Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
By Mart Gil Abareta |
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.
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