Kentucky sexual harassment lawyers can help you with a discrimination lawsuit
A Kentucky woman was awarded $1 million in damages for the horrendous sexual harassment she was subjected to while working for a local subsidiary of Tyson Foods. Ever since the moment she took the job she was constantly harassed by her male colleagues who would make lewd and suggestive comments or try to grope her. When she complained to her employer she was offered an incredible excuse – she should understand that the guys were aroused by her physical appearance. She had no other choice but to quit her job when it became obvious no action would be taken against her harassers.
If you find yourself in a similar situation you should reach out to skilled Kentucky sexual harassment lawyers and fight for your right to a safe work environment. Employee rights are protected under the Kentucky Civil Rights Act which prohibits discrimination based on sex, including sexual harassment, pregnancy and related medical conditions.
When you schedule a consultation with a lawyer, they’ll first want to hear the facts. Don’t expect them to promise you a seven-figure settlement. That rarely happens. You can, however, win significant damages covering your lost wages, the mental suffering you experienced, as well as your litigation fees.
In order to win a sexual harassment lawsuit, you need to prove you were subjected to extensive sexual harassment.The woman in the Tyson Foods case stated in her complaint that there were hundreds of such incidents in the short time she worked for that company.
You don’t have to come up with hundreds of incidents, but the number should be high enough to sustain the idea that there was a pervasive atmosphere of sexual harassment which amounted to a hostile work environment. Under Kansas law, a hostile environment is described as having to put up with unwelcome sexual advances and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.
Experienced sexual harassment lawyers will also want who was responsible for such behavior. If the harasser is a supervisor who uses this type of behavior to make you submit to their sexual overtures this constitutes a quid pro quo case, punishable by law.
The moment when you file a complaint with state authorities or launch a lawsuit be prepared to hear some very nasty things about yourself. The most common type of defense an employer uses in such cases is to allege that the sexual conduct was not unwelcome. Simply put, you’ll be accused of welcoming or initiating the sexual advances of your coworkers.
Employment lawyers with a lot of practice in such cases advise their clients to make it quite clear to their harassers that such conduct is not welcome. State your objection out loud and let your fellow employees know you took offense to the sexual jokes or overtures. Also, make sure to raise your grievances with your employer, file a written complaint with the HR so there can be no denying that they knew what was going on.
If you’re still wondering how that woman got $1 million in damages, that’s because the HR representative she talked to only pretended to listen to her grievances. The notes he supposedly took were never found and there was no internal investigation into the case. The judge was appalled by such an attitude.
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