Lately, it seems that each day brings new allegations of harassment from individuals in a variety of industries. From Hollywood, Silicon Valley, major news agencies, and political candidates – people are speaking up about the harassment they suffered at the hands of those more powerful than them. Abuse victims are taking a stand in the hope that it will finally lead to cultural changes that will make harassment less likely to occur in the future.
But what about everyday people that are not in the spotlight or working with those who are? Does the average employee have the option of fighting back?
The answer is YES.
Employment Law – Designed to Protect Employees
As an employee, you are protected by a number of laws typically referred to as employment law. These laws were put in place to protect employees from things like sexual harassment, wrongful termination, wage theft, and discrimination. Lawmakers were well-aware of the imbalance of power that exists between employers and employees and tailored employment laws to address this imbalance.
Unfortunately, employee protections at work vary from state to state.
How to Fight Back
It was a watershed moment when Gretchen Carlson, ex-Fox News host sued the head of head of Fox News, Roger Ailes, for sexual harassment in 2016 and received a $20 million settlement, thus causing a tidal wave of women coming forward with similar stories. In her recent book, “Be Fierce,” she discusses ways that sexual harassment victims can fight back against their employers. She wrote her new book to help others with their own personal challenges of sexual harassment. In her book, Carlson gives some tips for those who are being victimized. Some of her tips include:
- · Talk to a lawyer before you do anything else.
- · Tell two trusted colleagues.
- · Document your experience.
Talk to A Lawyer Before You Do Anything Else
I spoke with Robert Ottinger, an employment lawyer with law firms in both New York and San Francisco who is representing employees in one of the most recent high-profile cases in Silicon Valley. His firm represents clients in all types of employment law cases, including sexual harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination and overtime pay.
Often taking legal action is the only real way to hold your employer accountable. But pursuing a lawsuit is complicated, and there are a lot of things you can do wrong without realizing you are damaging your chances of winning your case. “Speaking with an employment lawyer is extremely important – the sooner, the better. Your attorney can tell you what to do, and what not to do, to ensure you have the best chance of winning your case. You need to know that you are not alone.”
Too many employees are unaware of the fact that there are laws in place to protect them and too often fail to report the harassing behavior. According to a 2016 EEOC Study on workplace harassment, "employees who experience harassment fail to report the harassing behavior or file a complaint because they fear disbelief of their claim, the inaction of the claim, blame or social or professional retaliation."
It’s in the interest of employers to make employees feel like they need to bend over backward to keep their jobs – and they often do. “That’s why you need an experienced employment lawyer to level the playing field.”
Tell Two Trusted Colleagues
For your claims of sexual harassment to be taken seriously, you should tell at least two people you work with who can later testify that you spoke to them about it. The need for corroboration is not necessarily fair – telling anyone about what is happening can be extremely hard on the victim, especially work colleagues – but it has to be done for you to have a strong case later on.
Document Your Experience
The better you can document the harassment you experience, the easier it will be for your lawyer to build a strong case. Try to keep a journal of everything that happens, including instances of harassment, anyone who witnessed the harassment, the responses you get from others when you discuss the harassment, etc. And take your journal home with you each night and copy all your documents so you can access them away from work. Many sexual harassment victims make an effort to record their experiences, only to be fired from their jobs and lose access to their documents.
HR is Not Your Friend
Although most companies imply that Human Resources are there to help you as an employee, the fact is HR is still part of the company. What is best for the company is best for HR. Ottinger says that “in the end, you can’t depend on HR to represent your best interests.”