Welcome to KCSexHarassmentAttorney.com
This website is offered as an informational resource to individuals residing in the greater Kansas City area, as well as the states of Kansas and Missouri. General issues surrounding harassment in the workplace may also apply at a federal law level to employees throughout the United States (federal law applies to employers of 15 or more employees). The information provided discusses the various issues arising from unlawful harassment in the workplace.
Discrimination & Harassment
The courts have held that if you are harassed in the workplace in a way which involves your sex - or your race, ethnicity, or national origin - you may have the right to sue your employer. Discrimination and harassment go hand-in-hand. Where there is unwelcome harassment at work, there is often illegal discrimination as well. Most certainly, any victim of such mistreatment possesses the absolute right to protest the same. Protests should be made within the business as a first step. A protest may of course also be made to the appropriate state or federal agency regulating discrimination in the workplace. No one is required to take unwelcome harassment while on the job.
Harassment
In deciding whether the harassment is illegal, it must be severe and pervasive. That said, any employee has the right to protest unwelcome treatment in the workplace, regardless of its scope or severity. An idle comment, even if offensive, is not normally the basis for a lawsuit. Being asked out on a date on a one-time basis is normally not considered sex harassment. Ongoing and unwelcome approaches are generally deemed unlawful harassment, however. Unwelcome physical contact by the harassing party is another key. If you are touched repeatedly, especially after telling the person you don't want to be touched, that conduct may well be unlawful harassment. Additionally, harassment of an unwelcome sexual nature may include swearing or other obscene language, whether made by males to females, or males to males, or otherwise.
Management Awareness
For a legal claim to exist, the conduct must be carried on by a member of management, or if it occurs by a co-worker and not a supervisor, management must know about it and have had an opportunity to stop it. In other words, a victim must normally have reported the misconduct - unless it is well-known to management already. Then, if the misconduct continues, a legal claim may be pursued.
Report The Behavior
If a fellow worker is the one doing the discrimination and harassment, you should follow any stated company policy(ies) and report the conduct to your supervisor and Human Resources. Report it in writing to have proof of the date you reported it (keep a copy of what you submit), and be sure to be specific about the exact nature of the discrimination or harassment. Your action in reporting the misconduct is protected by law from retaliation.
Who Can Sue?
Anyone who is offended by a discriminatory or sexually harassing work environment may theoretically sue. A legal claim of this sort must be initiated with the appropriate State or Federal agency before any suit is later filed. Time limits for reporting such misconduct are as short as six months, so legal action should not be delayed. Legal advice from an attorney is often most helpful at this stage.
Damages
Victims of harassment in the workplace can recover for their lost wages, future lost wages, medical or counseling bills, emotional distress, inconvenience, embarrassment or humiliation, punitive damages, and attorneys fees.
If you or someone you know is now, or recently has been, victimized by Harassment at work in greater Kansas City, or in the states of Kansas or Missouri, you may contact THE LAW OFFICES OF ALBERT F. KUHL, at 913.438.2760, or by email at Office.Kuhllaw@gmail.com for advice.
None of the materials presented on this website or over its affiliated e-mail addresses may or should be considered legal advice. The information provided is for informational purposes only. No information provided by this website, and no communications made over its affiliated e-mail addresses, may be considered to create an attorney-client relationship. The materials presented on this website provide summaries only of the law in this area.
IF YOU ARE A KANSAS (including Johnson County and Sedgwick, Douglas and Shawnee Counties, including the cities of Kansas City, Kansas, Overland Park, Olathe, Wichita, Topeka, Lawrence, Salina, Manhattan and Emporia) or MISSOURI RESIDENT (including these cities: St. Joseph, Springfield, Columbia, Jefferson City, Joplin, Warrensburg, Blue Springs, Lee's Summit and Raytown) YOU QUALIFY FOR A THOROUGH EVALUATION OF A POTENTIAL CASE. DO NOT RELY ON THIS WEB SITE. CONTACT THE LAW OFFICES OF ALBERT F. KUHL. EMPLOYMENT LAW VARIES FROM STATE TO STATE. AS A LAW FIRM WE CAN ONLY ANSWER QUESTIONS FOR KANSAS OR MISSOURI RESIDENTS, ADDRESSING EMPLOYMENT ISSUES IN REGARD TO FEDERAL AND KANSAS/MISSOURI STATE LAW.
Note: KCSexHarassmentAttorney.com - Kansas City Sex Harassment Attorney's website provided by the Law Offices of Albert F. Khul
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