Sexual Harassment in New York City: Protecting Yourself from Filing a Frivolous Claim
How to Make Sure Your Sexual Harassment Claim Holds Up in Court
When you experience sexual harassment in the workplace, you want to make sure that you can get justice. You need to file a claim that will hold up against the scrutiny of the legal system. Avoiding filing a frivolous claim of sexual harassment in your New York City workplace is key to maintaining your credibility and getting justice.
How do you avoid filing a frivolous claim against your employer? How do you ensure your claim does not get lumped into the category of frivolous claims of sexual harassment that often get filed within the legal system? A New York City sexual harassment lawyer can help you protect yourself from filing a frivolous claim of sexual harassment.
Did You Really Suffer Sexual Harassment at Work?
If you work in New York City, sexual harassment is easier to prove than in other areas of the country. In New York City, sexual harassment only needs to occur once, while in other areas, it needs to occur several times before you can report it.
However, not everything is sexual harassment. If you are offended by an act of unwanted physical contact, sexual comments, or requests for sexual favors and sexual advances, then you likely have a claim of sexual harassment at work in NYC.
However, a New York City sexual harassment lawyer will tell you if the sexual actions you experienced were consensual and did not offend you or the other person involved, you likely do not have a claim of sexual harassment. However, once you ask the other person to stop their actions, they must comply, or you may have a sexual harassment claim.
Sexual harassment in the NYC workplace can come from an employer, CEO, coworker, supervisor, manager, customer, or non-employee in the workplace. It can be directed towards you, or you can witness sexual acts which make you uncomfortable.
However, in order to claim sexual harassment at work, you need to express your rejection of the sexual acts, advances, or comments. If you never tell your harasser to stop their actions and never inform your employer, HR reps, or union reps about the sexual harassment, you cannot file a claim for sexual harassment at work.
The courts will likely see such a claim as a frivolous legal claim because you did not make any attempt to fix the problem within the workplace. You did not even let your employer know that sexual harassment was occurring. Therefore, your employer did not have the opportunity to stop the actions or punish your harasser.
Are You Working with a Qualified New York City Sexual Harassment Lawyer?
If you experience sexual harassment in New York City, you do not want to try to file your claim with a Los Angeles sexual harassment lawyer. If your lawyer is not a New York City sexual harassment lawyer, you may have your claim thrown out of court simply because your attorney is not licensed to practice in New York.
To avoid filing a claim with the wrong attorney, make sure you ask your attorney all the proper questions during the interview process. You should ask your attorney when they received their license to practice law in New York. Make sure you verify they have not been disbarred or had their license revoked for any reason.
If you attempt to file a sexual harassment claim in New York City with an attorney who is not a licensed New York City sexual harassment lawyer in good standing, you risk having your case dismissed immediately. However, you also risk having your credibility destroyed, preventing you from getting a fair chance regarding your sexual harassment claim.
Do You Have Evidence to Support Your Sexual Harassment Claim?
As much as you want to believe that your story is believable, without any evidence of sexual harassment to support your claim, your case may be considered frivolous and thrown out of court immediately.
Therefore, you need to provide as much evidence of sexual harassment in the workplace as possible. Your New York City sexual harassment lawyer will help you collect the evidence you need to help prove your claim of sexual harassment in the workplace. Typically, such claims will need to include the details of the events that occurred. You should also include information relating to who was involved in the incident, when and where it occurred, who witnessed the events, and how the event and the company’s response made you feel.
These pieces of evidence will allow you to tell your story and gain witness testimonies to help you prove your workplace sexual harassment claim.
Do You Have Any Losses Due to Your Claim of Sexual Harassment at Work?
The purpose of a civil lawsuit against your employer for sexual harassment at work is to obtain compensation for your losses and change your employer’s behavior for future situations. However, what compensation can you receive if you did not suffer any losses?
The courts may consider your lawsuit a frivolous sexual harassment claim if you do not have any losses. If you did not lose your job, get suspended without pay, suffer extreme emotional distress or pain and suffering, get demoted, or suffer other forms of retaliation or a hostile work environment from your employer, you do not have any losses that are worthy of fighting for.
If you do not have any legitimate losses for your sexual harassment claim, the courts may throw your case out as a frivolous lawsuit. They may see you as someone who is suing just to sue, especially since you do not have any tangible losses relating to your claim.
Your New York City sexual harassment lawyer will work with you to highlight the losses you suffered from your ordeal in the workplace. They will help you calculate the amount of income you lost, the medical expenses you endured as a result of sexual harassment, the anguish you continue to suffer, and other losses you may claim. However, if you and your attorney do not find any true losses or suffering resulting from sexual harassment, do not expect the courts to consider your claim for long.
Do You Have a Habit of Filing Lawsuits Against Prior Employers?
You may have truly suffered sexual harassment at your job. The events may have truly led to serious losses. However, if you have a history of filing lawsuits against your employer at the drop of a hat, a court may consider your most recent lawsuit to be frivolous.
Much like the boy who cried wolf, if you file lawsuit after lawsuit just because you can, your credibility suffers. Then, when you have a legitimate claim, it may be considered frivolous because other claims you filed were frivolous.
Your New York City sexual harassment lawyer can guide you every time you experience anything uncomfortable or even illegal in the workplace. Pay attention to your lawyer’s suggestions to ensure you only file lawsuits regarding issues worth fighting for so you do not get labeled a frequent plaintiff by the court.
To Find Out Whether You Have a Case Worth Pursuing, Contact the Derek Smith Law Group Today.
Working with a dedicated and experienced New York City sexual harassment lawyer can help you ensure you do not file a frivolous lawsuit with the courts. The sexual harassment lawyers at the Derek Smith Law Group can be your trusted advocate when you suffer sexual harassment at work. Call us at (212) 587-0760 for a free consultation.
