If you believe you have been subjected to sexual harassment in the workplace, there are several things you can and should do to get sexual harassment help. Despite legal protections put in place, a victim does have a certain degree of responsibility to attempt to end the sexual harassment they are experiencing. You may ultimately need to retain an attorney to get justice for your unfortunate situation, but there are other things you should do as well.
Strategies to Stop Workplace Sexual Harassment
Employers have certain things they must do to prevent sexual harassment, but victims can also take several steps as well, including:
Confront the harasser. For many victims, this may prove a difficult thing to do; however, it can be the quickest and most effective way to end sexual harassment behavior. A harasser may not even be aware they are committing an act of sexual harassment, perhaps making light of inappropriate comments or water cooler jokes they make from time to time.
Notify the employee’s supervisor. If you are uncomfortable confronting a sexual harasser, then you can notify the employee’s supervisor instead. Depending on your situation, you may want to make your feelings known verbally, or if you are experiencing a more offensive situation, your best bet may be to make a more formal notice with a memo or an email. Sending a memo or an email creates an official record of the actions taking place.
Notify human resources. If you are still experiencing sexual harassment, your next step should be to contact human resources at your business. Be sure to follow proper protocols for doing this which should be laid out in an employee handbook if the business has one. At this point, you should be documenting all types of contact with other company employees.
Notify senior management. If the unacceptable behavior is not remedied, you should contact senior management or the owner of the company you work for. They have the most to lose and it would be difficult to believe that, at this level, resolution won’t take place.
File a civil lawsuit. Unfortunately, some cases of sexual harassment can’t be resolved at an internal level. When that happens, you can file a civil lawsuit seeking damages under Title VII. You will need to first file a complaint with U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission which will investigate the claim. If no settlement takes place, then you can file a claim.
In order to get the best sexual harassment help in Boston, look to an experienced sexual harassment attorney to assist you every step of the way.