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Sexual harassment is not new and it happens frequently in New Hampshire. According to the New Hampshire Commission for Human Rights, which is the state agency responsible for investigating discrimination claims, there were 318 complaints of employment discriminations filed for 2007. In the United States, approximately 14,000 charges for sexual harassment were filed in 2008 with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Sexual harassment can take many forms. Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment which is severe or pervasive when this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual’s employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.
Sexual harassment can occur in a variety of circumstances, including but not limited to the following:
The victim as well as the harasser may be a woman or a man.
The victim does not have to be of the opposite sex.
The harasser can be the victim’s supervisor, an agent of the employer, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or a non- employee.
The victim does not have to be the person harassed but could be anyone affected by the offensive conduct.
Unlawful sexual harassment may occur without economic injury to or discharge of the victim.
The harasser’s conduct must be unwelcome.
It is helpful for the victim to inform the harasser directly that the conduct is unwelcome and must stop. The victim should use any employer complaint mechanism or grievance system available.
If you have been victimized by sexual harassment on the job, our sexual harassment lawyers will fight to protect your rights. Many lawyers claim to have employment law experience. Also, some law firms try to have it both ways and represent employers and employees. Our loyalty is simple – we represent employees.
We understand the sensitive and difficult nature of these cases and the emotional upset caused by the harassment. We are dedicated to providing victims of sexual harassment with dignity and respect. For many reasons it can be difficult for victims to decide to report the harassment and pursue their legal claims. Time is of the essence because sexual harassment cases have strict time limits in order to pursue such claims.
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