Sexual Harassment at Work (copyright 2017)

Sexual Harassment occurs when an employer, supervisor, or co-employee makes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or unwanted physical contact that is offensive or lewd.

Employees have the legal right to assert sexual harassment claims against their employer based on sexual harassment and sexual discrimination at the workplace if the employer fails to take corrective action or violates a mandate contained in federal or state regulations.

These cases are brought under the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Title VII. The complaint is filed by an individual or their attorney with the Texas Workforce Commission or the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Claims pursued against employers under the 1064 Civil Rights Act can only be investigated and pursued if your employer has 15 or more full-time employees. The first question a labor law attorney will probably ask you is, “how many full-time employees does your employer have.”

What do employees do when they work for a small business or just one boss? At my law firm, we do not handle EEOC cases. We do not have to worry about the onerous time reporting limitations, some as short as 180 days, and 15 employee threshold requirements of federal and state civil rights laws.

We pursue sexual harassment cases against employers, business owners, and high-level supervisors using Common Law (case law not statutes). Case law that comes from our English Justice system. For hundreds of years, England and America have recognized the legal right of an assault victim (physical assault with bodily injury and even offensive touching) to sue their assailant.

In cases that involve groping, touching, or outrageous intentional lewd conduct, we assert a claim of “civil assault” against the offender. Civil charges of Assault by Contact and Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress are utilized to pursue business owners and upper level management (President, Vice President, CEO, Directors, etc.) who sexually harass and physically assault an employee. Some examples of illegal conduct by an employer or a high-level supervisor include:
• Repeated unwelcome comments of a sexual or lewd nature to an employee
• Sending lewd or pornographic emails, text messages, or voicemail to an employee
• Unwelcome groping or touching of an employee
• Unwelcome kissing of an employee
• Sexual assault of an employee
• Requesting sexual acts from an employee
• Describing sexual fantasies about an employee to that employee

In Texas, it is illegal for an employer to even touch an employee in a manner that would be considered offensive or provocative by a reasonable person.

We have obtained monetary damage recoveries against doctors, lawyers, business owners, and others who have molested their employees by kissing their employees, touching their employees’ buttocks or breasts, and even lewd and lascivious behavior, such as making repeated and unwelcome lewd comments of a sexual nature.

Send any questions you want answered to: kevin@kevinmadison.com.  There is never a fee for a confidential telephone or email consultation at my law firm.

Attorney Kevin R. Madison