In the United States, employment laws make it clear that all types of harassment, including sexual harassment, are illegal in the workplace. Employers who employ 15 or more employees in a year must ensure that their work environment remains safe and non-hostile for all their workers. As per the law, they cannot disregard any informal or formal sexual harassment complaints they receive from their employees. They have to investigate each matter immediately, and if they discover that the accused is guilty, they must take appropriate action, ranging from issuing a stern warning to firing them from their position.
If your employer ignores your complaint of workplace sexual harassment, you can search online for “sexual harassment lawyers near me” and find a competent lawyer to sue your employer. In severe cases of sexual harassment, it may be advisable to make a police complaint too.
What you need to know about sexual harassment
While there is no ambiguity in the law about prohibiting sexual harassment in the workplace, unfortunately, many men and women continue to have bad experiences for the following reasons:
• The perpetrators either do not know the law or think they can get away with the harassment.
• The employee experiencing sexual harassment is not aware of the legal provisions in the employment laws that protect their workplace rights.
• The harassed employee may feel too ashamed, intimidated, or afraid to file a complaint about the sexual harassment.
• The employer does not support the complainant and does not take appropriate action to stop the harasser.
If the employer does not take action against workplace sexual harassment, it can lead to the following issues:
• The harasser will escalate the harassment since there have been no consequences.
• The harassed person will feel unsafe and be unable to work well in the hostile, intimidating work environment.
• The bystanders will feel angry, helpless, and demoralized.
• The work morale, performance, and productivity could take a nose dive.
• The harassed person and some bystanders may decide to resign from the company than continue to put up with the toxic work atmosphere.
• The business could fail after the resignations of talented employees and the bad press it gets for not preventing sexual harassment.
If you have experienced sexual harassment in your workplace, you must understand that the law protects your rights, and you do not need to tolerate or put up with uncouth behavior. You should find an experienced lawyer by looking up “sexual harassment lawyers near me” online and take legal action against your employer for failing to provide you with a safe, non-hostile work environment.
What are some examples of sexual harassment in the workplace?
While it is not difficult to hire a lawyer after searching on the Internet for “sexual harassment lawyers near me,” it may be problematic to prove sexual harassment. It is common for the harassers to deny everything or claim they were only trying to be friendly. However, per the legal definition of sexual harassment, it is any behavior that crosses personal boundaries and makes you feel unsafe and intimidated. Here are some examples of unwelcome behaviors in the workplace that meet the definition of sexual harassment:
• Making vulgar comments about your face, figure, and clothes
• Staring at you incessantly and obscenely eyeing your private parts
• Asking you out repeatedly and refusing to take no for an answer
• Forcibly intruding in your personal space and attempting to touch, hug, or kiss you
• Sending you pornographic photographs, images, videos, texts, or messages
• Photographing or video recording you without your knowledge or permission
• Offering you a better-paying job or other workplace privileges in return for sexual favors
• Threatening you for refusing their advances and sabotaging your work and career
What can you do to counter sexual harassment in your workplace?
You can take these steps to counter sexual harassment in your workplace:
• Gather evidence of the sexual harassment, such as the pornographic content the perpetrator sent you, any offensive emails, messages, phone calls, video calls, and chats.
• File a formal complaint as per your employer’s anti-harassment policy.
• Get legal representation by searching online for “sexual harassment lawyers near me.”
• File a case with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
• File a lawsuit against your employer.