Greenwich Sexual Harassment Lawyers

Sexual harassment is unlawful in Greenwich, Connecticut workplaces, from the early stages of applying for a job and going through the interview process to experiences of employee harassment on the job. For much too often, employers and co-workers, as well as other people who come into places of employment, have been able to get away with sexual harassment. You should know that sexual harassment is prohibited under both Connecticut state and federal law, and those statutes also contain protections against retaliation if you do move forward with a claim or participate in an investigation into sexual harassment in the workplace.

The Greenwich sexual harassment lawyers at our firm are here to assist you, and we can begin working with you today on your claim.

What is Sexual Harassment in Greenwich?

As the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) explains, sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that involves harassment because of a person’s sex, and it can occur when a person is applying for a job or after a person has been hired as an employee. Sexual harassment takes many different forms, and the EEOC underscores that it can include unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature. At the same time, it is critical for you to understand that sexual harassment can still be unlawful even if it is not of a sexual nature. Indeed, according to the EEOC, sexual harassment can also include offensive remarks about a person’s sex, such as comments or jokes about a female employee’s ability to perform a certain task.

Sexual harassment is an unlawful form of sex discrimination under state and federal law.

Types of Greenwich Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment in Greenwich generally takes one of two different forms:

• Quid pro quo harassment, or this for that, where an employer makes the harassment or the request for sexual favors conditions of employment (or conditions of receiving a promotion or certain workplace benefits); or
• Sexual harassment creates a hostile work environment.

With quid pro quo harassment, sexual harassment typically involves an employer, or a manager or supervisor, making requests for sexual favors or any kind of sexual engagement a condition of the employment. For example, a supervisor might tell an employee she will be terminated if she does not engage in specific behaviors with the supervisor, ranging from sexual acts to touching or flirtations in the office. Or, a boss might tell an employee that she can only be promoted or will receive certain benefits if she agrees to submit to requests for sexual favors.

Differently, sexual harassment that creates a hostile work environment involves any kind of actions or behaviors at work that a reasonable person would believe to be intimidating, hostile, or offensive. Hostile work environment cases can involve sexual harassment, but they can also involve other types of discriminatory behavior as well, such as harassment on the basis of a person’s race or religion. For sexual harassment to create a hostile work environment, it must involve more than petty slights, annoyances, and isolated incidents, according to the EEOC, unless an isolated incident is extremely serious.

Sexual Harassers Can Include Many Different People

While quid pro quo harassment involves a sexual harasser who is in a managerial or supervisory position, such as a boss or direct employer, hostile work environment claims can involve many different types of harassers. You may be able to file a sexual harassment claim if any of the following people have engaged in harassing behavior that results in unlawful quid pro quo harassment or that rises to the level of creating a hostile work environment:

• Employer, or business owner;
• Boss, supervisor, or manager;
• Co-worker;
• Customer or client; or
• Any other third party who comes into the place of employment or interacts with employees.

Our Greenwich Sexual Harassment Lawyers Can Assist You

If you have faced any kind of sexual harassment in the workplace, it is time to get started on your case. Our Greenwich sexual harassment attorneys know how difficult it can be to move forward with a claim, especially when you fear retaliation at work or when you have been made to feel as though your experience is not valid or that you are misreading the circumstances. Sexual harassment in employment is very real, and it occurs much too frequently. Let our aggressive and experienced team help you to hold the harasser accountable and to make your workplace a safe one for all employees. Contact Carey & Associates, P.C. online or call us at (203) 255-4150.