Sexual Harassment Attorney Philadelphia

Sometimes, sexual harassment can invade an online work environment. Many employees may work remotely from home in and around the Philadelphia city border. If an employer, CEO, manager, boss, or business associate uses the internet to harass employees or job applicants, you may have a claim for online sexual harassment in employment in Philadelphia.

Some examples of such sexual harassment claims in Philadelphia may include:

• Sending sexting messages via text
• Sending emails with requests for sexual favors
• Sending emails with inappropriate images and videos
• Cyberstalking
• Sexual Bullying
• Posting revenge porn on social media about a coworker
• Making inappropriate comments in online meetings, like Zoom, Go to Meeting, Google Meets, or Microsoft Team meetings
• Discussing coworkers’ attire and beauty during an online meeting
• Sending emails, text message, and social media comments with sexual jokes

When working in a remote workplace in Philadelphia, sexual harassment can occur when you don’t even notice. Employers, coworkers, and business associates may feel more inclined to harass you from behind a keyboard.

You have the right to an online workplace in Philadelphia free from sexual harassment. Speak with the employment discrimination and sexual harassment attorneys at the Derek Smith Law Group in the City of Brotherly Love to help you develop a plan to fight online sexual harassment in your Philadelphia place of employment.

Work with your sexual harassment lawyer to file a complaint in the Philadelphia courts against your employer for employment sexual harassment. Allow your employer to guide you as your advocate. They will help you navigate the court system to fight online sexual harassment in employment.

Sexual harassment in employment in Philadelphia can take many forms. Some examples include:

• A coworker massages your shoulders every time he passes you.
• Your potential employer or interviewer rubs your knee as she asks questions about your past job.
• Coworkers email pornographic videos or images to the office.
• Your supervisor promises you better shifts if you go on a date with him.
• Gay or Lesbian sexual harassment occurs when your coworker calls you derogatory names based on your sexual orientation.
• Your client continually sends sexual text messages to your phone.
• Sexism in the workplace occurs when your coworker makes jokes about women belonging in the kitchen instead of the office.
• Your coworker Makes inappropriate sexual jokes.
• Your boss Makes inappropriate sexual gestures or comments which bring attention to your body.
• Your female boss keeps asking you to try making out with a woman, also known as Same-Sex harassment.
• Your supervisor offers sexual gifts or favors.
• Your coworker demands physical contact, such as a hug, kiss, massage, etc.
• Your boss retaliates against someone you for denying his sexual advances.
• Stalking
• Criminal sexual acts, such as rape
• Unwelcomed requests for sex 
• Spreading sexual lies or rumors about a person that denied sexual advances.
• Asking questions about another employee’s or job applicant’s sexual history or sexual orientation.
• Sexual Coercion
• Sexual bribery

Our experienced sexual harassment lawyers at the Derek Smith Law Group’s Philadelphia office can help you determine if you have an employment sexual harassment claim. They will listen to the details of your case and advise you on every aspect of your claim. They will then help you file your claim with the appropriate agency to ensure you have your day in the Philadelphia courts.

Your lawyer will advise you that you need proof of sexual harassment in employment. The Philadelphia courts want specific forms of evidence to prove sexual harassment in employment.

The following forms of evidence will help prove your sexual harassment in employment claims in Philadelphia:

• Direct Evidence. Direct evidence occurs when there is a direct link to sexual harassment and a negative employment action. For instance, your boss tells you that if you do not perform sexual favors, he will demote you. You refuse the sexual favors. Therefore, your boss demotes you to a lower-paying position in the company.
• Disparate Evidence. Disparate evidence occurs when you can show a link between sexual harassment and negative employment actions through a series of circumstances. For instance, your boss continually makes comments about your appearance. You ask him to stop. He does not. You complain to HR.

The next day, your boss suspends you without pay because you submitted a report without a glossary of terms. You have never submitted a glossary of terms with any report in the past. The instructions did not specifically request one for this report.

• Policy Evidence. Policy evidence occurs when your company’s policy discriminates against you based on sex or gender. For example, the company policy states that men must wear tight pants while working with customers on the sale floor. Wearing tight pants does not enhance their job performance or provide additional safety.  This policy is a form of policy sexual harassment.

Your sexual harassment lawyer from the Derek Smith Law Group in Philadelphia will help you determine what evidence you have available for your employment sexual harassment case. They will help you file your claim in Federal or Philadelphia Court. They will use your evidence to advocate for the best possible outcome for your claim.

