Has Your Supervisor Promised You A Promotion If You Get Involved Sexually?
You may be shocked, intimidated or afraid you will lose your job if you do not go along with the proposal. The truth of the matter is that the law protects you from retaliation if you report your supervisor for sexual harassment such as soliciting unwanted intimate contact in exchange for a promotion.
If you are experiencing sexual harassment at work, the first thing to do is to ask the person who is sexually harassing you to stop doing so. However, this is often difficult to do. Many incidences of workplace sexual harassment go unreported because employees do not want to “rock the boat” among their co-workers or are simply afraid of being fired.
Are you being treated differently than your co-workers? Are you hearing or seeing inappropriate jokes or experiencing inappropriate treatment based on your gender? A hostile work environment is unfortunately encountered in the workplace despite the policies which may be in place at your job. You do not have to tolerate a hostile work environment.
Does Your Employer Have An Anti-Harassment Policy?
Your employer’s sexual harassment policy should explain their process for filing a complaint. Finding a policy may be not be easy, but you will need to find it and follow it for reporting sexual harassment at work. If you employer has a website, it may be posted on their site, other places to check:
- Your employee handbook
- Ask your supervisor, a neutral supervisor or their supervisor
- Human resources personnel
Report The Harassment
Explaining what happened to you can be difficult, however it is the first step to protecting your rights. Many people are afraid of retaliation for reporting sexual harassment at work. However, it is against the law for your employer to punish you for speaking up. You not only have a right to report it, you have a right to participate in the investigation. You may also have a right to pursue a lawsuit if experience retaliation for reporting sexual harassment.
Contact Caskey & Holzman To Protect Your Rights
You have a right to work in an environment that is free of sexual harassment. You also have a right to report the harassment without being fired or otherwise retaliated against. At Caskey & Holzman, we will help you understand the full scope of your rights as an employee and pursue justice for employer retaliation. Email us or call 323-391-3984 or toll-free at 800-403-7096 for a free consultation.