Legal Question in Sexual Harassment in Washington

fired after assumptions made.

My girlfriend works in a male dominant car dealership. Many of her co-workers have spread rumors about her and another girl she works with having ''masturbation marathons'' with each other. When she first complained to a manager about the many rumors associated with her being homosexual, the party in question found out and threatened her abuot it. More recently there have been comments by her male supervisor such as ''Id like to see you in tight jeans like that'' and ''people said theyve caught you and her having sex in the closet''.He also grabs his genitals frequntly when having conversations. Two days ago some rumors got to upper management, and her supervisor had a ''talk'' with her about it. He said that she needed to stop ''making out with her because it is offending some of the big wigs.'' None of theses accusations are true, but today she was fired. What steps should be taken, would this qualify as a sexual harassment case?


Asked on 11/01/06, 8:12 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Craig Crispin Crispin Employment Lawyers

Re: fired after assumptions made.

The facts you recite suggest most directly a claim of retaliation, and it is likely a claim of "hostile environment" sexual harassment as well. The "hostile work environment" form of sexual harassment is created when an employee is exposed to unwanted sexually explicit comments or materials that interfere in her ability to perform her job (such as creating health problems or making it hard to go to work, etc.), provided the employee reports and/or complains about the conduct and the employer fails to take prompt, effective remedial action. The comments you report are sexually explicit and inappropriate. After reporting the conduct to management, the employer was obligated to make the sexual conduct stop. The employer's failure to take action to stop the harassment makes the employer responsible for the continuing harassment. Also, the failure to take action by the employer might be a separate form of retaliation.

Retaliation for reporting sexual harassment is illegal. Any opposition or resistance to sexual harassment is protected, i.e., cannot be retaliated against by the employer. The warnings and threats are retaliatory acts. The termination may be retaliatory as well, though an employer is entitled to terminate for an employee's misconduct even if the employee is in a protected status otherwise. To be illegal, the termination must be BECAUSE of the sexual harassment complaints/opposition.

Please be aware that you have only a limited time to take action against the employer (180 or 300 days, depending on the circumstances), so do not delay seeking legal advice. You should consult with a qualified, experienced sexual harassment lawyer to make sure your rights are preserved.

The above does not constitute legal opinion and is offered for the purposes of discussion only. The law differs in every jurisdiction, and you should not rely on any opinion except that of an attorney you have retained, who has a professional duty to advise you after being fully informed of all the pertinent facts and who is familiar with the applicable law.

Read more
Answered on 11/02/06, 7:01 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Sexual Harassment Law questions and answers in Washington