Legal Question in Sexual Harassment in Wyoming

Re: My boss is sexually harassing my sister

I DISagree wholeheartedly with the answer by the other attorney.

Do NOT NOT NOT NOT threaten anyone!!!!

Your sister is angry about something which is amoral, immoral, and unethical.

Your sister MUST MUST MUST take the HIGH HIGH

HIGH ground. If she goes to the boss's wife,

all your sister will accomplish is making

another innocent woman feel terribly hurt. If

her husband is a boor, she probably already

knows it. Why make her feel worse by letting her know that everyone else knows he is, too.

Your sister would gain absolutely NO NO NO legal advantage by hurting the wife!

Also, any comment your sister made would come

back and punch her in the face at time of trial (if there were one).

Now let's get to the legal facts.

If the company is very small, the

antidiscrimination laws (state and federal) of

which sexual harassment is a part may NOT apply.

In Massachusetts, for instance, a company with

only three employees is not affected by that law.

However, in Massachusetts, there is a sexual

harassment law SEPARATE and

APART from the antidiscrimination law . . . and

it is that SEPARATE law

under which you would (if this happened in Mass.)

be able to sue.

SO, you MUST MUST MUST check whether such a law exists in your state, Wyoming.

These S-H cases are taken on contingency.

That is, attorneys

take them and get paid only if they win the

case. Your sister would likely be expected to

pay for the actual

expenses as the case proceeds. But even that

would differ from attorney to attorney. Because

of the small size of the company, the number of

people to depose, for example, would be small and

therefore the costs should not be high. You might even be able to

help her.

This type of case is also amenable likely to

settlement. How deep is the boss's pocket?

To bring a suit under the state

antidiscrimination law and EEOC

(the federal commission), your sister would

have to file a charge at the commissions

within a few months of the last complained-of act.

Go see a local attorney immediately.

There is an organization called NELA

(National Employment Lawyers Association).

There is likely a Wyoming chapter.

NELA, National Office: 600 Harrison Street, Suite 535, San Francisco, CA 94107. TEL: 415-227-4655. FAX: 415-495-7465.

email: [email protected]

They must have a website. I tried to contact it

just now, but couldn't. Email them and they'll give you the correct URL.

Good luck. Just remember to take the HIGH road. It'll serve you better than the low road.

Barbara C. Johnson http://falseallegations.com/

Re: My boss is sexually harassing my sister

Your sister has some very good remedies available in the State of Wyoming to help her in this situation. The conduct of her boss, as you describe it, is not only illegal, it is just plain wrong. However, this situation must be handled carefully to protect your sister's income. Our experience has been that doing nothing just allows the abuse to continue or even get worse. What your sister needs to do is to contact a good lawyer to help her step by step through the process. There are some very good lawyers who will make an arrangment with your sister to protect her rights without driving her straight into bankruptcy. Depending on where she lives, there are many good attorneys available. If you would like, feel free to contact me and I will give you some names.

Now, as to what she should do in the meantime, I agree with the second person who advised conduct. Have your sister keep the high ground. Getting even is not what the situation is about, getting the conduct to stop is what the situation is about. I've also found that wives are fiercely loyal to their husbands, and it is easy to paint someone as a disgruntled employee. Take the high road, and talk to an attorney as soon as possible.

Your sister is lucky to have you to be so concerned about her.

Re: My boss is sexually harassing my sister

Your sister should at least threaten to tell his wife (if he's married) or otherwise publicly expose him if he does it more or if he tries to fire her. If that doesn't work, she should go talk to the wife and/or family members.

She might do better to start her threats more subtly ... make an ambivalent or slightly rude or annoyed comment to the boss in front of a family member, ... whatever.

I'm not even a woman, and I really don't know that much about the laws, either in your state or even federally, but it seems like you need a practical solution; I'm not sure mine is practical since it raises the likelihood of getting fired a few notches, too.

Maybe, with your sister's approval, you would like to call the guy up yourself (or have a lawyer call) and give him a piece of your mind.