WHAT TO DO IF YOU’RE BEING SEXUALLY HARASSED AT WORK (PART ONE)
(Editor’s Note: This article has been split into three parts with the other two parts being posted over the next two days. Please check back over the next several days to read the rest of these helpful tips about sexual harassment in the workplace.)
Don’t quit – You’ve just been touched in an inappropriate way. Or you’ve been told something disparaging about your gender. Or you’ve been denied a promotion because you wouldn’t go out for drinks with your boss. Whatever the situation, you’re pretty sure you’ve been sexually harassed. Now what?
Don’t quit. Continue to perform your job to the best of your ability under the circumstances. You must follow the employer’s reporting policy and give them a chance to fix it. If you don’t, you may well lose your case.
A single incident probably isn’t a case – A court is going to look at the entire situation and has to be able to find that the sexual harassment was so severe or pervasive (read: frequent) that it alters the “terms and conditions of your employment.” That means that you should still report it but a single harassing act may not be enough to build a case on.
Quid pro quo vs. hostile work environment – Quid pro quo sexual harassment is when someone with authority over you offers to better your employment situation if you accept their harassing requests or behaviors. On the flip side, it also means that same person makes your employment situation worse if you don’t accept their harassing requests or behaviors. “Do for me and I’ll do for you.” This can be any unwelcome sexual advance, request for sexual favors or other verbal/physical conduct of a sexual or gender-based nature. They don’t even have to say it out loud; they can just imply the tradeoff.
Hostile work environment depends on several factors:
(1) whether the conduct was verbal or physical or both
(2) how frequently it was repeated
(3) whether the conduct was hostile or patently offensive
(4) whether the alleged harasser was a co-worker or supervisor
(5) whether others joined in on the harassment
(6) whether the harassment was directed at more than one individual
All of these are variables that are considered when determining whether a hostile work environment exists.
Sexual harassment includes gender too – You don’t have to be groped or asked for sex for it to count as sexual harassment. You can be harassed simply based upon your gender. And it’s not just women as victims as the numbers of men who are being harassed based on sex or gender are on the rise. If you notice the primo assignments in your workplace being given to only one gender by someone of the same gender, you may have sexual harassment happening. If your boss holds a team building event on the golf course but only invites the males in the office, you could have sexual harassment.
Say “STOP!” – It takes a certain amount of bravery but you must make your harasser aware that the behavior is offensive and unacceptable and it must stop immediately. This can be difficult and it is certainly understandable where a victim who may be targeted for their meekness in the first place would be reluctant to confront their harasser. But if you can muster the courage, you should make it absolutely clear that you will not tolerate harassment of any kind, sexual or otherwise.
You have the right to work in an environment that is free of harassment based on gender or sex. Henrichsen Siegel has helped many clients break out of this distressing and unacceptable situation. Contact us today to resolve this matter and ease your mind. We represent clients in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia, Florida and Georgia.
Protect your rights.
(Editor’s Note: This article has been split into three parts with the other two parts being posted over the next two days. Please check back over the next two days to read the rest of these helpful tips about sexual harassment in the workplace.)