When you’re at work, you’re there to do an honest job and make a living, but not everyone has the same intentions as you. Some people actively come to work with malice for their coworkers, and in some cases, these bigoted people are the very employers we work for. Discrimination in the workplace is the act of treating an employee unfavorably due to their membership in a protected class. Too many people live paycheck to paycheck; in these cases, simply quitting your job for a new one isn’t an option. If you’re a victim of discrimination at work, let’s review the steps you need to take to protect yourself and hold aggressors accountable.
Understandably, your first instinct may be to lash out or act emotionally in response to a discriminatory statement or action. However, regardless of whether your reaction is warranted, reacting out of contempt can hurt your future case against them and may even land you in hot water with your job. Of course, this isn’t necessarily fair, but the best thing you can do for yourself is to take note of what happened and physically remove yourself from the situation. The less you say, the less can be used against you in the future. Plus, it shouldn’t be your job to punish, educate, correct, or deal with a bigot anyway.
As soon as the incident occurs, your priority should be to record every detail as quickly and thoroughly as possible. No matter what course of action you decide to take, you can ensure someone will ask you questions about what occurred. Having the details on hand is much easier than recalling them.
Also, you should make it a point to keep digital and physical records of any correspondence between you and the aggressor. These records could be emails, texts, phone calls, voicemails, and more. This leaves little room for them to deny or twist words.
Your job likely has policies outlining how to file a discrimination complaint, whom to report to, and what the investigative process looks like. These policies should also address what types of harassment and discrimination are strictly prohibited. While discrimination against protected classes is illegal under antidiscrimination policies, someone treating you poorly because you support a particular sports team is not. One scenario is illegal under federal law, and the other is simply workplace bullying. Both situations are undoubtedly frustrating and wrong, but the complaint process and to whom you bring your complaint will differ entirely.
State and federal laws, as well as the protections they provide, vary. Some states offer more protection or have stricter antidiscrimination laws than at the federal level, or vice versa. You can call your state, county, or city office to gather more information. Upon receiving this information, you may decide not to take your case to court and pursue mediation instead. You may even find your place of employment isn’t fully abiding by state and government policy. The more you know, the better you can protect yourself.
When you’re ready to file an official complaint, look back on those notes and records you kept. In your complaint, you should state exactly what occurred and how you believe the offender discriminated against you. Whatever you write should be clear, concise, and focused on the topic at hand. For example, you may have had previous disputes or disagreements with the aggressor, but that doesn’t mean you should address that in your complaint. Only provide the information necessary, such as the who, what, when, where, why, and how.
If your employer, manager, or supervisor was not the aggressor in the incident, you can speak with them. They can act as the liaison between you and HR. In truth, if you trust them, you should tell them immediately. They can keep an eye on future interactions and even act as a witness. If you don’t feel like you can trust your employer—or your employer was the aggressor—you should go directly to HR and file the complaint. In the end, for HR to do something, you need to make officials aware of the situation.
Regardless of whether you choose mediation, leave the issue up to your employer, or take up your case with the EEOC, you should speak with a lawyer. They are there to provide you with all the information you need to protect yourself and ensure an incident like this doesn’t reoccur. This is especially true if you retaliated against the aggressor, the aggressor is your employer, or if punitive action did not occur. Additionally, if you file a complaint, you may have to review and sign certain documents, which you don’t want to do without the presence of a lawyer. If you do, you may accidentally sign your legal rights away.
When filing a complaint with the EEOC, you have plenty of options. You can find the closest office near you, mail a complaint, or file a complaint online. Whichever option you choose, remember you only have 300 days from the incident to file a discrimination complaint with the EEOC. You’ll then have to wait for an official EEOC investigator to conduct their inquiry, in which they will determine whether there is evidence of discriminatory action.
Regardless of whether your employer was the aggressor, you should always keep an eye out for retaliation after filing a complaint. While it certainly doesn’t always happen, an employer may seek reprisal for making them or the department “look bad.” If you suddenly get demoted, notice an increase in harsh criticism, or are excluded from meetings and other job opportunities, you may also be a victim of retaliation. If so, you should keep a record of these instances and make your lawyer aware of the developing situation.
