Schaumburg Sexual Harassment Lawyer
Sexual harassment in the workplace is prohibited by state and federal law. Harassment can include unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and any other verbal or physical harassment that is of a sexual nature.
The Libertyville sexual harassment attorney at William J. Provenzano & Associates, Ltd. focuses on handling all types of employment discrimination, including sexual harassment and gender/sex discrimination. If you were the victim of sexual harassment, contact our office at (847) 816-6588 to learn more about your employee rights in the workplace.
What Is Sexual Harassment in the Workplace?
Sexual harassment in the workplace can take a number of forms. For instance, sexual harassment in the workplace can consist of:
- Unwelcome sexual advances, either by supervisors, co-workers, clients, or third parties;
- Employment decisions – such as hiring, firing, performance evaluation, promotion, transfers, or selection for choice assignments – that are based on an employee’s acceptance or rejection of sexual advances;
- Making offensive comments about a particular gender; or
- An intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment that consists of overtly sexual behavior of conversations, pictures, actions, or other interactions in the workplace, such as sexual overtones, jokes, or intimidation.
Moreover, both the victim and the offender can be either a woman or a man, and the victim and harasser can also be the same gender.
What Should I Do If I Am the Victim of Sexual Harassment?
If you believe that you are the victim of sexual harassment, you do not need to subject to yourself to a hostile work environment. It is important to know and understand your rights in the workplace, as well as your options with respect to a sexual harassment claim, so that you can make an informed decision about how to proceed.
Each situation is different, with a number of factors involved, but if you think that sexual harassment is involved, you should:
- Consult your employee handbook and policies. Most employee handbooks and policies have procedures in place regarding the ways that sexual harassment should be reported and it is important to follow these procedures.
- Contact a sexual harassment lawyer. A sexual harassment lawyer can advise you of your legal rights and options and, when advisable, help you file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or other appropriate agency, and advocate on your behalf in connection with any legal proceedings.
- If you and your attorney believe that you have a valid case, it may be appropriate to promptly file a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the Illinois Department of Human Rights. Sexual harassment is technically a type of gender/sex discrimination that is prohibited under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Illinois Human Rights Act and similar local ordinances. Under federal, state and local law, the victims of sexual harassment have a right to file a discrimination complaint against the employer with the EEOC, the Illinois Department of Human Rights, or other appropriate local agency, but there are strict time limitations on when you can file a complaint so it is important to not delay.
Contact a Sexual Harassment Lawyer
If you believe that you were the victim of sexual harassment, you should contact the Libertyville sexual harassment attorney William Provenzano as soon as possible at (847) 816-6588.
