Workplace harassment refers to harassment of sexual nature, premised on gender, physical attractiveness, or unattractiveness of the person. However, taking cognizance of the case and reporting it to the authority is imperative. Staying silent has never been a solution.
Here are five steps you can take to guide yourself along the way.
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Know the meaning
Before moving on with the complaint, it is essential to understand the meaning of sexual harassment in the workplace and its ingredients. For instance,
- It could be unwanted jokes or comments on how you dress up, unwelcome comments, etc.
- Touching or any other bodily contact, grabbing by the waist, etc.
- Turning down the request for any assignment and indulging in unwanted flirting.
- Playing sexually suggestive music.
- Posting emails on pictures or sexual-related nature.
- Playing sexually suggestive music.
This is not an exhaustive list; the act could transcend the list. If you’ve experienced any action that falls in these lines, it amounts to sexual harassment.
Ensure that the workplace has a sexual harassment policy
If you’ve any, it is suggested to take the matter to the internal committee. It would be better to look for the sexual harassment policy at your workplace and be well-versed in the procedure of filing the complaint.
In case of any doubt, you can always ask your manager or colleague to guide you. This way, you can alert the manager or colleagues about your ordeal.
Alert human resource management
If you have a complaint procedure, follow the guidelines for bringing the complaint before your company’s appropriate authority. Subsequently, please bring it to the attention of your HR department as well. They are best equipped with the complaint mechanism.
Please note that these types of complaints need written proof. So, make sure that you’ve everything in writing. These written documents will enable you to prove your claims later on.
The HR department makes notes, so make sure you have a copy of that. This is important since apprising them of the incident will enable them to take proper action against it. This will also facilitate the committee’s speedy investigation and setting for the appropriate resolution for the case at hand.
Submit to the company resolution process.
It becomes imperative to submit a complaint to the company resolution process. These processes involve arbitration or any such operation along similar lines. Submit the arbitration of any other method your company offers to resolve the problem.
Make sure to participate in the meetings or any other procedures initiated by the company. Avoid making complaints if you are unwilling to cooperate with the company’s efforts to resolve the matter. Furnish all the documents and necessary details at their request and provide any evidence you may have.
File a lawsuit
Depending on the severity of the incident, you can approach the court to resolve your issue. But remember to keep this as a last resort since the court will not entertain the case if you’ve not closed the company’s authorities first. So, do the needful and then knock on the court’s doors.
Getting professional help in such a situation is the best thing you can do to safeguard your rights. This is where a reliable attorney comes into the picture. You may approach the best sexual harassment lawyer in New York City to voice your grievances before the court. However, you may also approach the company’s internal committee for redressal.
Another important thing is to make sure that you’ve ducks in a row after consulting the EEOC. There are chances that you may be awarded monetary damages. Hence, it is imperative to have all the credible evidence that is contemporary to harassment in the workplace.
This includes all the steps that youaken before, for instance, taking cognizance of the case by reporting it to the manager or any other competent authority, your parparticipatingprocedure adopted by the company thereupon, and so on. Ensure you have all the documents in case they ask for them anytime.