Now that you’re aware of the steps to take if you’re a victim of discrimination at work, don’t wait to act. With ageism being one of the most common forms of discrimination in the workplace, the Law Firm of Tamara N Holder is dedicated to representing employees like you. Don’t let cruel jokes, poor treatment, discrimination, and harassment go unaddressed. Contact us today, and we’ll put you in contact with one of our committed and knowledgeable age discrimination lawyers so you can receive the legal counsel and representation you deserve.
In an ideal world, every employee would receive a livable wage and fair compensation for their hard work. However, biases and greed prevent this from becoming a reality, making it hard for many employees to afford day-to-day living. The Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibit pay discrimination, but they can’t prevent all instances. These acts can only hold employers accountable. In fact, these laws compel certain employers to try and hide their discriminatory acts—so what can you do?
To help put an end to wage inequality, let’s review how to identify pay discrimination in the workplace.
Before we can truly understand how to identify pay discrimination, we have to understand what it is and isn’t. Wage discrimination occurs when an employer docks your pay, lowers your wages, or underpays you for a discriminatory reason. They may have certain prejudices against your gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, color, religion, age, disability, or pregnancy status. All of these are protected characteristics, meaning it is illegal to discriminate against you simply because you possess one of these traits. However, even if your employer is underpaying you for nondiscriminatory reasons, this is known as unfair wages and is still illegal.
Every human has a protected characteristic and therefore is part of a protected class. However, some protected classes are more vulnerable to discrimination than others and may need to stay on high alert. For example, women are much more likely to be underpaid than their male coworkers, hence the gender pay gap. While it is still illegal to discriminate against a man simply because of their sex, it is much less likely to occur.
Additionally, the more protected classes someone belongs to, the more unique their experience with discrimination may be, which often makes a person more vulnerable to discrimination. This is known as intersectionality. For example, while women are often paid less than men, women of color (WOC) are often paid even less than White women. If you’re unsure whether you’re experiencing pay discrimination, keeping these factors in mind is important.
In general, knowing when you’re being underpaid is easy. Suddenly, your pay stubs aren’t coming back the same, or your employer isn’t paying you what was agreed upon in the job description. However, the difficult part is determining whether or not your experience is due to discrimination, as an employer won’t outright tell you their prejudice.
First, look at other employees that fall under the same or similar protected classes. Do they have similar complaints? Are they also underpaid? If so, it is highly likely that your situation is not a coincidence.
Let’s take a look at a scenario. Paul is a cisgender, African American man who just started his job. He notices he’s not getting paid the agreed-upon amount in his contract. He starts asking around, and as it turns out, other employees who happen to be people of color (POC) have the same complaints. On the other hand, their White coworkers don’t seem to be having these issues. It doesn’t matter if these employees don’t fall under the exact same protected classes—what’s important to note in this scenario is that a specific pattern exists.
The scenario above may have once been commonplace, but law and societal progression has fortunately made these extreme scenarios less and less common. However, this does mean that pinpointing pay discrimination is a little harder. While we review a few other signs of pay discrimination, keep in mind that there must be some bias or prejudice at play for the action to be discriminatory.
A good way to tell whether your employer is discriminating against you is to take a look at similar job listings. Are similar job titles receiving more pay than you? Do they receive more benefits? Do they have diverse employees that get fair treatment from their employers while you don’t? True, the grass sometimes may seem greener on the other side, but if you notice a consistent pattern of equitable treatment from different employers, it’s likely much more than coincidence.
You should take every instance of underpayment seriously, but an employer can make a mistake here and there. Your employer should take action to correct the instances promptly, but if you notice they keep underpaying you, it’s time to keep an eye out. Most employees spend their entire careers never having an issue with being underpaid—let alone once or twice in the same company. A pattern of underpayment may be a sign of unprofessionalism or something much more sinister. How can you tell the difference?
Remember to look for patterns in your employer’s behavior, and don’t be afraid to ask other coworkers. You don’t have to explicitly ask them how much they’re being paid, but you have a right to discuss your wages with other employees. You may be surprised to find you’re not simply the odd one out.
Let’s say other employees don’t seem to have the same complaints, and maybe you’ve only been underpaid once or twice. This doesn’t automatically mean that what you’re experiencing isn’t pay discrimination. For example, say you just found out that you’re pregnant, and you’re the first employee in your small business to become pregnant. Suddenly, your next paycheck is less than your last. Employers often treat pregnant people unfairly—usually because they feel a pregnant worker can’t do as much and may view them as a burden.
