(702) 857-6000What To Do if You Have Been Sexually Harassed
If you have been experiencing sexual harassment at work, you may be wondering what, if anything, you should do. You might have questions about whether the behavior you are experiencing qualifies as sexual harassment and what your options are.
What is Sexual Harassment?
The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) defines sexual harassment as “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual’s employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.” Read to learn what to do if you have been sexually harassed at your workplace.
Examples of sexual harassment in the workplace include:
- Experiencing pressure or being forced to have sex or provide sexual favors to keep your job or employment benefits
- Retaliated against for complaining about sexual harassment
- Being fired and/or not promoted because of pregnancy
- Receiving obscene or suggestive letters, emails, notes, text messages
- Unwanted attention of a sexual nature such as touching, leering, sexual jokes, or gestures
- Exposure to pornography against your wishes
- An offer that the employer will grant the employee something in exchange for a sexual favor
What Can You Do About Sexual Harassment?
Once you have established that you are being sexually harassed, here are some things that you can do:
- Tell the person who is harassing you to stop.
- Contact your company’s Human Resources department to find out information about any company’s anti-harassment policy. If your company does not have an HR Department, speak with a supervisor. You may also find information in your employee handbook or on your company’s website.
- Follow any company policy or grievance procedure for reporting the harassment. If there is no company policy, speak with a supervisor about the harassment.
- File a sex discrimination claim with the EEOC to complain about the harassment. There are time limits for filing a charge of discrimination with the EEOC, so be sure to contact the EEOC as soon as possible.
- Contact an experienced sexual harassment attorney to discuss the next steps.
You are protected by federal law from retaliation or punishment for complaining about workplace sexual harassment. You have the legal right to file a sexual harassment complaint or participate in a harassment investigation without being retaliated against.
Experienced Las Vegas Sexual Harassment Attorney
If you or a loved one has experienced sexual harassment in the workplace, you should speak with an experienced employment lawyer today. Contact Anthem Injury Lawyers for a free consultation at (702) 857-6000.
