U.S. State Department Sexual Harassment Claims Tripled Under Clinton and Kerry

New York City Sexual Harassment Lawyers serving employees

According to a report from the Washington Times, sexual harassment complaints at the United States Department of State have more than doubled during the tenures of Former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and current Secretary John Kerry. Political watchdogs are speculating on how these findings will impact the upcoming presidential election.

Our New York City sexual harassment lawyers learned that official worker harassment complaints rose from 88 in 2011 to a whopping 248 allegations in 2014. Apparently, those numbers don’t include hundreds of informal complaints that were also lodged during that period.

Current Presidential candidate Hilary Clinton can preside as the Secretary of State from 2009-2013, while Kerry took over as Secretary of State in 2014.

Experts and insiders are blaming the shocking rise in sexual harassment and gender discrimination allegations on a couple key factors:

• There is no mandatory sexual harassment training for State Department employees
• Department managers are not required to keep employees up to date on internal or external harassment policies and laws

Additionally, in recent years, there has been a growing awareness regarding workers’ rights and procedures for reporting discrimination and harassment in the workplace. Clinton herself publicly advocates for women’s rights at work.

The department’s inspector general recommends that the Department of State “should mandate periodic harassment training for all department employees.”

“Mandatory training for department employees would strengthen this message and ensure that all employees are aware of their responsibilities and rights,” the report states.

Other major federal agencies, such as the Pentagon, already have mandatory harassment training policies in place. Our NY attorneys hope that soon the State Department will follow suit. The State Department employs over 65,000 workers worldwide – now their Office of Civil Rights is charged with finding a way to educate and inform every employee and contractor on their employment rights.

Sexual harassment training at your NYC workplace

If you work in New York or any other part of the country, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) does not mandate your employer to provide sexual harassment or discrimination training. However, the EEOC does encourage employers to offer training. Their website states, “Prevention is the best tool to eliminate sexual harassment in the workplace…by providing sexual harassment training to their employees and by establishing an effective complaint or grievance process and taking immediate and appropriate action when an employee complains.”

Additionally, New York State and City law do not require employers to give anti-harassment training to employees.

However, our team of seasoned New York City Sexual Harassment lawyers doesn’t want you to remain in the dark about your legal rights. Countless reports of workplace sexual harassment go unreported simply because people don’t know how to report inappropriate behavior. They aren’t aware that their employer’s behavior is illegal and they may be entitled to compensation from an EEOC charge or lawsuit. A New York City lawyer can answer all your questions about New York City Sexual Harassment Laws.

What you can do right now: Ask your Human Resources representative or supervisor if the company has an official anti-harassment policy and inquire what the procedures are for reporting harassment.

Call for a free consultation with a Sexual Harassment Lawyer

If you or someone you know has been discriminated against or sexual harassment at his or her NYC workplace, contact the sexual harassment lawyers at the Derek Smith Law Group today. Our group of experienced employment law attorneys can be reached at 800-807-2209 for a free consultation, or contact us online to schedule a free consultation.