How can an attorney help if you have been a victim of harassment at work?

Posted by anlawfirm on September 19th, 2019

Understanding the legal issues associated with sexual and physical harassment at work can be very difficult and complex. There are many factors and several key phrases that are important if you want to understand your rights and any potential legal claims you may have. We will discuss what those factors and key phrases are below.

-Workplace Harassment: Workplace harassment is a form of discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other federal regulations. Workplace harassment is not just limited to sexual harassment. There are different forms of harassment out there that can fall under other statuses like discrimination. There are two main factors of when harassment becomes unlawful:

1.  When one must endure the offensive conduct as a prerequisite to continue employment.
2.  The conduct is severe enough that a reasonable person would consider the workplace overwhelming, intimidating, hostile, abusive, scary, etc. also, if there is a change in the employee’s salary or status.

-Physical Harassment: Physical harassment is often called workplace violence. It refers to a type of harassment that involves physical attacks or threats. If the case is extreme enough, some may be classified as an assault. Some examples may include tripping another employee as they walk, shoving them as you walk by, etc.

-Sexual Harassment: Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that violates the Civil Rights Act mentioned above. EEOC guidelines define sexual harassment as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.

There are many other forms of workplace harassment like personal, power, psychological, online, retaliation, third party, verbal, prevention, etc.

If you think you are a victim of workplace harassment and want to pursue legal action, the first step is to report it to your police department immediately if it is within the lines of a criminal claim. For civil sexual harassment claims, you can usually pursue them individually. When pursuing a case individually, you should contact a workplace harassment attorney in Miami right away. The attorney will help outline the best course of action for your claim and ensure you are getting the highest representation as possible. The remedies or relief you can seek in a lawsuit will vary but can include money damages, new employment, and any other changes that you might request.