Legal Question in Sexual Harassment in California
Hostile work environment-Sexual harassment claim
I was sexually harassed in my work place and I reported it to my manager and we made an appointment to contact the hr rep, during the time of conversation with my manager and the hr rep, I was asked by the rep if I wanted to remain annonymous or name myself in the investigation, i remained annonymous do to possible retailiation for the person I reported, the hr rep said she would investigate the matter, come to find out the hr rep didn't even investigate the matter the manager did and she used my name during her process. Also I was never informed of the outcome of the investigation, nor was I offered any therapy, support, or training when this occured. I was never asked if I would like to transfer to another position, or to have someone with me at all times because the claim was made against the lead front office person. He starting harassing me indirectly through other people and spread rumors about me. This all occured last year in March is when I filed a grievance, could I still have a legal right to file a lawsuit and if so could you recommend an attorney who would take the case on a contingency basis? Please advise me of this.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Hostile work environment-Sexual harassment claim
You have one year from the last incident to file a complaint with the California Dept. of Fair Employment and Housing. If you don't do so, you would face substantial hurdles with a lawsuit. So, call the DFEH today to make an appointment. I believe you can also find their questionnaire online to get a head start. Good luck with you. Please let me know if you need additional help. (P.S., I don't know why it took so long for your question to be posted.)
Re: Hostile work environment-Sexual harassment claim
This raises a number of questions in my mind. First and foremost is have you suffered any retaliation as a result of the grievance being filed? If so, that would be well within the statute period because you filed you grievance in March, 2005. Retaliation is just as actionable as the underlying harassment and is even easier to prove if you have suffered an "adverse employment action" such as bad review, demotion, or termination since that time. Did the company do anything as a result of the investigation, such as fire the harasser? How are you currently aggrieved by their actions (or failure to act)? And how do you know that the manager used your name in the investigation? Were some of your coworkers interviewed? I am not sure how they can conduct a thorough investigation without naming names in this circumstance, so I don't believe that in and of itself is actionable, but there may be liability for the underlying harassment and failure to remedy, or retaliation. If you would like to discuss this further, please email me to set up a free phone consultation. Thanks -
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