Indianapolis Employment Law Blog

If you're an Indianapolis waitress, you work hard for your tips. You realize that the paltry hourly wage you're paid will never pay the bills. You need to remain fast on your feet, have a keen memory for orders and regulars' favorites and a ready smile for all you serve in order to make ends meet.

But there's another, darker side to restaurant work that few realize — the endemic problem of sexual harassment on the job. One survey done in 2014 studied nearly 700 restaurant workers. Of that total, 80 percent reported that they had experienced on-the-job sexual harassment from their customers. Another two-thirds had been harassed by their managers and 50 percent by co-workers.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is in place to provide eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year for a qualifying condition, such as the birth of a child or to care for an ill spouse.

To take advantage of FMLA benefits, you must first determine if you're eligible. If you are, it's time to take a few key steps.

As an employee, you hope that workplace discrimination never comes into play. However, if it does, sitting back and hoping that everything works out is not the best approach.

There are many ways to deal with discrimination as an employee, with these tips critical to your long-term well-being:

• Tell your employer: Make it clear to your employer that you are the victim of discrimination. This will ensure that everyone is on the same page as to what happened and the resolution you expect.
• Keep evidence: Maybe you have a photo associated with the act of discrimination. Or maybe you have an email that proves what went wrong. Regardless of the type of evidence, collect it for future use.
• Review your employee handbook: This is where you will find your company's anti-discrimination policy. It should give you a clear idea of the steps to take.
• Contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC): If you don't get satisfaction from your employer, this is the best way to take things to the next level.

Even with a variety of federal and state laws in place, workplace sexual harassment remains a major problem throughout the country.

If you're the victim of workplace sexual harassment, you shouldn't wait to take action. This includes the following:

• Speak your mind. This means one thing: letting the harasser know that you want them to stop at once. If you don't speak up, the person may begin to believe their behavior is acceptable.
• Read your employee handbook. It's here that you will find information on workplace sexual harassment, including the steps your employer wants you to take to report the behavior. Follow the guidelines down to every last detail.
• Keep records. You should take detailed notes regarding the instances of harassment, ranging from the time to the location to exactly what happened. If there is any sort of evidence, such as an email or photo, be sure to hold onto that as well.
• Report it to your employer. This goes along with reading your employee handbook. Report the harassment to your employer, ask them what comes next and follow up as necessary.
• Take legal action. If you're unable to work out a resolution through your employer, consider what you can do next. You may be able to seek remedies such as back pay, reinstatement if you lost your job and damages for emotional distress.