Write an article based on this "Ask if you welcomed the conduct. Analyze the severity of the behavior. Check the frequency of the harassment. Check if others find the behavior off-putting. Talk with a lawyer. Take next steps."
By definition, sexual harassment must be unwelcome. You need to consider whether the person on the receiving end did not welcome the harassment, or if they encouraged it. Being silent is not encouragement. However, you might have encouraged the harasser with your actions or words. For example, flirting with your boss invites flirting from them in return. Objecting or complaining is proof that you did not welcome the conduct. Telling the harasser, "Please stop doing that" or complaining to a supervisor shortly after the incident can definitely help your case. Another factor you need to consider is the severity of the conduct. Being touched on the armthough unwelcomeprobably doesn't qualify as sexual harassment. However, someone grabbing your buttocks and shouting sexual slurs is both shocking and sufficiently serious to qualify as sexual harassment, even if it happens only once. In fact, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission assumes that a single incident of touching someone's intimate body areas is sufficiently offensive to qualify as sexual harassment. However, the touching must be unwelcome. Isolated incidents probably do not qualify as harassment (unless they are very severe). For example, a stray comment about men or women is probably not harassment. However, there is no magic number of times harassment needs to occur. Instead, frequency will be analyzed together with severity. You should think of it as a sliding scale. The more serious the conduct, the fewer incidents there need to be in order to qualify as sexual harassment. However, the less serious the conduct, the more incidents there will need to be. Some people are more sensitive than others. For example, someone might think being told "You look nice today" is sexual harassment. By contrast, another person might find the comment annoying but not harassing. Lastly, a third person might think it is a compliment and feel on top of the world. For this reason, courts will analyze the conduct based on how a reasonable person would interpret the conduct. Before jumping to any conclusions, you might want to ask trusted friends if they would find the conduct or comments harassing. Tell them what happened and ask for their interpretation. Do they think the conduct was harassing? You would probably benefit from meeting with a lawyer. Gather all of your evidence and schedule an appointment. At the consultation, you can talk about your situation, and the lawyer can analyze whether the offensive conduct qualifies as sexual harassment. You can find an employment lawyer in the following ways: Ask people you know. They might have used a lawyer who they can recommend. Contact your Employee Assistance Program. Many employers offer these programs, which can provide referrals to lawyers. Use a referral service. States and many cities or counties have bar associations, which are organizations made up of lawyers. Many of these bar associations run referral services or can point you in the direction of one. Ask another lawyer. You might have used a lawyer to buy a house or handle an estate matter. Call this person up and ask if they can recommend an employment lawyer. If you believe that sexual harassment has taken place, then you should complain to your Human Resources department or your supervisor. Your employer will not be legally responsible for a hostile work environment created by a coworker unless you put the employer on notice of the harassment. You also should think about complaining to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or an equivalent state agency. After complaining to an agency, you could also bring a lawsuit in federal court for sexual harassment. See Sue for Sexual Harassment for more information.