Does “Sexual Harassment” Discriminate? 

Frequently employees question whether they can be subjected to sexual harassment by another regardless of either their own or another’s gender or sexual orientation. The answer is that sexual harassment can occur between both members of the same gender and different genders and the same sexual orientation and different sexual orientations. 

If your fellow employee, your manager, or an outside vendor or contractor has engaged in conduct causing you to feel uncomfortable, the other person’s gender or sexual orientation is secondary as to whether you may have been or continue to be sexually harassed in the workplace. Sexual harassment is a type of sex discrimination which can affect both female and male employees. 

While “women…continue to file a disproportionate number of the charges filed with the EEOC alleging sexual harassment…with women filing 78.2% of the 27,291 sexual harassment charges received between FY 2018 and FY 2021”, men make up the remaining percentage of sexual harassment charges filed with the EEOC. (See EEOC’s Sexual Harassment in Our Nation’s Workplaces, EEOC Data Highlight, April 2022, No. 2).

Am I the Only One in this Situation?

Another issue many employees deal with when enduring unlawful sexual harassment in the workplace is feeling like maybe they’ve done something wrong, or they are all alone in the situation. That being said, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s statistics on sexual harassment and its prevalence in the workplace should assure employees that they are not alone. In fact, between FY 2018 and FY 2021, the EEOC received a total of 98,411 charges alleging harassment under any basis and 27,291 charges alleging sexual harassment.

Who is Legally Responsible for the Sexual Harassment Against Me and What are My Remedies?

Many employees do not know whether the person who has been the one engaging in the inappropriate and distressing conduct against the employee or the employer can be held responsible for the unlawful sexual harassment against the employee. Initially, an individual can be held responsible for their actions, including internal discipline at the workplace and, at times, criminal prosecution. 

In addition, an employer can be held civilly responsible for such unlawful sexual harassment occurring in the workplace under certain circumstances. Whether an employer is to be held civilly liable for the actions of another’s inappropriate conduct is dependent on several different factors, including the relationships of the employer with the different parties involved in the sexual harassment situation. However, “for an employer to be liable…for sexual harassment by a co-worker, the employee must show that the employer knew or should have known of the harassment and failed to take remedial action.” See Breda v. Wolf Camera & Video, 222 F.3d 886 (11th Cir.2000).

How Do I Report Sexual Harassment?

There are multiple ways that an employee can report sexual harassment in the workplace both internally to the employer and externally to various local, state, and federal agencies. 

When an employee decides to report sexual harassment internally to the employer, an employee should review the employer’s internal policies and procedures, if any, on employees reporting sexual harassment claims. Many times, the employer’s policies and procedures will outline the steps employees should take to report any sexual harassment in the workplace, including the requirement for prompt reporting of such conduct to the employer and to whom the employee should report such conduct. The failure of an employee to properly follow an employer’s internal sexual harassment reporting policies and procedures can impact an employee’s claim against the employer for such conduct.

As stated above, it is important for an employee to understand the employee’s duty to report any sexual harassment allegations in the workplace to the employer. 

Does My Employer Have a Duty to Protect Me from Sexual Harassment?

An employer has a duty to protect its employees from a sexually hostile workplace environment, including taking all appropriate steps to stop sexual harassment in the workplace and to promptly remedy any sexual harassment claims.

According to different court decisions, an employer can limit its damages relating to sexual harassment claims by the employer having a written sexual harassment policy and the employer promptly taking appropriate remedial action to correct the situation.

Do I have a Claim for Sexual Harassment?

To state a claim for sexual harassment, an employee will need to prove the following elements: (1) that the employee is a member of a protected group; (2) that the employee was subjected to unwelcome sexual harassment, such as sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other conduct of a sexual nature; (3) the harassment was based on the sex of the employee; (4) the harassment was sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the terms and conditions of employment and create a discriminatorily abusive working environment; and (5) there is a basis for holding the employer liable. Mendoza v. Borden, Inc., 195 F.3d 1238 (11th Cir.1999).

As stated by the EEOC,  “Even if a complainant subjectively finds conduct based on a protected characteristic to be hostile, the conduct does not constitute a violation of federal EEO law unless it is also sufficiently severe or pervasive to create an objectively hostile work environment…whether a series of incidents is sufficiently severe or pervasive to create a hostile work environment depends on the specific facts of each case, viewed in light of the totality of the circumstances.” (https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/enforcement-guidance-harassment-workplace#_Toc164808026) 

To discuss your claim for sexual harassment with a sexual harassment lawyer near you in Jacksonville, FL, call the law firm of Cantrell Schuette at 904-869-0992 or coordinator@caklegal.com. 

How Do I File a Complaint for Sexual Harassment Against My Employer?

When sexual harassment arises in the workplace and an employee is either unable to resolve the matter internally with their employer or an employee chooses to proceed externally with filing a complaint against their employer, an employee in Jacksonville, Florida has multiple options available, including filing a Charge of Discrimination with the Jacksonville Human Rights Commission, the Florida Commission on Human Relations, or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

You can contact the different agencies as follows:

Jacksonville Human Rights Commission

Address: 117 W. Duval St. #350, Jacksonville, FL, 32202. 

Phone: 904-255-5370

Florida Commission on Human Relations

Address: 4075 Esplanade Way #110, Tallahassee, FL 32399

Phone: 850-488-7082

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

100 SE 2nd St #1500, Miami, FL 33131

Phone: 305-808-1740

You can also contact the Jacksonville sexual harassment lawyers at Cantrell Schuette at 904-869-0992 or at coordinator@caklegal.com. 

Fortunately, many local, state, and Federal agencies, including the JHRC, the FCRA, and the EEOC have working agreements allowing the filing of a Charge of Discrimination with one of the agencies to be considered filed with the other agencies. However, if is important for an employee to understand the requirements for filing a Charge of Discrimination with each of the different agencies; the ordinances and statutes the different agencies have jurisdiction to investigate; the differences in the processing of their Charge of Discrimination with the different agencies; and the ramifications of filing their Charge of Discrimination with the different agencies. 

We strongly suggest you reach out to a capable employment lawyer to assist you in making the best filing determination for your situation.