Sexual and Racial Harassment
In most cases, the same laws that protect individuals against discrimination also protect them against sexual and racial harassment.
Sexual harassment remains the most common type of harassment and examples of unwanted behavior may include:
- Sexual advances
- Sexual flirtations
- Sexual propositions
- Verbal sexual abuse
- Demands for sexual favors
- Graphic sexual abuse (writing, pictures, objects)
When an employer directly threatens or implies that an employee’s wages, promotion, evaluation, work schedule, or working conditions depend on granting unwanted sexual conduct, there may be grounds for a sexual harassment case.
Racial harassment is similar in that the individual is subjected to abusive actions based on race, which may include racial slurs, stereotyping, jokes communicated either verbally, in writing, or graphically. Even if the racial harassment is not directed specifically at the employee, but for instance targets the employee’s spouse or friends, it still falls into the category of racial harassment.
With both sexual and racial harassment, the first course of action should be to lodge a complaint and seek recourse through the employer. Employees may also file claims with the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission), a federal agency that enforces discrimination laws and protects individuals against harassment based on race, color, sex, age, disability, religion or national origin. In many cases, based on federal discrimination statutes, filing with the EEOC is required before a claim for litigation may begin. Because of short filing deadlines, filing with the EEOC should be done as soon as possible.
Grounds for a lawsuit against sexual and racial harassment must be based on severe and frequent behavior, to the point where the work environment has become abusive. Generally, the employee must first inform his or her employer of the discrimination. In many instances, the claim may not be brought unless the claimant can show that the employer failed to stop the discrimination and/or harassment despite having knowledge of it.
At Drew, Cooper & Anding, our attorneys have successfully represented clients who have been sexually or racially harassed on the job, resulting in settlements of up to $225,000.
