i was fired because i addressed thee issue with m,y boss and sked for a meeting to discuss appropriate office behavior I'm scared because he always talks about how much power he has and how he can make things happen of an unpleasant nature i stayed as long as i did because of my financial situation I've been out of work for 5mths and I'm afraid to work in y feild again because of my fooloish fear of this reaccuring please give me some sound advice thank you in advance If you have not already contacted the EEOC, do so now. The toll free number is 1-800-669-4000. You may have as little as 180 days from the day you were told you were being fired in order to file a charge so do not delay.
Unlawful sexual harassment is harassment based on sex that is "severe or pervasive" such that it alters the terms and conditions of your employment. Or in other words, the more time you spend during the day fearing, avoiding or experiencing sexual harassment, the more likely it is that the harassment is unlawful. Jokes of a sexual nature that are not intimidating and are merely an annoyance are less likely to be actionable. Nevertheless, any good faith complaint to your boss about sexual harassment is protected by law. If your own testimony about what happened is all there is, that is the evidence that you need. If there is more evidence, great. Keep the originals in a safe place and take copies with you to the EEOC.
To file a charge you will need to give a basic statement that includes your own identifying information, the name and address of your employer and a simple statement that goes something like this:
(1) I worked as a ___ for Company X from [date] to [date]. Beginning on [date] my [co-worker, boss, etc.] subjected me to sexual harassing comments and touching. I reported the sexual harassment to my boss at least three times beginning on [date]. As a result he threatened my job and other threatening remarks toward me. The harassment never stopped. On or about [date] my boss fired me.
(2) I was advised by the HR manager that I was fired for __. I have reason to believe that this reason is false.
(3) I believe that I have been sexually harassed and terminated in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended.
In the course of its investigation, the EEOC (or whatever agency ultimately processes the charge) will want to know exactly what happened to you:
(1) Who said what when--with as much specificity as possible (get out a calendar and reconstruct this as best as you can). Work on this for two hours at a time. Stick to the facts about sexual harassment. Do not include every idiotic thing your employer did. Everything that is unfair is not unlawful.
(2) The relationship of the harasser to you (co-worker, boss, manager in another department, etc.)
The EEOC will also want to know whether your employer had a policy telling you what to do in the event of unlawful harrassment, whether you followed the policy and if you did not follow it, why you did not follow it. Be very specific if you did not follow the policy. Generalized fears of retaliation or that following the policy are not going to cut it. Be prepared with quotes (where, when, anyone else present) from your boss about how he would make your life hell.
(3) Finally, the EEOC will want to know what complaints you made about the harassment, if any. You will need to let them know in detail what you said to whom. Don't just say you reported the harassment, to the best of your ability recount exactly what you said, to whom, etc.
Ideally, you would have (and perhaps did) say more than that you wanted to talk about appropriate office behavior. There are many types of behavior that are inappropriate that are not illegal.
The solution to your current fears is twofold: (1) Getting appropriate treatment for the harm you have already suffered; (2) a thorough understanding of what you should do should you encounter this conduct again.
Here is the plan for what to do next time:
(1) Read your employer's policy about dealing with harassment. Be fully familiar with it.
(2) The first time you encounter something you feel is sexually inappropriate in the workplace, you should probably try to deal with it yourself. Do not laugh, do not go along; but neither express hostility. The harasser is trying to get some sort of reaction out of you. Disappoint him. Carry on with your work. (This assumes that you are talking about a verbal comment that can be ignored. If the first incident consists of your boss pulling down his trousers and introducing you to his 7 inch pal Edgar, leave immediately and go see a magistrate).
(3) The second time you encounter something (whether its five minutes later or 2 months later) say something curt like, "That's the second time you have made sexual comments to me that I really find inappropriate. I need you to cut that out." Do not threaten to go to HR, or your supervisor or anyone. If the reaction you get from the person is appropriate and apologetic, or even if he just walks away and stops the comments, you have succeeded.
(4) If the harasser's response is dismissive or sexual in any way, or if the conduct continues (whether that day or another), give every outward appearance of ignoring him. That evening, go home and write up a complete statement starting with the first comment you ignored, the second comment you addressed and how, and what happened after that that is a problem. The next day give the statement to whomever is in charge of dealing with unlawful harassment (identified in your handbook). If no one is identified, pick any management official with authority to fix the problem. You are not asking for a meeting to discuss appropriate office behavior, you are reporting specific incidents of harassment and asking that it stop. Your employer has no obligation to follow up with you or keep you apprized of how it is addressing the matter. All it has to do is stop the harassment.
If your employer wants to know why you did not report the first or second incident say that you were not sure that one or two incidents standing alone were sexual harassment and that if you could solve the problem by ignoring the conduct and clearly rejecting you wanted to. Clearly that did not work and you need the employer to solve the problem.
Do not be put off if the harasser becomes somewhat cold and surly. Just do your work, go home and write down any incident of note. (Sexual incidents should be reported promptly to the company). Then put it aside and live your life.
People who have been through severe harassment in the workplace can have symptoms very like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Five months is way to long to be fearful of getting a job. See a therapist, talk to a minister, your calmest most grounded friend, someone. See a doctor. In addition to helping you get better doing these things will help you document the effects of the harassment--a neccessary component of any sexual harassment claim.
Here is a basic problem solving model that you might want to review:
(1) Identify the problem;
(2) Brainstorm different solutions;
(3) Predict/research consequences;
(4) Act;
(5) Evaluate results; what would you do differently next time.
Part of the problem here is that the only solution you considered last time was sucking it up and living with the problem. You did not predict that this was going to render you jobless and frightened for five months or more. If you had explored solutions a lot sooner, it may well have never come to this.
One last thing: the larger the company, the more likely that they have management and HR staff well able to deal with harassment issues. Consider that as you apply, but always allow for exceptions. There are many good small companies out there. Take care and good luck. If you are in the US, I would suggest that you let the EEOC know, or hire a labor lawyer. Seems fishy to me. |
