WYSK: What to Do if You Believe You Have Been Harassed at Work
What to Do if You Believe You Have Been
Harassed at Work
1) If you feel
comfortable doing so, tell the person
who is harassing you to stop.
2) If you do
not feel comfortable confronting the harasser directly, or if the behavior does
not stop, follow the steps below:
a. Check to see if your employer has an anti-harassment policy. This may be
on the employer’s website. If it’s not, check your employee handbook. Finally,
you can ask any supervisor (it does not have to be your supervisor) or someone
in Human Resources (if your employer has an HR department) whether there is an
anti-harassment policy and if so, to give you a copy.
b. If there is a policy, follow the steps in the policy. The policy
should give you various options for reporting the harassment, including the
option of filing a complaint.
c. If there is no policy, talk with a supervisor. You can
talk with your own supervisor, the supervisor of the person who is harassing
you, or any supervisor
in the organization. Explain what has happened and ask for that person’s
help in getting the behavior to stop.
d. The law protects you from retaliation (punishment) for complaining about harassment. You have a right to report harassment, participate in
a harassment investigation or lawsuit, or oppose harassment, without being
retaliated
against for doing so.
e. You always
have an option of filing a charge of discrimination with the EEOC to complain
about the harassment. There are specific time limits for filing a charge
(180 or 300 days, depending on where you work), so contact EEOC promptly. See
EEOC’s How to File a Charge of Employment Discrimination. You can also meet with EEOC to discuss your
situation and your options. This conversation is confidential. Note: federal
employees and job applicants have a different complaint process and different time limits.
Additional information on workplace
harassment includes the following:
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