Sexual harassment victim wins $11.9M verdict against employer

Posted in Sexual Harassment on August 17, 2015

Even though sexual harassment in the workplace is in clear violation of the law — and nearly all people know this — stories continue to break nationwide about workers who are being seriously mistreated by their employers on the basis of sex or gender.

Unfortunately, rather than admitting fault, some employers will go to great length to protect themselves from legal liability. In a recent example of this, a jury recently returned an $11.9 million verdict in a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former employee of a call center who said she was sexually harassed on almost a daily basis. 

But instead of taking responsibility for what had gone on within the ranks of their companies, four separately-organized but interconnected toy corporations based in Iowa and California have made it nearly impossible for the harassment victim to collect the damages she is owed, USA TODAY (https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2015/08/11/sexual-harassment-verdict-claim/31497309/) reported.

The companies also made it very difficult to file the suit in the first place, thanks to the complicated way they have organized their corporate structures, the woman’s lawyer said. The attorney said that sexual harassment and gender discrimination are still rampant in U.S. workplaces, though it is rare for companies to go this far to protect themselves from civil liability.

Ultimately, the woman who was harassed said even though she doesn’t know when or if she will see the money that the jury awarded, she is happy to know that the way she was treated is now on the record. Four other women who also said that they were harassed at the same call center have suits pending.

The only way sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the workplace will ever stop is if employees like these women take a stand against it legally. If you have been harassed or mistreated at work, you have every right and reason to talk with an experienced attorney about your legal options. You can be part of the solution.