Is an Employer Liable for Sexual Harassment By One of Its Employees?
If the harasser is a co-employee, then the organization is only responsible for the things it know. An organization will not be penalized for not acting on something that it had no idea what was occurring.
At the same time, there are many different levels of awareness that can often get a company in trouble. For example, if the harasser is a boss or supervisor, the company is “deemed” to be on notice and can be liable even if it is the first time.
A Company’s Sexual Harassment Policy
Every company should have a sexual harassment policy of which the employees are well aware. That policy needs to include ways that employees can safely and effectively file complaints against other employees. If an employee does not feel safe making a complaint, then the policy is flawed. Presently, many companies invest a great deal of money in having comprehensive sexual harassment policies put in place.
If You Do Not Use The Sexual Harassment Policies In Place
If you experience sexual harassment in the work place by a co-employee, then your employer is responsible for taking care of the situation and making your work place safe. But if you experience sexual harassment and do not file a complaint or utilize the company’s policies, then there may not be much that the company can do to help you. If you refuse to file reports with Human Resources while sexual harassment continues, then the company does not know it has a problem that it must deal with and, therefore, may not be liable.
An Obvious Issue
Sometimes a victim will be intimidated by an aggressor to not file a sexual harassment report with the company. If there are outward signs of tension between two employees that are noticeable to the staff and management, then that could be used by the victim as an indication that the company knew there was a problem and did nothing. It is going to be very difficult to convince a jury that a company should be liable for its employee’s sexual harassment when the victim can only show that the company should have known. Bottom line, Your company is obliged to act on claims of sexual harassment that are made by its employees against other employees.
Our compassionate legal team has many years of experience in helping victims who were ignored by their company to get the compensation they need to feel that justice was done. We encourage you to give our sexual harassment lawyers a call and let us help you to understand the responsibilities of your company when it comes to sexual harassment.