Q: I am a salaried manager at a nationally known restaurant chain. One of the restaurants holds karaoke, and another manager went there to see it. She sat a table with the newly hired general manager and a female employee. She called to tell me that the GM was drinking and he and the other female employee (he is 30 years her senior) were rubbing each other's legs. The manager felt disgusted and left.

I also was told that both bartenders there are allowed to drink while working and that they give drinks to the other employees. The next day, this manager told the GM to turn himself in to the area director for his inappropriate actions. He told her he would deny everything if anyone reported him. Once I heard all of this, I reported it to the area director. I had been off for two days, so I told the AD that I did not see it but was told about it. The AD called the witnessing manager, who confirmed the inappropriate behavior. The girl involved in drinking and rubbing the GM cried about being afraid of stopping him. Despite all of that, the AD went to the restaurant and belittled and brought the manager to tears in front of the GM, accusing her of gossiping. The AD then verbally attacked me, saying I would be liable if this turned into a harassment case.

The GM and the girl have continued their inappropriate behavior and now have the AD on their side. The other manager and I are now afraid of losing our jobs. We have a hot line for problems, and had the girl who feared the GM used it, human resources would have been brought into the picture. Other than looking for new jobs, what should we do now?

A: Although the witnessing manager (and not you) should have reported the incident, the act of reporting an incident does not qualify as "gossip." The AD clearly does not want the responsibilities that come along with the job, which include reprimanding a GM who drinks and is sexually inappropriate with employees. It is time for you and the other manager to meet with the human resources department to report the initial incident and the current situation. This national restaurant chain can't afford the legal quagmire that could develop from employees drinking on the job, engaging in public sexual behavior, and wrongful discharges if the GM or the AD fires you and the other manager.

Tossing Another's Property Is Wrong; Retrieving It Is Right

Q: I found a cigarette lighter in our ladies' room, so I threw it in the trash. Later, our manager complained that she couldn't find her lighter, so I told her I had found it and tossed it. The manager made me go into the trash and dig it out. Once I found and returned her lighter, she sent me home for the day. Could I have refused to go into the garbage to retrieve it?

A: No one condones smoking these days, but throwing away an object that does not belong to you is just plain wrong. No matter what the object — a ring, a scarf, a sweater — you should have placed it in your company's designated "lost and found." You should not have been forced to retrieve it; you should have offered on your own.

Please send your questions to: Lindsey Novak, c/o Creators Syndicate, 5777 W. Century Blvd., Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90045. E-mail her at LindseyNovak@yahoo.com, or visit her Web site at www.LindseyNovak.com. To find out more about Lindsey Novak and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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