Sexual harassment is considered to be any type of unsolicited sexual advance or sexual contact, including physical contact, electronic or written communication, jeers, cat calls, slurs, sexual innuendo, etc.
Sexual harassment is both unacceptable at work and illegal if it reaches the stage where an employee cannot do their job properly.
As an accountant of either sex, your employer is legally bound to prevent or deal with reports of sexual harassment. Failure to do so could result in fines, or more serious penalties.
Make sure you document any incidents of sexual harassment at work and report the incidents to your supervisor or the firm’s manager.
If the company has an established policy on sexual harassment, make sure you follow it before resorting to any further action.
Submit any evidence you have of incidents of sexual harassment when you make a report to our employer, or ore formally file a complaint with the EEOC, the federal body that oversees federal anti-sex discrimination legislation.
Report the Incident
Use the company policy, if it has one, for reporting incidents of sexual harassment. If there is no policy, send a report to your immediate supervisor, or another supervisor working for the company if it is the supervisor doing the harassing.
An alternative is to send your report to the company management or HR department if a big accountancy firm.
The idea is to show that you have made an attempt to get the behavior stopped within your workplace and give your employer or their management team an opportunity to carry out what is expected of them according to both state and federal law.
It is important to document every form of communication and response you have with your employer as this will be used as evidence if you file a formal complaint with the EEOC or eventually opt for a lawsuit against your employer.
Gather Evidence
You will need evidence of the incidents of sexual harassment at work. It’s hard to say just what will convince an investigator that the harassment is hurtful and real, so you should attempt to obtain as many forms of evidence as possible, such as the following:
- times, dates, locations, names and descriptions of incidents that you have noted;
- evidence of any communication you have been sent, e.g. written notes, letters, emails, social media messages or comments, text messages, voicemail messages;
- audio or video recording of encounters – these could be pre-planned if the sexual harassment is ongoing;
- statements from colleagues at work who have witnessed sexual harassment;
- copy of any company policy on sexual harassment;
- copies of reports you have sent to management and their response, if any;
- statements or assessment by any medical or social professional regarding psychological or physical harm experienced because of the harassment.
Filing a Claim for Sexual Harassment as an Accountant
You may decide to file a formal complaint to the EEOC of sexual harassment. Both state and federal legislation prohibits this as a form of sex discrimination, but state employment laws tend to favor smaller firms with fewer than 15 employees.
Once a complaint has been received by the EEOC with supporting evidence as suggested above, an investigation will be carried out.
Your employer will be contacted to find out what they say they have done or not done in response to your report. The investigation may result in acceptable behavior within your workplace.
The employer may be given a chance to comply with the law or face a fine or other penalties. The EEOC can file a lawsuit on your behalf if the employer is found to have breached the law.
An alternative is that you may be given a ‘right to sue’ letter, basically permission to file your own lawsuit through the federal or state court against your employer. If the lawsuit is successful, the employer may be forced to pay damages as well as any court and lawyer’s fees.
Get a Free Case Evaluation
If you get to the stage of filing a complaint to the EEOC or considering a lawsuit, you are advised to seek advice and legal help from an employment lawyer. You can use the free evaluation form below to help find a suitable lawyer.
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