How to Confront Sexual Harassment at Work

Many people contact a lawyer like Mr. Robertson for a free-consultation and claim that they have been the victim of sexual harassment. One of the first questions Mr. Robertson will ask you is if you ever complained about or objected to the offending conduct.

Many employees fear confronting the issue because they believe they will be retaliated against. This is understandable but it does not help your case. Read below for some quick tips on how to confront your boss or employer regarding sexual harassment.

Confronting the Company

When confronting the perpetrator there are three critical steps the employee should follow:

  1. Object to the harassment in writing,
  2. Report it in writing, and
  3. Keep a written record of the bad behavior as soon as possible.

Make your objection to the offending conduct known to someone at the company who is important. You still have a claim even if you do not object, but objecting is the right thing to do and it helps your case legally. Date all of your objections, reports, and records.

Report the offending conduct to human resources, another supervisor, or someone in the company that is in a position of authority to either investigate or initiate an investigation about the sexual harassment. Keep all evidence of the sexual harassment such as emails, text messages, and voicemails. Ideally, you should make some formal record at work concerning the sexual harassment and your complaint. Individually, you should also maintain a journal concerning the experience.

Failing to Report the Harassment | A Lawyers Perspective

Companies are liable if they know about sexual harassment and fail to take reasonable steps necessary to prevent it from occurring in the future. Therefore, it is critical that the employee report the offending conduct properly. This behavior will not go away unless it is dealt with appropriately. Every employee should be aware of what unlawful harassment is, and take action to resolve it.

The worst situation for an employee occurs when the victim’s boss or supervisor is the perpetrator. If the boss is doing the offender, the employee may be worried that if she takes action against that person, there is a risk of losing a promotion or even being fired. Though these are perfectly understandable concerns, but sexual harassment simply does not go away on its own. Your best recourse is to consult with our employment attorneys. Our attorneys are represent many clients in sexual harassment cases and will provide you with a free consultation. All consultations are strictly confidential and are governed by the duty of confidentiality. Your employer will never know about until you choose otherwise.

Contact our Orange County office as soon as possible and we will let you know your legal options.