Sexual harassment is a pervasive problem that can invade the workplace cultures of employers large and small. When an Indiana worker feels the damaging impact of sexual harassment, they may not know where to turn or what to do to protect themselves and others from continuing provocation. One of the first steps they can take is to contract a trusted employment law attorney to better understand their rights under the law.
Though some may assume that sexual harassment is always easy to spot, it can be latent or overt. Different types of conduct can constitute sexual harassment, and what one employee experiences may be different than what another endures. This post does not provide readers with any legal advice but introduces them to different ways that sexual harassment can present itself in Indiana workplaces.
Hostile work environment harassment
One form of sexual harassment that can go unchecked at work is hostile work environment harassment. This form of harassment happens when an individual experiences unwanted offensive attention because of their sex. Often sexual harassment based on hostile work environment claims build on cultures of harassment that permit inappropriate and offensive conversations and imagery in the workplace. However, hostile work environments can be created between individual aggressors and individual victims.
Quid pro quo workplace harassment
Another kind of sexual harassment that can happen at work is quid pro quo harassment. In this form of harassment, an supervisor or superior in a work organization may proposition a subordinate employee with a work benefit in exchange for a sexual favor. Examples of quid pro quo harassment often involve bosses conditioning promotions and better work conditions to employees in exchange for their agreement to dates or other sexual requests.
Sexual harassment in the workplace can be overt or hidden. It can involve a culture of an office or the behaviors and actions of an individual. However it occurs, it is wrongful and should not impact victims. When individuals suffer sexual harassment at work, they can speak with trusted employment law attorneys about their rights.