Legal Question in Sexual Harassment in New York
Situation at work
I work in an office and I am 18 years of age. There are several other people who work there around my age, as well as the managers who are much older. There is a storage room where we have generally been permitted to write on the walls for some time now. Recentely some disturbing phrases began to appear on the wall, and after examining the wall each night before leaving, we concluded that one particular employee was the only possible person to be writing these thing, since he was the only one in there since the last time we had checked. More recently, however, the disturbing phrases became more and more personal, with the lates two being directly toward me, saying ''*NAME* IS GAY'' and ''*NAME* SUCKS C***'' After conferring with the supervisors, they decided rather than to cause trouble by confronting him about it (i think it's rediculous, but they dont like to accuse anyone of anything) they decided to take down all papers and memos on the wall, and issue a memo that states that noone is permitted to write on this wall. Nevertheless, I still feel uncomfortable working with this person, and knowing that he has been writing these harassing phrases on the wall. I was wondering if, in your opinion, I have any legal options.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Situation at work
You should contact your local EEOC office. You can file a complaint, but be advised you will be opening up a "can of worms." You have legal rights, but sometimes enforcing them can be painful, and you need to be prepared for that.
Your other option is to seek other employment. It very well may end up that this is what you need to do anyway, practically speaking.
Re: Situation at work
Your employers have taken the first steps to remedy the problem. Had your employer ignored the problem you might have a colorable hostile work environment argument. As it stands now, your employers have done what they can, for the time being. You need to alert them to these problems every time they occur. If the employer ignores the problem you might want to confer with a lawyer.
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