Despite a public campaign to raise awareness of sexual assault and sexual harassment in the workplace, sexually harassing behavior continues to occur across America’s workplaces. If you’ve been subjected to sexual harassment, reported it, and subsequently faced a negative employment decision, such as demotion or termination, then you might be considering your legal options.
While legal action certainly might be justified in your situation, these cases are often hard fought. That’s why it’s imperative that you do everything you can to position yourself for success. You can start by taking the following steps:
- Take notes: Our memories get fuzzy over time, which can be bad for your legal claim. Therefore, consider writing down every instance of sexual harassment that you encounter, being as detailed as possible about what happened, when it happened, as well as the surrounding context.
- Talk to witnesses: There may be a handful of people who witnessed the harassing behavior that you were subjected to. Talk to these individuals to get their accounts and to find out if they were subjected to similar behavior that would be indicative of a more widespread problem with your employer. Don’t forget to write down contact information for these witnesses.
- Retain communications: If you’re subjected to sexual harassment, you should report it to your employer. But you should document your reporting and how your employer responded to it. After all, this can serve as the basis for your claim against your employer. Therefore, written communication is often best.
Protect your rights
You have a lot of rights in the workplace. However, when those rights have been violated, the burden is on you to prove it. That’s why you need to be armed with evidence and strong legal arguments that not only support your position, but that also protect your work record. If you’d like assistance in building your case to maximize your chances of success, then please consider working with an experienced employment law professional.