Sexual Harassment Lawyers
What is a Sexual Harassment Lawyer?
A sexual harassment lawyer is a lawyer that specializes in cases that involve sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is a type of sex discrimination that involves unwanted sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical actions that are of a sexual nature. All of these actions are considered illegal.
Sexual harassment may also refer to offensive comments or remarks that are made about an individual’s gender. This is commonly known as gender discrimination. When this type of conduct occurs in an individual's workplace, it can be viewed as a form of employment discrimination.
In some cases, an individual may not realize the conduct they are subjected to at work qualifies as sexual harassment. It is important to be familiar with what types of behavior may be considered sexual harassment at work.
Sexual harassment in the workplace can make doing your job extremely difficult and uncomfortable. It is important to remember that any individual of either gender can be subject to sexual harassment. The perpetrator can be of a different gender or even the same gender. You do not have to suffer the harassment alone. A sexual harassment lawyer will help you throughout the process of filing a complaint and a lawsuit, if necessary.
What Does a Sexual Harassment Attorney Do?
A sexual harassment attorney assists individuals who are being subject to sexual harassment at work. In many cases, an individual must begin the process of resolving their sexual harassment issue by using the employer’s internal process. Your attorney can guide you through this process.
If your employer’s internal process does not resolve your sexual harassment issues, you may have to file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). As noted above, sexual harassment is a type of discrimination, which is handled by the EEOC.
After you have filed a complaint with the EEOC, they will notify your employer and conduct an investigation. If the EEOC determines that the allegations are valid, they will file a lawsuit in federal court against your employer. During this time, your employer is prohibited from retaliating against you or any other employee due to the charges.
In some cases, the EEOC will provide a right to sue letter. This letter permits you to file a private lawsuit. If you try to file a private lawsuit prior to receiving this letter, it will be dismissed. Once you receive this letter, you are required to file your lawsuit within 90 days. Your sexual harassment lawyer can ensure you meet all of the filing requirements for your lawsuit and assist you during the litigation process.
Other Helpful Resources:Why is it Important to Have a Sexual Harassment Attorney?
It is essential to have a sexual harassment attorney on your side during this stressful time. Your attorney can provide invaluable advice during the employer’s process of trying to handle your claim as well as filing your claim with the EEOC.
In some cases, it may simply be too difficult for you to communicate with the individual who is subjecting you to the harassment, especially if they are a supervisor or other position of power. Your attorney will alleviate that stress by assisting you and collecting evidence to support your claim.
Your attorney can also explain the different types of sexual harassment. The two main types are quid pro quo and hostile work environment.
Quid pro quo sexual harassment typically involves a supervisor or other employee requesting a sexual favor in exchange for an employment benefit, such as extra pay, a promotion, or seniority within the company. This type of claim requires the harasser to be a coworker of higher rank. In most cases, it only requires a single incident of misconduct to bring a claim.
Hostile work environment sexual harassment occurs when an employee engages in the following behaviors:
- Makes intimidating or threatening comments;
- Makes inappropriate jokes; or
- Makes repeated sexual advances.
The harassing behavior must be recurring and creating a pattern that causes the work environment to be hostile, as opposed to a single incident. It is important to note that making comments such as “you look nice today” one time will not likely be considered sexual harassment.
How Do I Know if a Sexual Harassment Lawyer is Right for Me?
It is extremely important to have the help of a sexual harassment lawyer for any sexual harassment issues. If you are having a difficult or stressful time at work due to the environment, a lawyer can help.
It is important to contact a lawyer as soon as possible. The closer in time to the incident or incidents that occurred that you bring your claim, the more likely you are to be successful. Your lawyer will help you during every step of the process, which can alleviate a great amount of stress.
You may be entitled to a variety of compensation and remedies, which your attorney can explain. These include:
- Economic Damages, which are compensation for your lost wages, future wages, or other related expenses;
- Equitable Relief, which may help you recover from the harassment, such as job reinstatement;
- Compensatory Damages which are compensation for your pain and suffering; and
- Punitive Damages, which are meant to punish your employer for the harassment.
Sexual harassment claims can be very complex and there are many requirements and deadlines that must be met. Your attorney will fight for the compensation you deserve.
