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If you face unfair or inappropriate treatment in the workplace based on your actual (or perceived) sexual orientation, sexual history, sexual background, or sexual availability, you are a victim of sexual harassment. Sexual harassment, like every other type of harassment that can occur in the workplace, is detrimental not just to the victim but to everybody in the work environment because it perpetuates a toxic workplace culture where harassment is accepted, overlooked, and even encouraged.
Sexual harassment is any harassment based on an individual’s sex. It does not necessarily have to be “sexual” in nature–making derisive remarks about an entire gender is an act of sexual harassment even if those remarks are about the gender’s work capabilities or personality traits and not anything explicitly sexual. Sexual harassment can occur between individuals of different gender identity or sex as well as individuals of the same gender identity or sex. Although sexual harassment is typically portrayed as something a man does to a woman, men can be sexually harassed as well. Sexual harassment can happen regardless of the involved parties’ sexual orientations, gender identities, and positions in the company
The primary federal law prohibiting sexual harassment in the work place is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Under Title VII, sexual harassment is considered a form of sex discrimination.
Additionally, the Massachusetts Fair Employment Practices Act (FEPA) prohibits sexual harassment, including harassment based on an employer’s actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity, in the workplace.
There are two types of sexual harassment: quid pro quo and hostile work environment. Quid pro quo, Latin for “this for that,” refers to instances where sexual harassment takes the form of a “bargaining tool.” For instance, a supervisor offering favorable treatment in exchange for sexual favors from subordinates. Other examples of quid pro quo sexual harassment include:
Hostile work environment sexual harassment may involve inappropriate requests and sexual advances instead of an exchange. It can also involve subjecting employees to inappropriate sexual imagery, invasive questions and remarks about their personal lives, and otherwise offensive sexual behavior. Examples of this type of sexual harassment include:
In late 2017, instances of alleged sexual harassment in the federal government and the entertainment industry made headlines across the United States. This slew of sexual harassment cases spurred the #MeToo movement, a social media movement that encouraged individuals to share their personal stories of sexual harassment in an effort to raise awareness of the issue and put a stop to it.
If you face sexual harassment at work, you have the right to speak up about the treatment you face and take steps to make it stop. This can mean filing a sexual harassment claim with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or filing a discrimination lawsuit against your employer. When you face sexual harassment at work, you should document specific direct.
These are the types of damages you may be able to pursue through filing a sexual harassment claim. Gather any evidence you can at work to support your claim, such as copies of messages that you felt were harassing in nature and dated documentation of interpersonal interactions where you felt harassed or sexually manipulated. Keep are cord and copies of each document you collect.
If your company has a sexual harassment reporting policy, follow it, document that you have done so, and give us a call. The evidence you gathered earlier for your interaction with your company, along with documentation of your interaction with your company, are pieces of evidence you will use to support your claim.
Massachusetts state law mandating that employers promote an office environment without sexual harassment and that they will create a policy against sexual harassment in the workplace meeting guidelines which this law spells out.
https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXXI/Chapter151B/Section3A
Massachusetts state law mandating that employers promote an office environment without sexual harassment and that they will create a policy against sexual harassment in the workplace meeting guidelines which this law spells out.
The Federal Regulation pertaining to Sexual Harassment.
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2017-title29-vol4/xml/CFR-2017-title29-vol4-part1604.xml
This page puts the formal federal law into a more easily consumable format.
April 2022 document from the EEOC containing statistics.
https://www.eeoc.gov/data/sexual-harassment-our-nations-workplaces
This EEOC publication explains the legal background to and ideas behind employers being liable for sexual harassment by a supervisor inflicted on an inferior.
Provides guidance for defining sexual harassment and establishing employer liability using past cases.