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A 17-year-old in Tucson starts her first job at a movie theater. Within a month, the shift lead is commenting on her body, standing too close in the projection booth, and texting her late at night. She likes the job and does not want to lose it. She also does not know whether any of this is illegal or only gross. Federal law has an answer, and it also sets out what her employer has to do once it knows.
When harassment becomes illegal
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (the main federal law against job discrimination) bans harassment because of sex, and it covers employers with 15 or more employees. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC, the federal agency that enforces it) says the harasser can be a manager, a co-worker, or even a customer, and it can happen on or off the work site, which includes late-night texts.
The EEOC also says teasing or one offhand comment is usually not illegal by itself. Conduct becomes illegal when it is unwelcome and either severe (very serious) or pervasive (it keeps happening). It is also illegal when it leads to a decision about you, such as cutting your hours because you said no. The Tucson shift lead's behavior, repeated for weeks, is the kind the EEOC describes.
What the employer has to do
The EEOC says that once your employer knows you are being harassed, it has a responsibility to correct the situation and protect you from more of it. Punishing you for complaining is its own violation, called retaliation.
In Faragher v. City of Boca Raton (1998), the U.S. Supreme Court held that an employer is responsible for harassment by a supervisor, but it can defend itself by showing it acted reasonably to prevent and fix harassment and that the worker unreasonably failed to use its complaint process. That is why the EEOC warns that not reporting promptly may affect your rights. Using the company's process is what keeps that defense from working against you.
Steps to take, and the deadline
If you feel safe doing it, tell the person the behavior is unwelcome. Then find your employer's harassment policy, often in the handbook or on the break-room poster, and report to the person it names. If that person is the harasser, go to another manager. Put the report in writing and keep a copy, along with screenshots of any texts. Tell a parent or another trusted adult; the EEOC says you can talk to them or to the agency directly.
There is a clock. The EEOC says a charge generally must be filed within 180 calendar days, extended to 300 days where a state or local agency enforces a similar law. Start at the EEOC Public Portal or call 1-800-669-4000. Your state's civil rights agency may also cover employers with fewer than 15 workers; check its website.
Lembre-se disto
- Title VII bans sexual harassment by managers, co-workers, or customers at employers with 15 or more employees.
- Once the employer knows, it must correct the situation, and it cannot punish you for reporting.
- Faragher v. City of Boca Raton (1998) is why reporting through the company's process matters.
- An EEOC charge generally must be filed within 180 days, or 300 days in many states; call 1-800-669-4000.
Fontes
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