Boca Raton Employment Law Blog

When you start a new job, you expect it to be a welcoming environment. You may start to connect with your colleagues and management. Suddenly, someone makes an offensive comment about race that rubs you the wrong way and you may not know how to react. 

It is a sad reality that racism is still alive and well and often rears its ugly head in the context of work. When you hear a rude remark, tasteless joke or outright slur, you may feel a mixture of shock, anger and confusion. Here are some easy steps for dealing with racism at your job.

Sexual harassment of restaurant and other food service employees is a common scenario. Reports indicate that up to 70 percent of male workers and 90 percent of female workers in restaurants have experienced some type of sexual harassment from customers, coworkers, supervisors or suppliers. Workers in Florida should be aware of their rights and opportunities for recourse regarding this issue.

Approximately 52 percent of employees in restaurants are female, and two-thirds of them are compensated at least in part with tips. Power imbalances between women and men may lead to more harassment of women in the workplace. Recent research suggests harassment of male workers is on the rise. This area has not been as widely researched, though, so the statistics may be inaccurate. Another factor that may lead to under-reporting of male employee harassment is that it may be perceived as unmanly for male employees to report harassment.

A woman who used to work at a Florida bar has been awarded $80,000 in a sexual harassment case. The plaintiff, who was a bartender at Christini's Ristorante Italiano in Orlando, claims that she was told to look date-ready and sexy while performing job duties. The woman alleges that she was terminated after expressing concerns about her treatment to management. She was terminated in March 2017 after starting work for the company in August 2015.

A lawsuit was filed in September 2018 prior to a settlement being reached with the company. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has also required the company to take steps to ensure that sexual harassment doesn't occur to others who work there. This includes creating a written anti-harassment policy as well as submitting reports to the EEOC. Finally, the company was tasked with writing the plaintiff a positive job recommendation.

In Florida and around the country, the #MeToo movement has received a great deal of attention. Some associate workplace sexual harassment with the entertainment industry. But it is also prominent in a less likely field. Recent research has determined the medical profession to have an unwanted culture of predatory conduct. This is especially true in the area of medical academia.

A study was released nine months ago by a nationwide academy that provides research to the medical field and other science-oriented disciplines. The results of the study were eye opening if not shocking. The survey that was a part of the study indicates that nearly half of those training in medical academia experienced some form of unwanted sexual advances. These unwanted advances range in severity from inappropriate sexual comments to assault. The proportion of harassment incidents is double that of other science-based fields. The study further stated at nearly 80 percent of these acts went unreported. For those who did not report an incident, more than half felt either nothing would be done or feared reprisal.