Almost 100 percent of the time, you can reveal a discriminatory act with simple questioning. It may feel intimidating to bring this up with your employer, but you also have the right to inquire about your wages. Most employers, if not all, are extremely careful about paying their employees correctly for fear of litigation. And if they do make a mistake, it’s likely for a very understandable reason. If you question your employer about being underpaid, and their reasoning is poor or doesn’t make sense logically, take it as a sign.
Now that you know how to identify pay discrimination in the workplace, it’s time to take a hard look at the situation. If you believe you’re a victim of pay discrimination, contact the Law Firm of Tamara N. Holder today. Our equal pay attorneys are dedicated to uprooting pay discrimination and holding employers accountable. You can trust us to handle your case with the care, respect, and attention it deserves.
Title VII of the Civil Right Act of 1964 outlaws workplace discrimination on the basis of one’s race, color, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sex, age, pregnancy status, and disability. This means that no matter your job or where you work, it is illegal for your employer to discriminate against you or allow discrimination to occur. Despite this, racial discrimination is still one of the most pervasive forms of discrimination in the work environment, but it’s not always as outright as it used to be. If we want to stop this kind of hatred in its tracks, we must be able to recognize and identify it. To help you with this process, let’s review five examples of racial discrimination in the workplace.
Ultimately, every qualified employee should have the same opportunity to receive a promotion or a raise. All too often, people of color must be overly qualified to get considered equal to their peers and do more than their colleagues to be truly recognized for their efforts. This can lead to an imbalance of promotions, and in some cases, you may see one group of people receive promotions over another. The larger the company is and the more workers it has, the less likely this is to be a simple coincidence.
Racial stereotyping involves making vast generalizations and assumptions about how a person looks or acts based on their actual or perceived race. For example, say an employer hires a person of Chinese descent to be a new branch manager. The employer tells this new employee they’re excited to have a Japanese person working for their company because he believes Japanese people are inherently more intelligent. In this scenario, the employer is making assumptions about their race based on appearance, and blanket generalizations should always get taken seriously, no matter how harmless they seem.
As mentioned, people of color often must work harder to prove themselves and are typically held to a higher standard by their employers. When this occurs, it leaves room for harsh, unfair, or overly critical employers who point out every flaw. Of course, receiving critique from an employer isn’t illegal, nor is it inherently a bad thing. However, when employers give a disproportionate amount of harsh critique to one group over another, there is likely something deeper at play. While constructive criticism is necessary, harsh or cruel criticism is not.
Many companies have specific policies regarding what qualifies or exempts a person from getting hired and how an employee should dress and act. However, these policies should equally apply to everyone, and one group should not get held to a different set of standards. For example, an employer cannot bar you from wearing religious or culturally significant garments or hairstyles. An employer cannot have a policy that bars certain citizenship statuses unless required by the law, such as only allowing US citizens to apply.
As mentioned, racial discrimination isn’t always as overt as it used to be, but that doesn’t mean the use of racial slurs, threats, violence, and explicit discrimination doesn’t occur. A person getting mocked for their accent, the use of racial slurs and epithets, physical violence, or the insulting of someone’s culture are all examples of this. Remember that you are not responsible for how another person acts, and it is up to your employer to take the correct putative action.
Being aware of these examples of workplace racial discrimination can help you identify racism and protect yourself and other colleagues. If your employer refuses to act or is the aggressor in these scenarios, contact race discrimination lawyer Tamara N. Holder today. We’re dedicated to uprooting bigotry in the work environment and doing everything possible to stop it.
In an ideal world, everyone would come to work feeling valued, respected, and safe. Even though society at large has made incredible strides in terms of acceptance, this safety still isn’t a guarantee. There are still those with harmful biases and beliefs that make the workplace uncomfortable and even unsafe for those in the LGBTQIA+ community. Worse, many prejudiced people have become better at hiding their bigotry to spread their intolerance without getting caught. To help hold these people accountable, let’s look at some of the subtle signs of LGBTQ+ discrimination in the workplace.
All too often, playful jokes and banter cross the line, turning into hurtful and downright hateful comments. Some people like to bond with their coworkers by teasing, but under no circumstances should this teasing hurt you or make you feel unsafe. In certain situations, a person may not know what they’re doing or saying is hurtful, but don’t get fooled; this is a rarer occurrence than you might think.
If you aren’t sure whether they’re simply ignorant or being purposefully cruel, tell them their comment hurt your feelings and see how they react. If they apologize and take ownership, then it was likely a mistake. If they try to pass it off as a joke or as you being overly sensitive, take that as a sign that they knew exactly what they were saying.
