A New Jersey city has promised to strengthen its employee intimidation and sexual harassment police after it settled a lawsuit for $495,000. The lawsuit was filed after an employee alleged that her boss forced her to have sex under threat of losing her job and sexually harassed her.
After the settlement for this serious incident, the city also said that they would not tolerate sexual harassment or employee intimidation. While they declined to say how the employee accused in the sexual harassment complaint might be disciplined, they did say that they would not tolerate such actions in the future.
When someone feels threatened in their work place, they might feel that they have to go alone with any harassment for fear of losing their job. During a tough job market, many people will put up with harassment, thinking that they have no other choice. Speaking with an experienced employment law attorney in New Jersey might be a wise decision. They can help the person understand their rights and work to resolve the incident in the best way possible.
Not only can a sexual harassment lawsuit gain justice for the direct victim of harassment, but it can force organizations to re-evaluate how they handle such incidents and hopefully prevent a similar situation from happening to someone else in the future. An attorney can help a person protect their privacy, and work to ensure that they receive compensation if they were forced to quit their job or were fired because of the harassing incident.
Source: The Record, “Hackensack seeks to toughen sexual harassment policy in wake of lawsuit settlement,” Hannan Adely, Oct. 18, 2013