Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

At present, sexual harassment cases continue to be one of the biggest problems that press every country. It has become so rampant even within one’s own home and family. And the workplace is not an exemption for these cases to happen. In fact, lots of sexual harassment cases in the workplace have been documented and it continues to rise at a fast rate each year. Employees have to know that there are laws and company complaint procedures that they can use to protect themselves from sexual harassment.

In legal jargons, sexual harassment refers to any undesirable sexual conduct in the workplace that produces an unfriendly and unpleasant working atmosphere. In real life cases, this behavior varies from repetitive offensive or ridiculous jokes to a workplace filled with disgusting pornography to an apparent sexual attack. Sexual harassment is being considered as an equal opportunity misdemeanor because its victim/s can either be men, women, gays or straights.

If you’re experiencing harassment at work, you can do several things to protect and defend yourself. First, you can just simply tell the harasser to stop. If the latter ignores your request, you can write a short letter that demands an end to that conduct. When this method doesn’t work again, make your complain within the company through your manager and/or supervisor and document the whole thing. The Supreme Court of the United States declares that workers who fail to utilize the complaint process of the company will most likely lose in court if he’ll not formally complain to the company.

In addition, it is necessary to document everything that has happened to you because it will be of great help in proving your case if ever you’ll report it to a jury, company investigator, or government agency. Begin by gathering and keeping evidences such as disgusting notes, cards and photos you have received and taking note of some important dates. Also, keep a journal with complete information. Write down the names of all the involved people, the time and place where it happened, and how it affected your performance on the job.

For your information, there exist state and federal laws protecting employees from sexual harassment while in the workplace. These laws are actually the same as the laws defending employees from sexual preference discrimination. Most states have their own laws on reasonable employment practices stopping sexual harassment that are often stricter than the federal laws. Therefore, your personal records on your harassment experience are indeed very important when you consider taking legal actions against your harassing co-employee.