Lessons from the Microsoft case: What to do when old #MeToo claims pop up.

During this #MeToo era, just a single woman sharing her story of harassment in a workplace can lead many others to come forward. That's what happened earlier this year at Microsoft.

A few female employees sharing horror stories via email morphed into hundreds of harassment complaints (old and new) that HR could not ignore. The result: Microsoft has vowed to reopen past cases alleging sexual harassment to see what could be done, according to a report in Quartz.

Here's a road map to avoid similar reckoning:

1. Review all sexual harassment complaints your organization has received over the years. Did someone investigate each one? If so, what conclusions were reached?

2. For each investigation that concluded harassment took place, what was the sanction? Did someone follow up to make sure the victim didn't suffer retaliation?

3. For every investigation where the allegation was deemed unfounded, review the facts again. Would you reach...