When workers face sexual harassment on the job—whether it comes from coworkers, supervisors, executives, customers, or anyone else at the business—it is a violation of their rights. Harassment should never be accepted in a workplace environment, even though it can be a common issue.
In some cases, workers who are suffering from harassment fail to report it at all. In other cases, there is a significant delay. A worker may only come forward months or years after the events have taken place. Why does this happen?
A lack of trust
In some cases, it is because workers don’t trust that they will be taken seriously. For instance, they may not want to go to the human resources department because HR works for the company and supports management, so the employee does not believe that HR is actually on their side.
Worries about retaliation
Many workers are also concerned about potential retaliation from the company. They are worried that they will lose their job or that complaining is going to affect their income and career goals. A worker who is trying to climb the corporate ladder may not want to draw attention to themselves, even when they know that their rights have been violated.
Company culture issues
Furthermore, in some companies, there is an overall culture issue that could be causing these problems. Gaslighting may even take place, where employees are led to believe that this is normal behavior instead of a violation of their legal rights.
The important thing for employees to understand is that they do have legal protections under the law in Maryland, Virginia, and the entire DC Metro area. It’s critical for them to understand their legal options and the steps they can take when facing harassment on the job.
