Can Work-From-Home Employees Face Sexual Harassment?

If you work from home, or you have an entirely remote job, can you still file a sexual harassment claim? This is a question that many employees have had since 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic results in millions of workers becoming remote employees due to health concerns. While pandemic safety protections are no longer in place, many employees have continued to work on a fully remote basis, or in a hybrid capacity that results in them working in-person only intermittently or for one to two days per week.

It is critical to know that sexual harassment can occur regardless of whether employees are in person in a workplace, and an employee may be able to file a sexual harassment claim regardless of whether they are a fully in-person, fully remote, or hybrid employee.

Sexual Harassment Does Not Have to Occur In Person 

Sexual harassment does not have to occur in person for it to be unlawful. Quid pro quo harassment — when a person in a supervisory position requests sexual favors in exchange for a workplace benefit — often occurs through electronic communication.

It may even be possible for sexual harassment to create a hostile work environment when an entire team works from home or works remotely. For example, if routine and ongoing workplace meetings occur over zoom, or if employees communicate through Slack or another chat app, pervasive comments of a sexual nature or that denigrate a person of a particular gender or sex might create a hostile work environment. To determine whether the harassment that you are experiencing, or that is affecting your ability to work even though another colleague or co-worker is being targeted, you should seek advice from a South Florida employment discrimination attorney who has experience handling sexual harassment claims under federal and state law.

Gathering Evidence of Sexual Harassment If You Work from Home 

It is critical to keep any evidence of sexual harassment that has occurred so that your lawyer can assess it for use in your case. You may have zoom sessions that were recorded with the consent of all employees on your team, for example, or email or text communications from a supervisor employee in the case of quid pro quo harassment or from another employee emailing a group of workers. Your lawyer can also help you to save any Slack or related chat communications within your team at work.

In addition to electronic communication, your sexual harassment lawyer can also help you to gather witness statements and other relevant evidence to support your claim.

Contact a Palm Beach Gardens Sexual Harassment Attorney 

If you have any concerns about sexual harassment in your workplace — whether you have a hybrid position, a fully in-person job, or a fully remote position — it is critical to seek legal advice. As we have discussed above, sexual harassment does not have to occur in person in order for it to be unlawful. Even if you never see the perpetrator on an in-person basis, you may still be dealing with unlawful and damaging sexual harassment. One of the experienced Palm Beach Gardens sexual harassment lawyers at Sconzo Law Office can discuss the details of your case with you today, and we can help you to move forward with a claim. Contact us for more information.

Sources:

eeoc.gov/statutes/title-vii-civil-rights-act-1964

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0760/0760ContentsIndex.html