Legal Question in Employment Law in Georgia

At work on Tuesday January 8th 2013. A male associate with, a homosexual lifestyle hit me on my butt with a object that he had in his hand. When I expressed to him my level of discomfort with his actions, his response was to make light of a very serious situation. His exact words were; "Sexual Harassment!" This was said by him without any concern of what could happen. I then told my supervisor, who mentioned to me that he did hear him say the "Sexual Harassment" comment. Although he did not see him touch me because he was out of vision to witness. He told me he would report it to his supervisor, which he did. I was then asked by the manager on duty what had happened. I explained to her the situation and she said once the general manager came in, at 12:00 pm she would inform her what happened. Since 12:00 pm January 8th I have not heard of any follow up to the situation above mentioned, it is now January 16th. Not only that, the general manager never even took a statement from me as to what happened! I have been left completely in the dark, and I feel my concern has not been taken seriously. On Monday January 14th I called our corporate headquarters and spoke with an H.R. rep. I have not heard back from that person either. Is their a statue of limitations on this? How should I proceed.


Asked on 1/16/13, 8:53 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Scott Riddle Law Office of Scott B. Riddle, LLC

From your post, this was a single incident by a fellow employee. Generally, that is not a strong basis for any reasonable legal action (EEOC or lawsuit). You can certainly see a lawyer to discuss all facts, and what happens if you initiate a complaint against your employer, but you may also want to continue to ask for a resolution by HR and just see if there is any other similar activity. It is possible it was addressed by management. The other person may have also realized it was out of line. Whether you are happy in the job may also be a consideration. Of course, if this type of thing happens again and management does nothing, it is a different issue.

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Answered on 1/16/13, 11:49 am


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