What can Idaho sexual harassment lawyers do for you when you want to file a complaint

Being subjected to daily abuse is hard enough, but the fear that no one will believe you, let alone help you, can make you feel completely powerless. Paralyzing fear, this is what sexual harassment victims need to live with every day. Unfortunately, not all people are aware anti-discriminatory laws even exist and all it takes to put an end to your suffering is getting a lawyer. 

Sadly, Idaho does not have strict anti-harassment laws like other American states, but your rights are protected under federal law. At the same time, the Idaho Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on many criteria, such as race, country of origin, age, disability, and sex or sexual orientation. According to Idaho sexual harassment lawyers, the Human Rights Act can be invoked when you are a victim of sexual harassment in the workplace. 

One of the major problems Idaho employees are faced with is that state law does not require business owners to provide training to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, nor are they mandated to put in place a clear procedure for reporting such cases, as is often the case in other states.

Such practices are highly-recommended, but not all business owners can be bothered to make it clear to their employees that sexual harassment will not be tolerated. 

So, if you work in Idaho who do you complain to if you’re subjected to sexual harassment? Experienced employment lawyers advise their clients to take their complaint to their employer, either directly or through the HR department. Sometimes that helps, but in many cases such complaints go ignored. That’s quite disheartening for the victim, but on the other hand it is something you can use in court. There have been cases in Idaho when the court awarded significant damages to an employee whose complaints were ignored and the employer failed to take any steps to curb the sexual harassment taking place right under their nose. 

The next step is to file a complaint with the Idaho Human Rights Commission or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). 

Knowledgeable sexual harassment lawyers will help you formulate your complaint and gather evidence to support your claim.

For a complaint to be successful you need to establish a clear timeline and provide detailed descriptions of sexual harassment incidents. You’ll need to recall as many incidents as possible to prove your coworkers or your manager’s attitude created a hostile work environment, and this caused you mental anguish and affected your work. 

Good attorneys usually try to talk to other employees who might have witnessed certain incidents. Many might be afraid of retaliation, but their rights are also protected under the law. At the same time, even such reluctant employees find the courage to testify when they see you getting a lawyer and taking your grievances to the EEOC or the state commission. You might discover you were not the only one subjected to sexual harassment, only the others did not have the guts to fight back.