If you are a home healthcare worker and you have been sexually harassed while at work, you should report the incident promptly and in detail using the protocol as specified in your employer’s anti-harassment policy. Your home healthcare agency should have a detailed policy for reporting such incidents.
You should gather as much evidence and documentation as possible to document the harassment you endured and the damages you suffered. You should file a formal complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) may want to seek the counsel of an employment law attorney.
Report the Incident
If you are a home healthcare worker who has been sexually harassed at work, check to see if your employer has an anti-harassment policy in place. If there is a written policy, you should review it and then follow the steps laid out in the policy.
The policy should give you various options for reporting the sexual harassment, including the option of filing a formal complaint. If there is not a policy in place, you should speak with a supervisor at your place of employment.
You can either speak with your direct supervisor or manager, the supervisor of the individual who has been harassing you, or any other supervisor or manager within the organization. You should explain what has happened and clearly ask for the help of that individual in getting the inappropriate behavior to stop.
Gathering Evidence
To have a successful sexual harassment claim, you should gather supporting evidence and documentation to confirm you suffered sexual harassment and to prove what happened. The policy should provide you with the different options for reporting the sexual harassment, including the option of formally filing a complaint.
If there is not a written policy, speak with a manager or supervisor in the workplace. You can speak with your manager, the supervisor of the individual who has been harassing you, or any supervisor employed by the home healthcare company. You should explain what happened in detail and ask for the help of the individual in getting the sexual harassment to stop.
To prevail with your sexual harassment claim against your home healthcare employer, you will need to have supporting evidence that documents the damages you suffered and the incidents of harassment. The supporting evidence may include the following:
- Photos of the incidents
- Videos of the incidents
- Communication from the harasser, including voicemails, text messages, emails, and notes
- Your complaints that were filed as well as the company’s response, or the lack of response
- Your employment file or personnel record
- Your employee policy handbook and your employer’s written sexual harassment policy if there is one
- Bills and evidence of any expenses related to the sexual harassment in the home healthcare workplace
Be sure to keep all the evidence and documentation that you can gather so you can prove that the sexual harassment took place in your role as a healthcare worker.
Filing a Claim for Sexual Harassment as a Healthcare Worker
A specific complaint process must be followed when a sexual harassment victim files a claim for incidents that occurred as a home healthcare worker. If your employer harasses you, or if your employer does not step up to stop the harassment or to protect you from such inappropriate behavior, you must typically file a formal complaint or a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). This process must be followed and your complaint must be filed with the EEOC before you can file a private lawsuit against your employer.
The EEOC will investigate your claim and they may decide to file lawsuit against your employer on your behalf. If the EEOC chooses not to pursue your claim, or if their investigation does not provide any help for the claims process, you will be given a Right to Sue letter.
This letter says that you have 90 days to file a lawsuit against your employer to recover compensation for the damages that you suffered because of sexual harassment as a home healthcare worker. After you have a Right to Sue letter in hand from the EEOC, you can file a federal lawsuit against the home healthcare agency that employs you.
Get a Free Case Evaluation
If you have been the victim of sexual harassment in the workplace as a home healthcare worker, you may want the assistance of an attorney who handles employment law matters in your area. You have a limited time for pursuing a claim, so complete the Free Case Evaluation Form today.
