Florida workers may be interested to learn that approximately 33 percent of female workers between the age of 18 and 34 have experienced workplace sexual harassment. However, there are many cases where women do not report workplace harassment, which means that the numbers could potentially be higher.
A survey that was published in the March 2015 version of Cosmopolitan showed that 81 percent of the participants had experienced verbal harassment while 44 percent stated that they had been victims of unwanted touching. Even though there are laws that provide some protection against sexual harassment, some women may not report harassment due to the fear of losing their job or being reprimanded.
Additionally, the laws do not provide protection for all employees. For example, only seven states have sexual harassment laws that provide protection for unpaid interns. This is because they are not considered to be employees as defined by the Federal Civil Rights Act. Claims that are made often fail if the harassment is not considered to be severe enough.
If an employee was sexually harassed at work, they should not hesitate to seek sexual harassment legal assistance. An attorney may potentially be able to determine if the employee has a case especially if the employee was reprimanded for reporting the incident. In some cases, the attorney may negotiate a settlement with the company so that the employee does not have to deal with going through a trial. If the company refuses to take action or compensate the employee for the harassment, the case could go to trial.
