u/FewBirthday4613

TL;DR: An ex-manager used to display hostile and unprofessional behavior towards staff, but recently quieted down. Is filing an Ethics complaint 2–4 months later still appropriate to address past behavior and advocate for affected colleagues, or is it better to move on if the situation has calmed down?

Hey everyone, I need some outside perspective.

I recently stopped working under that manager at a large retail company. But the situation with my previous manager (let’s call them Dm) is still on my mind. I'm torn on whether I should submit a formal complaint to corporate Ethics about their behavior.

Here are the main issues with Dm (mostly happened 2–3 and 4 months ago), starting with the most serious ones:

• Targeting bilingual employees and inappropriate remarks: In front of me and the HR representative, Dm publicly berated an older immigrant associate over a minor paperwork error, saying, "You've been in the country for how many years and still haven't learned this?" On top of that, they explicitly expressed their frustration and instructed a supervisor not to place two specific associates who speak the same language at adjacent workstations, stating that they get distracted talking in their native language rather than focusing on customers.
• Out-of-control reaction during an HR meeting: Company policy didn't technically allow my transfer at the time, but HR listened to my reasons and agreed to process it if Dm approved. During that meeting in the HR office, Dm emotionally lashed out, kept cutting me off, and made aggressive gestures (tapping/pressing the edge of their palm against the desk). Even though I politely told them from the very first time that I understood their position, they kept escalating the hostility.
• Constant baseline irritation and unprofessional outbursts: They regularly spoke to associates with intense irritation. If you approached them with a quick question, they’d cut you off with an aggressive "What do you want?!" or brush you off. It was obvious they were barely holding back from yelling. It was so noticeable that even customers picked up on it—I once overheard a shopper tell them directly, "Don't be irritated with me," which forced them to make excuses.
• Lack of long-term resolution locally: Some co-workers previously tried addressing their behavior with higher-level store management, but it was hard to tell if it had any lasting effect (possibly due to personal/friendly ties between them).

Why I’m hesitating now: All of these major incidents happened 2–3 months ago (and 4). After that meeting in HR, there were no direct conflicts with Dm. To be fair, they simply interacted with us much less—they were frequently away on business trips or stayed in their office. Another colleague mentioned that Dm stopped bothering her recently as well.

Because there haven't been any recent outbursts, I feel guilty. What if someone already reported them, they were talked to, and they actually changed their behavior? Would filing a complaint 2–3 months late just be an unnecessary attempt to ruin someone’s reputation when the situation has calmed down? On the other hand, a big part of me feels like I need to report this to stand up for myself against their unfair treatment, and advocate for the colleagues who suffered from it as well.

What do you think? Is it worth reporting incidents from 2–3-4 months ago if the manager hasn't shown aggressive behavior recently?

Would love to hear your perspectives on this.

Thank you!