Workplace harassment lawsuit investigation

Harassment in the workplace: Who’s affected?

Did you face workplace harassment in New York? Are you treated differently because of your race? Did things get tough for you because people found out you were pregnant? A lawsuit could help put a stop to illegal manipulation and scare tactics. 

Harassment at work is illegal. Even with all that is spent on in-house training courses, lectures by corporate lawyers, news stories and the MeToo movement, harassment and discrimination still go on. 

People have suffered silently and changed jobs, or changed their lives, to get away from it. Some never did.

Harassment has to be stopped as it is happening, punished later or both. Stand up for yourself, but not by yourself. Lawyers experienced in these matters can help you recover financially and emotionally and help bring your harassers to justice.

Recognizing workplace harassment

If you think you are being harassed, you probably are. Here are three major forms of harassment.

Sexual harassment

Sexual harassment is prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, including discrimination based on sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation and gender identity. 

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission divides the most common form of workplace sexual harassment into two categories:

• Quid pro quo: A person in a position of power over you at work engages in explicit sexual advances, expressing that your employment benefits, job promotions, job security or career advancement depends on your willingness to comply.

• Hostile (toxic) work environment: a workplace in which the culture is one of intimidating, unpleasant, abusive, hostile or otherwise offensive remarks or behavior.

Sexual harassment includes unwelcome sexual advances or touching, sexual gestures, jokes and catcalls or whistles or other forms of communication with sexual overtones. It is estimated that perhaps 81% of women have experienced sexual harassment, according to Zippia, yet up to 72% of them may never have reported it. 

Racial discrimination

This form of harassment can be subtle, but it is real and it is illegal. It may involve:

• Unequal treatment: managers provide better opportunities or benefits to one group over another

• Hostile (toxic) work environment: a workplace in which derogatory comments, offensive jokes or racial slurs are tolerated

• Unequal disciplinary actions: harsher punishments are meted out to people of different races

• Pay disparities: individuals of different races with similar qualifications and experience are paid differently

Pregnancy harassment

Pregnant women are targets of sexual harassment that differs in some ways. It involves unwelcome conduct in any form, be it written, verbal or physical, by a man or woman who may or may not have authority and power over the pregnant employee. In fact, it can come from someone who does not work for the same employer, such as a client or a customer. 

It can include offensive or derogatory comments, jokes, gestures, graffiti, cartoons or pictures related to pregnancy. 

It also includes demands placed by an employer because the employee is pregnant. 

For example, if you are temporarily disabled during pregnancy, you must be treated as any other temporarily disabled worker, be it a change in work duties or tasks, disability or unpaid leave. Yet you must be permitted to work as long as you are able to do your job.

Federal and New York laws fully protect pregnant employees, and parents in general. 

What to do 

Harassment and discrimination take many forms and can be based on:

• Religion
• Sexual misconduct
• Gender identity
• Sexual orientation
• National origin
• Disability
• Age
• Genetic information 

While you may not be able to stop it, you can protect your job, your psyche and your life by following these suggestions:

• Seek support from a someone you trust. Tell them what happened.
• Document details if you can. It is helpful for any case you bring to have notes on times, locations, dates, descriptions and witnesses.
• Report the harassment, following your company’s policies.
• Launch a formal, written complaint to your company.
• Consult an attorney familiar with federal and New York laws and details on past court cases to maximize the chances of your winning your case.

Please fill out the form on this page to see if you qualify for a FREE case evaluation.