Nebraska sexual harassment lawyers can help victims of sex-based discrimination

A restaurant chain in Eastern Nebraska was sentenced to pay $85,000 in damages to a former employee who was sexually harassed while working there as a teenager. The woman had accused her former manager of groping her and making inappropriate comments about her physical appearance. Some male coworkers also joined in to torment the girl. To make matters even worse, when the girl’s mother complained about the abuse her daughter was subjected to, the enraged manager showed up at their house repeatedly trying to intimidate them. 

The case was brought to the attention of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission who, in addition to the damages awarded to the plaintiff, ordered the restaurant chain El Vallarta’s Gretna  to provide training to all its employees to make sure such things won’t happen again. 

If you, too, are sexually harassed in your place of work, the best thing you can do is contact experienced Nebraska sexual harassment lawyers and have them look at your case. The  Nebraska Fair Employment Practices Act (FEPA) prohibits all forms of harassment or discrimination of employees based on sex. The law applies to both public and private companies with 15 or more employees. People who work in smaller businesses can, instead, use Title VII of the Civil Rights Act when they want to complain about workplace sexual harassment. 

A good lawyer will listen to all the facts and tell you how best to proceed. In most cases, the first step is to talk to your employer or file a complaint with the HR department. As the above mentioned case shows, sometimes this approach doesn’t work. It is very difficult to complain to your boss when they’re the ones harassing you. Nevertheless, this is the first thing you should do, if only to be able to prove in court that you did not initiate the sexual advances, did not welcome them and objected to them. This is necessary as in many cases, those doing the harassing will claim that the victim started it or even enjoyed it. 

If your complaint is ignored and no action is taken, employment lawyers specializing in sexual harassment cases will help you take your case to the EEOC or the state authorities. You will need to document your complaint thoroughly, describing the sexual harassment incidents and bringing what supporting evidence you can get. If it’s mostly verbal harassment, it would be very useful to bring witnesses to testify on your behalf. 

Often enough, when one employee summons the courage to stand up to their tormentors, others may be encouraged to speak out as well. Some might be afraid of the consequences, but the law also prohibits retaliation against those who make such complaints or against those who support them with their testimony. Should your employer retaliate against any of them they’re in for even more trouble.

Sexual harassment lawyers can use any such retaliatory measures to increase the amount of damages they seek. According to the law, an employee subjected to sexual harassment should be compensated for lost wages if they were fired or forced to quit their job because of the hostile environment. At the same time, the victims are entitled to seek punitive damages for all their suffering.