Whenever one group of people seems to be making advancements over another group of people, you should always observe this pattern with a critical eye. All qualified employees should receive the same benefits, opportunities, raises, and promotions and access to the same meetings, resources, and events. If you notice that perfectly qualified LGBTQIA+ employees aren’t getting hired or offered advancements, it is very unlikely that this is a coincidence. This may not necessarily be the case in smaller companies with few employees. However, the larger the company, the more likely this is to be true.
While it is perfectly normal for your employer to require a specific uniform, they should never require you to wear certain clothes based on your perceived gender. The concept of “passing” is complicated for transgender people, as they may not outwardly appear as their corresponding gender identity to other people. It is an unrealistic burden that causes a lot of strife, and employers can make this worse by enforcing specific dress codes.
For example, if a trans woman does not outwardly appear cisgender in the eyes of her employer, the employer may force her to dress in men’s clothing. Make no mistake—this is discrimination and should get treated as such. As long as your clothing fits within your employer’s uniform policy, you should never get forced to wear clothing that does not align with your gender identity.
If you’re faced with any of these subtle signs of LGBTQ+ discrimination in the workplace, contact the Law Firm of Tamara N Holder today. If you feel unsafe addressing discrimination within your workplace or want to take legal action against a prejudiced employer, you don’t have to go through it alone. We’ll put you in touch with one of your LGBTQ discrimination lawyers, who will treat your case with care and respect so you can get the legal representation you deserve.
FORT VALLEY, Ga. (WGXA) -- Bus manufacturing company, Blue Bird, headquartered in Fort Valley, is in the spotlight again after two former black female employees have alleged they were fired after they reported sexual harassment and discrimination amongst labor workers within the Blue Bird company. Their attorney said they were discriminated against as well for blowing the horn on the wrongdoings within the workplace.
They're now asking for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to investigate claims of racial and gender discrimination.
Their attorney is Tamara Holder, a nationally recognized women's rights and civil rights attorney.
Blue Bird has received recent media coverage after workers voted for a union after going on strike seeking higher pay, more regular schedules, and better vacation and sick time. Now, the company could have a separate legal battle to navigate.
"They observed pay disparity between black workers and non-black workers," said Holder via a Thursday Zoom call. They observed pregnancy discrimination where the company refused to provide accommodations to at least two pregnant women."
She said they also observed drug testing discrimination; drug tested more often than others.
"When they brought them up, they were ignored."
Not only were they ignored, they were fired. Holder says her clients have claimed it's because they're black.
"How did the idea of race come into this, instead of two women coming together and saying 'hey, we're observing this,' asked Finney.
"Blue Bird ignored them, and therefore retaliated against them and fired them...They believe that they were treated differently than white female workers who were in a similar position of HR," responded Holder.
Georgia is an at-will employment state, meaning an employer can terminate employment without being required to give any justification for the decision. However, Holder says employers cannot discrimintarily fire employees.
"You cannot get away with discrimination by saying, 'Oh, we're an at-will state,' which is a common defense for people who don't understand discrimination and the Sole Rights Act of 1964," said Holder. They don't understand that you still cannot discriminate."
Holder says challenging decisions such as this could take years.
"So what we're (currently) doing is we're trying to find out how the company handled discrimination if there are any other complaints," said Holder. "So, we will be filing more complaints if more people come forward, and we're in the information-gathering stage at this point".
Holder said the EEOC is aware of the claims. As for what is next, Holder said there would be an investigation, after which she and her clients could possibly settle or potentially file a lawsuit in federal court.
Holder said others who believe they have experienced discrimination or sexual harassment may file their own claims if the event(s) occurred within 300 days of the filed claim.
WGXA reached out to Blue Bird for comment but has not received a response at the time this article was published.
For the everyday person, it’s very difficult to understand the complexities of the American legal process and employment law. Consequently, this makes many people afraid to pursue legal action, even when they’ve clearly experienced an injustice. This makes it all too easy for the wrong employer to take advantage of and discriminate against an employee. Therefore, it’s critical for workers to understand what it takes to file a case and how involved they have to be. To help you better understand the law and hold employers accountable, let’s look at how long workplace discrimination cases take to settle and what the overall process involves.
