What actions can you take following a sexual harassment encounter?

It goes without saying, that you must seek legal and clinical help if you are a victim of sexual abuse. The first step is to ask the harasser to stop the abuse. Moreover, it is important to make it perfectly clear to your harasser that his/her conduct is unwanted and unwelcome.

To begin with, you will need to report the harassment to the human resource department and your supervisor and if this does not work out well, the thoughts of a Fort Lauderdale, FL sexual harassment lawyer should be entering your mind right about now.

You could always seek legal counsel at any time even before you file a complaint with the appropriate authority as just mentioned. If your employer fails to take action against the alleged harasser you have the right to approach the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). You can find more information about employment and sexual harassment right here.

Following an investigation, the EEOC will attempt to make your employer reach a settlement, failing which you will be given permission to file a lawsuit against the harasser and your employer. Simultaneously, it is important to document every episode of harassment and undergo psychological counseling if needed.

You must proceed after knowing your legal rights

You must know your legal rights before filing a case. The best way to do this is to consult a Florida sexual harassment attorney to understand what exactly constitutes harassment and the laws that govern harassment cases. This will help you muster confidence before the start of your legal battle.

Is it mandatory to report the harassment to the employer?

Even though it is not mandatory to report the harassment, the employer must be kept formally in the loop. There are two reasons for this. First, if a victim decides not to report the incident, the employer might claim that since the incident was not reported, the employer did not know that such an incident actually did occur.

Therefore, the employer will not liable to pay damages for an incident that was clearly avoidable as timely intimation would have led the management to stop the abuse. The legal term used in such situations is ‘affirmative defense’. This could give your Fort Lauderdale sexual harassment lawyer some problems.

Secondly reporting such incidents prove another very crucial thing. It proves that the victim, you, was eager to stop this unwelcome and unwanted behavior and this will score some big points in the eyes of the jury, mediator, your actual employer.

If you do not report it, your employer could believe that you thought this issue was minor and just someone playing around. You would have reported it if it was that big of deal and if you were clearly upset about it. The fact that you did not speaks for itself.

Coping with the mental stress after an episode and psychiatrist help

Every individual reacts differently to any form of sexual harassment or discrimination. Some suffer mental agony resulting in hysteria and depression while others may be able to hide any inner turmoil. Nevertheless, mental stress is common to most cases. There are others who repeatedly try to recollect the events of a day leading up to the incident and try to figure out if they gave their assailant any reason to behave in the manner they did through their demeanor.

Depression, fatigue, headaches, intimacy issues, and anger are common psychological outcomes and for this you must consult a psychiatrist who can be later called up to testify on your condition after the incident. No matter how serious the harassment is, don’t hesitate to consult a Florida sexual harassment lawyer as soon as possible.

You may like your job. You may feel calling up a lawyer is the beginning to the end. If you do not get some legal help your job performance and morale could suffer which may affect your job status anyhow. In addition, the sexual harassment may not stop and it could become worse. Your employer needs to be dealt with you and your lawyer will know what to do. This is where you need to go: http://sexual-harassment-lawyers.usattorneys.com/florida/.