Employment sexual harassment in Philadelphia, a city with approximately 1,584,064 people, is rarely just one incident unless it is a criminal act. Therefore, you must gather evidence to show a pattern of this behavior. Keeping well-documented notes will only help your case both in and out of the courtroom. Make sure to record:

• Each incident of sexual harassment
• The people directly and indirectly involved in the incident
• All offensive conversations or remarks
• Emails or memos you have received (Keep a separate folder with this information and save everything in writing.)
• Details regarding complaints you made, including when, to whom, what was said.
• The response to your complaint
• Any reactions to the alleged sexual harassment
• How the incident made you feel
• How the event affected work performance
• How the event changed your general well-being
• Any witnesses to the events and their contact information

You need a zealous sexual harassment lawyer in Philadelphia to help you sort your evidence and build the best case possible. The sexual harassment attorneys at the Derek Smith Law Group can help.

Your dedicated sexual harassment lawyer from the Derek Smith Law Group will help you use your evidence to file the most appropriate claims against your employer. They will work with you to address any counterclaims your employer presents by presenting the evidence you provided. Your Philadelphia employment sexual harassment claim has a wonderful opportunity to settle in your favor with their helpful advocacy.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment sexual harassment in Philadelphia on a federal level. Any employee working for a company with 15 or more employees is entitled to protection under the law.

The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA) prohibits sexual harassment in the Pennsylvania workplace. The law protects Philadelphia employees subjected to sexual harassment at work in a company with four or more employees.

The Philadelphia Fair Practices Ordinance (PFPO) prohibits sexual harassment in the Philadelphia workplace against any employee within almost any Philadelphia business.

Your experienced sexual harassment attorney Philadelphia at the Derek Smith Law Group will help you decide the best laws to suit your sexual harassment in an employment claim. Whether your claim falls under federal or Pennsylvania law, your sexual harassment lawyers can assist with the process from the first filing through the final judgment.

Philadelphia laws prohibit sexual assault in the workplace and beyond. Sexual harassment becomes a criminal issue when it violates a person’s health and well-being. The harassment must result in events, such as the following:

• Rape
• Sexual Assault
• Forced Sexual Contact
• Bodily Injury During Sexual Attack

If you experience any of these incidents in your Philadelphia workplace, you may have a criminal claim for sexual harassment at work. File a charge with your local police department to ensure your attacker receives proper punishment.

However, you still have the right to file a complaint in civil court for sexual harassment. The Derek Smith Law Group’s team of sexual harassment lawyers and former sex-crimes prosecutors in Philadelphia will work with you to ensure you are properly compensated for this vicious workplace attack.

Sexual harassment in Philadelphia can occur anywhere people gather or perform transactions. State and Federal laws protect people from sexual harassment in schools, housing, and places of public accommodations.

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits sexual harassment in any Philadelphia school that accepts federal funding. Federal funding can include scholarships and grants students use to attend school.

The Fair Housing Act prohibits Philadelphia landlords from sexually harassing tenants. It also prohibits homeownership decisions based on sex or gender. Under the law, a landlord may not evict a tenant who did not agree to perform sexual favors. The landlord cannot promise a tenant rent forgiveness if they perform sexual favors. Furthermore, a potential homeowner cannot get denied a mortgage or the sale of a home because of his sexual identity, orientation, or gender.

The PHRA not only protects your rights against sexual harassment at work. It also protects your rights against sexual harassment in public places. Any victim of sexual harassment in a public place in or around Philadelphia may file a claim under the PHRA with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission.

Pennsylvania requires all supervisors and managers to take and pass a sexual harassment and discrimination training course. The course is a web-based course that highlights the issues employees and employers should understand and avoid within the workplace.

According to the EEOC, Philadelphia managers and supervisors are the first line of defense against sexual harassment in employment. Therefore, the more information they have, the better they can stand up for the victims of sexual harassment in employment.

The EEOC gives you a time limit of 300 days from the date of the last incident of harassment to file your claim in a Philadelphia EEOC office.

Once the EEOC receives the claim, they will investigate. If they find enough cause for an allegation of sexual harassment, they will issue a Right to Sue letter. You and your attorney then have 90 days to file a complaint in federal court.

The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission provides 180 days to file a claim of sexual harassment in Pennsylvania.

Finally, the Philadelphia Human Relations Commission sets a time limit of 300 days to file a claim for sexual harassment in Philadelphia.

Working with a top sexual harassment attorney Philadelphia, like the attorneys at the Derek Smith Law Group, can help you determine which law best suits your case.