Ignored Complaints Of Employee Harassment Settled For $750,000

It is expected that while you are working you will not be subjected to harassment and if you are your employer will put a stop to it. Sadly, it is often the case that complaints made by employees are not always taken seriously by their employers. Or worse, the employer is the one harassing the employee. Recently in California, a harassment case was settled for $750,000, after the workers involved continued to be discriminated against after filing a complaint.

The two people involved worked in the investigative unit in the Medical Board of California. They alleged that they faced retaliation as well as harassment, because they raised some concerns about one of the supervising investigators in the unit. Not only was there failure to take prompt corrective action, but the two people were reassigned in the same department and passed over for promotions and transfers.

One of the allegations was tales of sex between a supervising investigator and a staff analyst. Another pertained to comments made by another supervising investigator that were racist and derogatory in nature. The same investigator that made the inappropriate comments had apparently also viewed pornography in on the computer in his office. He had previously admitted to sending explicit materials through email.

People who have had to deal with any kind of sexual harassment and who have been retaliated against because of their complaints can feel as though no one is on their side. Far too many people suffer in silence in these types of situations. For those who have been the victim of harassment or assault while at work, an attorney can help to bring charges against both the perpetrators and also negligent employers.

Source: The Sacramento Bee, “State to pay $750,000 in sex and race harassment case at medical board,” Torey Van Oot, 17 July 2011