When an employer fires you for reasons that violate your employment contract, public policy, or discrimination law, it is wrongful termination. To put it in simpler terms, an employer cannot fire you simply because of your race, religion, ethnicity, sexuality, gender identity, disability, pregnancy status, or veteran status.
Alternatively, say your employment contract states that your employer must notify you two weeks before your termination. However, they terminate you the same day and don’t allow you to return without a valid reason, that is also wrongful termination in the eyes of the law.
Before you can file a lawsuit, you must report your claim to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). If they find evidence to support your claim, they will give you permission to sue. At this point, you should speak with a wrongful termination lawyer, as they will help you draft the claim and will know where to file it. For example, a wrongful termination claim that involves a discrimination case may be filed in a state or federal court.
Unfortunately, there is a time limit that dictates how long you have to file a claim if you want to preserve your right to sue. Generally speaking, you have 180 calendar days to file a claim with the EEOC. However, if there is a local or state law that prohibits the same offense you intend to sue for, the deadline can extend to 300 calendar days.
After the EEOC files your charge, they will then send a notice of the charge to your employer within 10 days. From this point forward, it can go one of two ways. Occasionally, the EEOC will ask you and the employer if you want to go through the mediation process. If one or both parties do not wish to do so, then the EEOC will begin a formal investigation.
EEOC investigations take about 10 months on average, as the process is very thorough. However, the mediation process takes about three months to complete, which is why many wrongful termination claims end in mediation.
If the EEOC finds reasonable cause to believe a violation occurred, they will send you a Letter of Determination. However, if the EEOC completes the investigation process and finds no evidence that a violation occurred, they will send you what is called a Dismissal and Notice of Rights. This means that you still have the right to sue, but you must do so within 90 days from the date you received the notice.
If neither party wishes to mediate the issue with the EEOC, then your case will go to court. However, keep in mind that even though your employer may not wish to settle with you initially, they may try to do so later. Alternatively, they may try to get your case thrown out altogether. Partner with a wrongful termination lawyer to determine the best strategies for proceeding. That said, below are the stages a wrongful termination case goes through.
Once you have permission from the EEOC to file a lawsuit, they will reach out to your employer. They will draft and send a complaint that describes the facts of the case. At this point, you become the plaintiff. In general, your employer has 30 to 60 days to respond.
At this point, you (the plaintiff) and your employer (the defendant) will enter the discovery period. The discovery period is the time when your legal representative and the defendant’s legal representative find the facts. This is broken down into two main components: written discovery and depositions.
Written discovery includes requesting specific documents that are relevant to the case. Your lawyer may also write questions to send to the opposing lawyer that they must answer.
Depositions are oral testimonies in which your lawyer will ask relevant parties certain questions. A stenographer will write down everything that participants say during depositions.
The entire discovery process can take some time. However, judges have a lot of cases to handle, so they typically won’t allow the discovery period to extend past seven months.
After the discovery period, your employer may file a motion for summary judgment or attempt mediation. Motion for summary judgment is your employer’s way of attempting to throw out the case before it goes to court, which you can accept. Typically, this occurs when both parties agree on the facts but don’t want to go to court for a dispute. Your employer can also attempt mediation again, which you are within your full rights to deny or accept. Either of these motions can make your case take longer, and you typically have 30 days to respond to the motion.
When the court goes to trial, the speed of the process may surprise you. Remember, judges have other cases to get to, and they usually won’t allow trials to go on for too long. Some cases can take as few as three to four days to settle and often won’t extend past a week.
So how long does it take for discrimination cases to settle? Ultimately, the answer is that it varies. Depending on the amount of evidence and how willing or unwilling your employer is to go to court, it can take anywhere from a few months to a few years.
However, the sooner you contact an unlawful termination lawyer, the faster you can gather evidence and develop strategies to counter the moves your employer may make. That is exactly what the Law Firm of Tamara N Holder can do for you. With our dedication and legal expertise, we can work with you to ensure the entire process goes as smoothly as possible, so you can receive the legal representation you deserve.
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Doctors go through years of intense schooling and training, and all those years of hard work help patients put faith and trust in their doctors. Patients put an extreme amount of belief in their medical providers, allowing them to examine and touch them in ways they wouldn’t allow others to. To protect patients from this inherent power imbalance, doctors take an oath and follow the law to uphold a certain standard of care. Malpractice occurs when these standards are purposefully or recklessly violated, and we typically think of malpractice as a botched surgery—but is doctor sexual misconduct considered medical malpractice?
