How to Report Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
Sometimes victims of sexual harassment in the workplace find it difficult to face its reality and report it to the proper person or department of the company she works for. IT can be devastating to be a victim of sexual harassment and the trauma felt by the victim sometimes prevents her to report it at all or she waits a very long time before reporting it.
Most companies have a procedure written in their employee handbook, that should be followed by victims of sexual harassment. The incident should first be reported to the manager, supervisor or to the HR department. Then, the employer must undertake an investigation immediately and take remedial action to prevent the harassment from happening again. But, what often happens is that when a victim reports the incident, the company will protect its interests instead of the interest of the victim. Click on this website for more: https://employment-law.usattorneys.com/.
How, then, can you protect yourself as a victim of sexual harassment? The first thing you need to do is to see a lawyer. Or, if you are too distressed to do it, you can also see your doctor and report it.
The doctor will document what you tell her. He will prescribe treatment, whether medication psychotherapy or a combination of both. If necessary, your doctor will take you off of work so you will not have to face the person who harassed you sexually and who might do it again.
Then, report it to your employer. You may also want to get an attorney to protect your legal interests.
You don't have to necessarily report it to the company first to have a case of sexual harassment. Some employers want you to think this way so that they can protect themselves if you didn't.
The employer has strict liability if you are harassed at work by your supervisor or anyone on that level or above. Strict liability is a legal term for automatic responsibility. However, if it is a non-manager or non-supervisor who sexually harassed you, then you have to notify your employer first of the incident and you employer must take all reasonable steps to prevent it from happening again. If it occurs again after they first know about it, then your employer is liable for sexual harassment. You are not prevented from first reporting it to your doctor or anyone else.
Your doctor may well be your best ally in these cases. He can help you emotionally and in terms of your safety. Your doctor must know what happened in order to help you.
After being harassed sexually, the doctor is the most likely to be able to help you better than a lawyer can. So, don't see an attorney first. Your emotional well being and safety is of utmost importance. Read more on this link: https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_assault.
