Best Ohio Workplace Sexual Harassment Attorney Answer: Can I get fired for complaining about sexual harassment? Who do I complain to if the owner of the company is sexually harassing me? Does my employer have to have a sexual harassment policy? How do I find the best gender discrimination lawyer in Ohio?
Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment (Quid pro quo is a Latin term meaning “this for that”) and Sexual Harassment Hostile Work Environment are both illegal forms of gender discrimination is Ohio’s employment laws, R.C. § 4112.99, and the federal law’s Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Both these employment discrimination laws also make it illegal to retaliate against anyone who complains about sexual harassment. As our employment law attorneys have previously blogged, it is unfortunate, but sexual harassment is a problem even to our teenage workforce.
Violations of these statutes can be pretty expensive for employers. Take for instance, two related companies that were just forced to pay $200,000.00 and make significant changes to the operation of the business because of the way that the owner was treating his young teenage employees.
The companies own Basta Pasta restaurants in the Baltimore area. According to the employees, the male owner has been accused of rubbing his genitalia against his female employees’ buttocks (including minors), unwanted sexual contact, and making crude sexual comments, advances and innuendos. Do not be surprised; there are a lot of business owners and managers that their authority gives them the right to treat women this way.
So they did what any reasonable employee would do: Complain to their manager. The manager then did what every manager confronted with claims of sexual harassment should do: Complain to upper management. Then the management wheels fell off the bus. It appears that the employer restaurants then retaliated against a manager who passed the complaints up the food chain and told her to “keep her mouth shut.” When the manager valued her morals more than her job and kept opposing the sexual harassment of minors, the company fired.
And, if you think that it is utterly offensive and despicable that a boss would rub himself up against teenage girls for joy and fire anyone in his way, read on. According to the complaint, two young underage employees were given alcohol by this owner, who then lured one of the teenage employees to his house under the pretext of talking about a promotion to a management position. She later woke up to find out that she had been drugged and possibly sexually assaulted, according to the reports.
There is evil in this world. Sex offenders are evil, but employers that use their position of authority to pray on workers under the age of 18 have a special place in hell reserved for them. Is $200,000 enough? To me, absolutely not. But, because this case was handled by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), the victims did not have a say in the settlement amount, which is left to the sole discretion of the EEOC.
According to the sexual harassment settlement, the companies are also required to hire an independent third party to evaluate and monitor complaints of sexual harassment, implement a new sexual harassment policy, and also other significant equitable relief. It should not be surprising to find out that luring teenage employees to your home, plying them with alcohol and engaging in sexual contact is inappropriate and unlawful conduct for a boss or owner. However, these two situations highlight that sexual harassment can take many different forms. If you even suspect that your boss’s behavior is sexual harassment, you should contact an attorney immediately.
Sexual harassment is unlawful under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and similar Ohio laws. Sexual harassment is a form of gender discrimination. If you feel that you are being sexually harassed or are working in a sexually charged or hostile working environment, you should not wait to call the right attorney at 866-797-6040 to schedule a free and confidential consultation. At Spitz, The Employee’s Law Firm, you will meet with a sexual harassment lawyer/hostile work environment attorney to find out what your legal rights are and the best way to protect them. Sexual harrassment is a form of gender discrimination, and employers should be held accountable if they discriminate against female workers in any fashion – but particularly for sexual harrassment. It does not matter if you have been wrongfully fired or are still employed, there is no reason to wait to find out what your legal rights are and how to protect yourself from sexual harassment and gender discrimination.
Disclaimer:
The materials available at the top of this page and at this gender discrimination, wrongful termination, and sex harassment law website are for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. If you are still asking “what should I do …”, “I’m being sexually harassed …” “my supervisor grabbed my…”, “my boss is touching…,” “I’ve been wrongfully terminated,” or “how do I …”, your best course is to contact an Ohio sexual harassment attorney/hostile work environment lawyer to obtain advice with respect to sexual harassment/hostile work environment questions or any particular employment law issue. Use and access to this employment law website or any of the links contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship. The legal opinions expressed at the top of this page or through this employment law website are the opinions of the individual lawyer and may not reflect the opinions of Spitz, The Employee’s Law Firm, Brian Spitz, or any individual attorney.