{"id":1105,"date":"2020-02-01T13:45:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-01T13:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shegerianconniff.com\/?p=1105"},"modified":"2020-02-01T13:45:00","modified_gmt":"2020-02-01T13:45:00","slug":"are-sexual-jokes-by-a-boss-or-coworker-grounds-for-a-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shegerianconniff.com\/dev\/are-sexual-jokes-by-a-boss-or-coworker-grounds-for-a-lawsuit\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Sexual Jokes by a Boss or Coworker Grounds for a Lawsuit?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">People think of sexual harassment as a clear\ncut case where a work associate makes an advance or treats you in a certain way\nthat makes you uncomfortable. Some of the situations that come to mind include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Your boss offers a promotion if you go on a date or sleep with him\/her.<\/li><li>A coworker or customer touches you as you pass and didn&#8217;t have your permission.<\/li><li>Your work associate sends you suggestive or explicit messages and won&#8217;t stop.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Other forms of harassment may not be as clear.\nThis is why every company needs to have sexual harassment policies in place.\nSexual jokes should be one of the policies that&#8217;s covered. If a company bans\njokes of a sexual nature from being told in the workplace, it eliminates the\nrisk. Unfortunately, some companies never think of jokes as being a possible\nform of harassment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A boss or coworker tells an off-color joke\nthat has you cringing. The joke may be about a same-sex relationship, a blonde\nwoman being promiscuous, or a person of another culture being a prude. While\nthe others are laughing, you found the joke of a sexual nature to be demeaning\nor crass. Does a dirty joke qualify as harassment? In short, the answer is yes,\nbut it&#8217;s usually only considered as sexual harassment if the jokes are told\nregularly and not a few times a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If jokes about sexual orientation or sexual\nacts make you uncomfortable in the workplace or cause you to feel offended, it\ncan constitute sexual harassment. You have two options. You could try to\nresolve it on your own or seek guidance from an expert in sexual harassment\nclaims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You find yourself in this position. Some of\nthe people in your workplace are telling sexual jokes and you overhear them. It\nmakes you uncomfortable and you fear what happens if you speak up. You&#8217;re not\nsure what to do next. These are the steps to take if you have a boss, coworker,\nor associate telling jokes of a sexual nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tell Him\/Her to Stop<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you can, privately talk to or email the\njoke teller and say the jokes are not funny to you. Ask that person to stop in\na calm, polite manner. That may be enough to change his\/her behavior. When\npossible, get documentation that you&#8217;ve asked that person to stop. Send the\nrequest in an email. That helps prove that you asked civilly. Keep records of\nthe responses you get. Keep a journal of what happens after your request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Talk to Management<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If it doesn&#8217;t or the work associate makes fun\nof you or causes further offense, talk to your boss or supervisor. Again, be\ncalm and keep track of the response you get. If the boss or supervisor doesn&#8217;t\nhelp or if your boss is the person saying the sexual jokes, it&#8217;s time to go to\nHR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The HR department should have a system in\nplace to handle the complaint. They may take a written account from you\nregarding dates and times, which is why it&#8217;s handy to keep a journal of when\nthe jokes are told and what you&#8217;ve experienced when you asked the person to\nstop. They will start an investigation. You&#8217;re protected by laws so there\nshould not be any retaliation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once the investigation is complete, you should\nbe given written notice on what the resolution is. The person that told the\njoke will get a written reprimand that goes into his\/her file. Sexual\nharassment training may be required. If it&#8217;s a repeat offense, the worker or\nboss may lose his\/her job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What cannot happen is that your boss or other\nwork associates retaliate. If you are being subjected to an unusually heavy\nworkload, negative treatment, demotion, or termination after making a\ncomplaint, your rights are being violated. You need to talk to an expert. A\npersonal injury attorney who specializes in sexual harassment claims must be\nyour next step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can You Sue?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Can you sue someone for sexual harassment that\noccurs due to a joke of a sexual nature? Again, yes you can if it made it\nimpossible to perform your job. You can also sue if you did speak up and were\ndemoted, fired, or treated in an unfair manner after making a complaint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While it can be humiliating to stand up for\nyourself when the harassment involves a joke, you must take that step. Odds are\nthat someone in the group that laughed was just as uncomfortable but lacked the\ncourage to go against the others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can be courageous and stand up, but you don&#8217;t have to do it alone. The California sexual harassment attorneys at Shegerian Conniff are ready to help you through the process. Call us for a free consultation and know where&#8217;s here to support you through each step of the process. You don&#8217;t have to deal with sexual harassment alone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>People think of sexual harassment as a clear cut case where a work associate makes an advance or treats you in a certain way that makes you uncomfortable. Some of the situations that come to mind include: Your boss offers &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/shegerianconniff.com\/dev\/are-sexual-jokes-by-a-boss-or-coworker-grounds-for-a-lawsuit\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Are Sexual Jokes by a Boss or Coworker Grounds for a Lawsuit? - Shegerian Conniff<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are Sexual Jokes by a Boss or Coworker Grounds for a Lawsuit? - Shegerian Conniff\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"People think of sexual harassment as a clear cut case where a work associate makes an advance or treats you in a certain way that makes you uncomfortable. 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