Who Should I Report Sexual Harassment To?
Understanding How to Report Sexual HarassmentYou do not have to make an internal report of sexual harassment before filing a legal claim. It is usually a good idea, though. The company or organization you work for is not responsible for investigating and addressing harassment that it does not know about, so a report is important to put them on notice. Also, if you fear retaliation or reprisal from the person who is harassing you, letting someone else in the company know could protect you.
If your employer has a sexual harassment policy, that policy should designate someone as a contact person for complaints. If there is no policy, or you can't locate it, in most situations you would report to someone in the human resources department. If you do not have HR in your company, you can bring your concern to anyone in management. You do not have to address the problem directly with the person who is harassing you, even if that person is your supervisor. If you work for a very small company and the person harassing you is the owner of the company, there is no need to make an internal report, as the owner is on notice of their own conduct. Learn more here about sexual harassment resources in Massachusetts. |
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Meet Our Employment Lawyers
Emily Smith-Lee is the owner and founder of slnlaw. She is a 1996 graduate of Boston College Law School. She was previously a partner at the Boston office of a large international firm, where she worked for thirteen years before starting the firm that became slnlaw in 2009. She has been recognized as Massachusetts Superlawyer each year since 2013, and in 2018 earned recognition as one of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly's Lawyers of the Year. She has written a book on employment law: Rules of the Road, What You Need to Know About Employment Laws in Massachusetts, been interviewed by the Massachusetts Superlawyers magazine about non compete agreements, and written an op-ed in the New York Times about the dangers of non competes. Along with the rest of the slnlaw team, she has helped hundreds of clients navigate, negotiate, or defend against their non compete agreements.
Rebecca Rogers: Rebecca is a 2006 graduate of Boston College Law School, and has worked with slnlaw since 2013. She previously worked as an intellectual property litigation attorney for Fish & Richardson in Boston, Massachusetts, and clerked for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Rebecca has helped many clients understand and evaluate their non compete agreements and develop strategies for defending against non compete enforcement and negotiating resolution.
Jenna Ordway: Jenna is a 2013 graduate of Quinnipiac Law School, and also earned an LLM in Taxation from Boston University in 2015. She has been affiliated with slnlaw since 2011, first as a law clerk and then as an attorney. Jenna has been recognized since 2019 as a "Rising Star" by Massachusetts Superlawyers. Jenna works with employers to develop reasonable and enforceable employee agreements, including non competes. She has also helped employees understand and evaluate their non compete agreements and develop strategies for defending against non compete enforcement and negotiating resolution.
Elijah Bresley: Eli is a 2014 graduate of Seton Hall Law school, and has worked with slnlaw since 2020. He previously worked for a boutique employment law firm outside of Boston, and then for the Labor and Employment department of a large Boston firm. He also spent a year clerking for the judges of the Superior Court in Hartford, Connecticut. Eli has helped clients both evaluate and negotiate their non compete agreements, and defended non compete claims in state and federal courts.
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We have years of experience representing individuals and small businesses solve many different employment problems, large and small. You can use the button below to schedule a call back from a member of our team to learn more about working with us, or give us a call at 781-784-2322.