Oklahoma City Sexual Harassment Attorneys

Employees

Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as well as the Oklahoma Anti-Discrimination Act, discrimination against job applicants and employees based on sex is prohibited by both private and public employers. The Oklahoma Human Rights Commissions has issued guidelines that expressly show that sexual harassment violates the above Oklahoma law. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) also includes sexual harassment as a violation of employee or job applicant rights.

Sexual harassment can take many forms but all of them are illegal when they are made a condition of your employment, when they underlie employment decisions that directly impact you, when they interfere with your ability to perform at work, or when they create a hostile, offensive, or intimidating work environment.

Examples of verbal, physical, or other conduct that can be considered sexual harassment include:

• Sexual innuendos and jokes
• Sexual gestures
• Offensive sexual remarks
• Requesting sexual favors in exchange for a promotion or condition of employment
• Unwanted sexual contact
• Sexually-explicit questions
• Sexual emails, notes, posters, images, or texts
• Retaliation for brushing off unwanted advances

Employers are responsible for these types of conduct made by supervisors, individual co-workers, and even nonworkers such as vendors, suppliers, or delivery persons who visit the premises.

In some cases, a fine line may exist between sexual harassment and simple “joking.” The bottom line is, if persistent actions by an individual make you feel uncomfortable and impair your ability to work productively, it is important to take action. You should report the incident to your supervisor or company’s human resources department. Many employers have policies regarding sexual harassment that must be followed before you can take legal action. If your employer has not taken action to remedy the situation, one of our employment law attorneys can advocate for you to make the behavior stop and seek legal damages.

Employers

Mazaheri Law Firm also works with employers on sexual harassment and discrimination matters. We can provide knowledgeable advice and representation regarding any type of workplace harassment claim whether it involves an in-office resolution, the EEOC, or litigation in a state or federal court.

We routinely provide legal advice geared toward minimizing sexual harassment in your workplace. Our attorneys can review employee handbooks, rules, and policies and work closely with management to provide adequate training for your employees. While Oklahoma law does not specifically require that you provide sexual harassment training, EEOC guidelines and prior court rulings strongly suggest it.

This type of employer training should identify the various types of sexual and other harassment behaviors that are inappropriate based on state and federal law, provide examples of harassment misconduct, and give employees an effective internal grievance process. It can include Title VII discrimination training that educates employees on all forms of workplace discriminatory conduct and diversity/inclusion training that helps employees interact in a more positive way with individuals of differing ethnicities, abilities, genders, and more.

At Mazaheri Law Firm, our attorneys can proactively prepare you by taking preventative measures and by outlining clear disciplinary procedures applicable to workers who violate appropriate conduct.

Get the legal assistance you need by contacting us online or at (405) 645-6022 as soon as possible. We will respond within 48 hours.