Best Ohio Sexual Harassment Attorney Answer: What do I do if my boss took an inappropriate picture of me? Should I complain about my supervisor making inappropriate sexual comments? Can I be fired for complaining about sexual harassment?
In November 2014, our employment law attorneys blogged about a case involving a lab manager for Homeland Energy Solutions (“HES”), Tina Haskenhoff. Haskenhoff worked at HES to create ethanol, or ethyl alcohol, the same basic ingredient found in alcoholic beverages, solvents, antiseptics, and fuels. Her claims involved a manager who regularly made comments about women and women’s breasts. Haskenhoff alleged that the same manager took a photo of her cleavage at a baseball game and shared the photo with colleagues. In another incident Haskenhoff claims a female applicant for a position was not given a fair opportunity to be considered for the job because male employees of the company thought she was too ugly. When Haskenhoff requested time off of work to have a mammogram, the same manager told her that other employees would probably pay her to fondle her breasts if she sat in the parking lot.
Haskenhoff complained about the treatment, but the company decided to not only reprimand Haskenhoff’s manager, but also to discipline Haskenhoff herself for reacting unprofessionally to Haskenhoff’s behavior. Haskenhoff’s attorneys indentified that she had had claims for sexual harassment based on a hostile anti-female environment and retaliation. Haskenhoff sued and the jury awarded her $100,000 for lost wages, $300,000 for past emotional distress, and $1,000,000 for future emotional distress making the verdict a $1.4 million dollar award.
As an update on this case we’ve already blogged about, the Judge in Haskenhoff’s case recently entered a new ruling granting Haskenhoff’s request for $240,000 for front pay and $846,000 in attorneys’ fees. Additionally, Haskenhoff requested that the court order her former employer to change their employment policies and procedures to prevent harassment and discrimination and train employees on the changes.
Haskenhoff may have requested reinstatement to her job, but all the employees responsible for the acts she complained of are still employed. Instead, she requested that the Judge grant her request for the company paying her three years of salary while she completes a program to seek a job in a new field.
In prior employment law blogs, we’ve discussed many cases where employees receive substantial awards after losing a job due to sexual harassment or reporting sexual harassment. In those cases, the employees allege that their employer treated them differently or less favorably due to their gender or the fact that they complained about harassment. For employees in Ohio, state and federal laws are in place to protect workers from this type of behavior, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as well as Ohio R.C. § 4112.02.
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.