Sexual harassment pervades the American workforce. Every day, men and women go to work with the expectation that they will be free to perform their duties in a safe environment where they are protected and supported. Every day, many of those men and women are left disappointed, shamed, embarrassed, and financially harmed.
If you’re in that situation after being subjected to sexual harassment, then you might be wondering what you can do to find accountability. A lawsuit could help you obtain that outcome while also assisting you in recovering compensation, but these cases are often aggressively fought against. This means that you need to know what you can do to better bring the fight to your employer, amplify your voice, and maximize your chances of achieving a favorable outcome.
Building your sexual harassment case
Regardless of how obvious the sexual harassment that you were subjected to may seem, you have to be thorough and detailed in the presentation of your case. This means that you have to be diligent in building your case. Here are some things that you can do now to ensure that you have the best case possible moving forward:
- Identify and talk to witnesses: This is a basic first step, but it’s an important one that you shouldn’t overlook. There are probably a number of co-workers who have seen the harassment to which you’ve been subjected, and they may have been subjected to similar treatment. This testimony can be powerful in your sexual harassment claim, especially if the behavior in question was prevalent and had been brought to your employer’s attention previously.
- Write down experiences shortly after they occur: Our memories tend to get fuzzy over time, which can be a disservice to you and your claim when it comes to recounting instances of sexual harassment. That’s why it’s best to write down every incident of sexual harassment shortly after it occurs. The more detail you can provide, the more compelling your case will be. The same holds true in regard to your communications with your employer. You want to be able to paint a picture of how your employer responded to your complaints of sexual harassment, as this could be key to your case.
- Build up your employment record: In most sexual harassment cases, the employer claims that it made an adverse employment decision not out of retaliation, but rather due to the employee’s poor work performance. Therefore, you should do everything you can to counter that argument, including retaining your work appraisals, keeping emails that praise your work performance, and building up a strong attendance record.
- Prepare yourself to hold strong: As you pursue a sexual harassment and/or retaliation claim, you need to be prepared to have your character attacked and your claim minimized by the other side. This can be emotionally draining, and it might make it all the more tempting to take a settlement offer. But you need to stay strong if you want to find accountability to the fullest extent possible. Prepare yourself for the emotional burden and know when a settlement offer isn’t in your best interests.
Do you need an ally on your side?
The fight to bring sexual harassment to an end in your workplace can be a lonely endeavor. But your fight in the courtroom doesn’t have to be. Employment attorneys who are experienced in this area of the law stand ready to help you amplify your voice and fight for the compensation that you need and deserve. If you’d like to learn more about how to go about doing that, then please continue to browse our website to see what we have to offer.