army of reporters busy if I were to run for national office! (Not that there is much in the way of scandal, but there is a lot of craziness!)</p>
<p>Cain should have anticipated this and prepared. No one forgets a charge of sexual harassment. I have no idea whether he was guilty or not, but the charges were made and someone settled. </p>
<p>I can’t help but wonder whether this is the first time his wife is hearing about it.</p>
<p>He’s still in office and widely respected. Personally, I try to avoid him but our state prefers to look the other way.</p>
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Just to add to this, it is often the entity’s insurance company that is making the decision of whether to settle or not–the insurance company doesn’t really care if you’d rather fight the claim.</p>
<p>As far as remembering this, I agree that somebody would remember accusations like this (especially if they were false), but even so might not remember a lot of the details.</p>
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<p>I always thought it was disingenuous for people to act surprised at the escapades of presidential siblings like Billy Carter and Roger Clinton. If your family is large enough, most anything can and will happen!</p>
<p>I couldn’t agree more! A large family will include all kinds…</p>
<p>Yes, I have am one of 7 kids & my mom was one of a large family. Dad’s family was somewhat smaller. H’s parents are one of 11 and one of 14, so we don’t know many of his cousins. It is tough to keep up with all these relatives, especially when they live some distance from you and the sibs drift.</p>
<p>If Kalinda, at Eli’s behest, vetted these candidates first, we would have none of these problems!</p>
<p>I would be willing to believe that one person might be paid off by an employer without a real case, just to avoid the nuisance/bad publicity associated with fighting it, but when it turns out that they had to pay off multiple women, things start looking worse for Mr. Cain.</p>
<p>BTW, who the heck are Kalinda and Eli?</p>