First, let us clearly define what medical malpractice is under the law. In terms of a simple definition, medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare professional causes harm, death, or injury to a patient due to negligence or an act of omission. When we think of malpractice, we often think of egregious mistakes and injuries like a surgical tool left in a wound or negligent medical procedures. However, this isn’t always the case, and in truth, some of the most common malpractice cases are misdiagnosis and birth injuries.
For the law to consider a case as malpractice, a claimant must prove that the medical professional owed a duty of care and breached that duty. The claimant must also prove that they suffered some form of injury, financial loss, or an intangible loss, such as emotional or psychological damages.
Sexual misconduct is a broad term that encompasses various actions and behaviors. Most courts consider sexual misconduct any threatening, intimidating, or harmful sexual behavior. It can include sexual abuse, sexual assault, and sexual harassment. However, the problem with this term is that it lacks precision, as these actions do not have to be strictly erotic. Streaking and skinny dipping are both technically forms of sexual misconduct, but so is molestation or rape.
In terms of doctor sexual misconduct, the abuser may request or conduct unprofessional physical contact, sexually inappropriate behaviors under sedation, or request unnecessary details of the patient’s sexual history. However, these are merely examples, and if your experience doesn’t strictly fall under one of these categories, that does not invalidate what happened.
Ultimately, the answer is yes— the law considers doctor sexual misconduct as medical malpractice. If a medical professional in a doctor-patient setting performs a sexually deviant act, it is malpractice. This is because sexual misconduct often causes some form of intangible, physical, or financial damage, such as depression, anxiety, or PTSD. However, say you were the victim of sexual misconduct outside the doctor-patient setting, and the abuser just so happens to be a doctor—this would not get considered malpractice. While they can still get their license revoked, it doesn’t fall under the same category.
If you’re unsure whether your case falls under the medical malpractice category or you need help taking your case to court, contact the Law Firm of Tamara N. Holder today. We’ll put you in contact with one of our dedicated and experienced patient rights lawyers so you can get the representation and compensation you deserve.
College should be a time of joy, full of learning and new experiences. However, when sexual harassment rears its destructive and insidious head, it can feel like the world is coming down around you, making it impossible to feel safe on campus. While justice may not be able to heal all wounds, it can ensure that the aggressor never hurts you or anyone else again. If you feel alone and don’t know where to start, take a quick look at your Title IX rights and how to report sexual harassment on campus.
On June 23rd of 1972, President Richard Nixon signed and enacted the Education Amendments of 1972, of which Title IX is a part. This amendment was in response to the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which banned employment discrimination, but not education discrimination. Title IX prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or education program that receives funding from the federal government. In simple terms, sex-based discrimination is unfair or unfavorable treatment on the basis of someone’s sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or pregnancy status.
In terms of a school’s responsibilities, every school must have and publish a policy against discrimination and must clearly outline complaint procedures. Additionally, every school must have a Title IX coordinator that is responsible for ensuring the school’s compliance with Title IX, and students must have access to their contact information.
Students also have particular rights that they’re entitled to. All students have a right to present their cases, and every case must receive impartial treatment and investigation. The law also requires that the school send a notification, in writing, about the outcome of the investigation. Keep in mind that you do not have to be a direct victim of sexual harassment to report it. If you are a witness or believe sexual harassment has occurred, you can file a complaint with your school.
If you are unsure what your school’s procedures regarding sexual harassment complaints are, you can go directly to the school’s health center or a campus police officer. It is likely that this is the first step in your campus’s complaint procedures. If not, a campus officer or health center worker should be able to point you to the school’s procedures which you then must follow.
Understandably, this process may be frightening to navigate on your own. You have the right to bring a trusted friend or family member with you if you need support. Once you file the report, the school must make reasonable accommodations to protect you, which vary depending on the severity of the incident, before the investigation. They may move you or the perpetrator to a different class or dormitory.
If you’ve reported a sexual harassment case on campus, but the school seemingly does nothing about it, know that your Title IX rights state that they must conduct an investigation. If they fail to act or you believe they are not taking adequate investigation measures, you then have the right to seek legal counsel.
If you want help from a lawyer that you know you can trust and who is dedicated to your cause, contact the Law Firm of Tamara N Holder today. We’ll put you in touch with one of our Title IX lawyers immediately so that you can get the representation and compensation you deserve.
