Being Sexually Harassed at Work! Please Help!!!

[baci]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Talk to a lawyer.

Absolutely the best advice!

Find a lawyer with expertise in this field and allow this professional to guide you in the proper direction. You don't have do to anything you do not want to do, but it will be money well spent. You should be able to focus with a clearer head after your consultation and not go down an incorrect path based on other advice found in various ways.

[paulam]

Originally Posted by baci

Absolutely the best advice!

Find a lawyer with expertise in this field and allow this professional to guide you in the proper direction. You don't have do to anything you do not want to do, but it will be money well spent. You should be able to focus with a clearer head after your consultation and not go down an incorrect path based on other advice found in various ways.

By doing a little searching, you may find an attorney who will not charge you for the initial visit while he or she decides if you have a viable case and you decide if you want to pursue a legal solution.

I would have the attorney write a representation letter, not to your boss, but to the company VP who is in charge of HR. The HR guy sounds like a jerk who intends to do nothing to resolve the situation. You will get an executive's attention if he believes there will be legal ramifications with media contact, bad publicity and a monetary penalty.

You are smart to document everything but print out those e-mails you sent home or you could lose them if your computer crashes.

Are there any other women in your office who have experienced something similar? Definitely talk with them...they will be an invaluable source of support.

Best of luck to you and please let us know what happens.

Paula M
Sigma Delta Tau
Patrae Multi Spes Una
One Hope of Many People

[SydneyK]

Originally Posted by paulam

Are there any other women in your office who have experienced something similar? Definitely talk with them...they will be an invaluable source of support.

Unless her lawyer advises her to do this, I think this might be a bad idea. Since we don't have all the info, we don't know how something that appears innocuous might affect her case.

I think she's past our advice at this point: she's in her lawyer's hands now. (But you're in our thoughts, GM! Well, at least, you're in mine. Good luck!)

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by SydneyK

Unless her lawyer advises her to do this, I think this might be a bad idea. Since we don't have all the info, we don't know how something that appears innocuous might affect her case.

Yeah, this is a pretty strong case of not letting your left hand know what your right hand is doing, or however that saying goes. No one should know what's going on until it happens--too many people gossip and it's just not cool.

[ZTAngel]

HR is not your friend. That goes for everyone and in every company (sorry to anyone who works in HR!). While they are there somewhat to help the employee, their main purpose is to protect the employer from any potential employment claims. At my one of my previous jobs, HR fired a guy because he was harassing one of my co-workers. Do you think HR did this out of the kindness of their hearts and because they didn't want my co-worker to feel awkward everyday? Nope. I'm sure they felt bad for her but the main reason they fired the guy was to cover the company's ass.

Contact an attorney. An attorney will be able to guide you through the HR minefield. An attorney is there to give you advice on how to professionally, ethically and legally handle your situation.