Sexual harassment in the workplace is prohibited by law. If you have been the victim of sexual harassment on the job, you can pursue a claim against your employer.
You may wonder if the same applies if you are on assignment, but not technically at work, when the harassment takes place. Often, employment takes you to seminars, conferences, classes, and work trips.
If sexual harassment takes place outside of the workplace, a claim can still be pursued. If the harassment involves other employees, managers, customers, vendors, or clients while at a work-related event, then the employer is still responsible.
Sexual harassment laws prevent sexual harassment from coworkers, managers, vendors, clients, and so forth whether they are on or off the clock and whether they are in the workplace or elsewhere.
When Sexual Harassment Takes Place Outside Work
Just as if you were at work, you will need to maintain documentation and evidence to support your claim. Also, be attentive and see if there are any witnesses or if the incident could have been caught by a surveillance camera.
Digital images such as photos of pictures or gestures can be helpful. Witness statements, video footage, audio footage, or copies of messages can also be used to support your claim and to prove what happened.
If you are the victim of sexual harassment, you should immediately tell the person to stop and that you don’t appreciate their behavior, such as unwelcome advances, jokes, pictures, and comments.
You should then try to distance yourself from that individual to prevent further problems. When you get the first opportunity, you should report the incident to your supervisor, manager, and/or human resources department at work.
You will need to make sure that you maintain documentation that shows the problem was reported to your employer along with copies of supporting evidence.
You can report the incident via email or written letter. You should also document any response from your employer, detailing what was said or what action was taken. You should receive a written response.
Time to pursue a claim is limited, so you should act promptly. Usually, you only have 180 days from the date of the incident to get your claim underway.
If you wait too long, you cannot recover your damages. If your employer doesn’t take the matter seriously, or if the issue doesn’t get resolved and the harassment continues, you can pursue a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
The EEOC will review the details of your case and address the matter with your employer in an attempt to settle the issue.
If they find that the employer continued to allow the harassment to happen, or if laws were knowingly and intentionally violated or that they could not get the matter resolved, they will suggest you proceed with a lawsuit against your employer.
In that case, you will take all the evidence and supporting documentation then file a lawsuit in the appropriate court of law.
An employment law attorney will help you get your claim underway and will ensure that you are treated fairly throughout the claims process.
With the help of a lawyer, you are much more likely to get the matter resolved and stop the harassment while also recouping your damages and losses.
There are several damages that you may suffer from sexual harassment, such as lost wages and benefits, mental anguish, and so forth.
Your lawyer will help you add up your total losses so you can file your claim and include your total damages suffered because of the sexual harassment.
You should start the claims process as quickly as possible after the incident. If there are recurring instances, then you will definitely want the matter resolved.
How An Employment Law Attorney Can Help
If you have been the victim of sexual harassment outside the workplace, you should enlist the help of an employment law attorney.
It can be difficult to prove that you have suffered from sexual harassment, but an attorney will be able to help you gather supporting evidence and documentation then prove that you were the victim of such behavior.
When you retain an employment law attorney to represent you with the sexual harassment case, you may have to pay a retainer upfront or your lawyer may take the case on a contingency basis.
Remember, you do have limited time to pursue a claim. Complete the Free Case Evaluation Form on this page to share the details of your sexual harassment outside the workplace.
