Sarah covered it very well............

termination for filing a complaint would be a STUPID thing to do............

but filing a complaint does NOT protect the employee from being terminated for another legitimate reason........

some may say you can fire under the premise of "at-will" employment which is true but also is a STUPID thing to do.

firing someone who has filed a complaint (or any other employee) just because you can, in and of itself, gives weight to the complaint.......

since it is hard to prove or disprove INTENT it is best to always have a legitimate work related reason to terminate an employee.

Yes. You would need to give us more details as to how the claim was unsubstantiated but yes, legally you can.

Their sexual harassment claim should not have an impact on you letting them go; You will get into a very sticky situation IF that is the reason you let them go or you use their claim to justify the firing. Basically, her claim may not be substantial, but it is clearly her perception of reality (as warped as it feels to you). She would certainly have legal grounds for a lawsuit if you included that as a reason for letting her go; she has the right to make a claim.

However, if the sole reason for letting her go is her poor work performance against the expectations of her job, you certainly have grounds. I would put her on some kind of performance improvement plan right away (i.e. set goals for her to achieve by a certain date). If she does not meet the expectations of that plan, you should be able to let her go. Before putting her on a plan, be sure to involve your HR rep as they can guide you through this.

The other posters are correct. It sounds to me that this employee is "nuts". For her to file against one and thinking that all of the male supervisors want her is really stretching it. Did this employee have previous employment prior to working with your company? If so, can you call them and find out if this has been a problem with other companies she has worked for and complained of sexual harassment with them to substantiate that she believes that all men in power are out to get her, or filed later when fired for her work performance with them. They may not disclose due to privacy or confidentially issues but you could ask if other problems she had with them that might "clue" that she had problems.

Does your company have a lawyer? If so, you might want to discuss any steps your company should take in proving and validating no sexual harassment, in case this person later does try to sue. But to say that there is no evidence and out of character of the accused does not sound like a thorough investigation to validate. That's like saying that priests were never suspected of child molestation years ago, since they were priests and never suspected till proven many years later.

good luck