Sexual Harassment in a Residential Care Facility
Grace worked in a residential care facility that served adults with developmental disabilities. Her job involved assisting residents with their activities of daily living and other needs, and were often performed in the residents' private rooms.
At some point during her employment, Grace was transferred to a different part of the facility, where she had to work alongside of a male co-worker named John. From the beginning of her new assignment, John made repeated sexual comments toward her, including interjecting when she offered assistance to a resident, saying "why don't you give me a shower" or "why don't you put me to bed." On another occasion he teased her about how she should take a plumbing course so she could learn to "lay pipe," and made other sexually suggestive comments to her in the hallways. After she reported this behavior, her manager insisted on meeting both her and John together in a private apartment, then left them to work alone together for the rest of the shift, despite John's obvious anger toward Grace in the meeting. The alleged investigation into Grace's complaint was still not completed more than six months after she raised the issue. In the meantime, she began receiving disciplinary warnings and threats of termination over minor infractions. The stress of these warnings as well as the harassment and overall retaliatory response caused her to develop severe anxiety and panic attacks, which led to an extended medical leave before she finally resigned. Harassment SolutionWe helped Grace file a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination ("MCAD"), which we later withdrew in order to file a civil lawsuit. After some written discovery, which supported Grace's recollection of key events, we were able to negotiate a settlement payment that compensated her for the loss of her job and what she had experienced.
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Postscript
If you are in a similar situation, you should know that you have a right to report the harassment without retaliation, and that you should never be forced to confront your harasser directly as part of the investigation. It is never too early in this process to connect with an experienced employment attorney, who can help you understand your rights and options from the very beginning.
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