Sexual Harassment/Assault Archives - Page 2 of 4

By Rocket55DevAdmin | May 24, 2020

During the economic downturn, many Minnesota workers may have turned to temporary employment or staffing agencies to find work. Temporary and contract workers often have different benefits, contracts, and responsibilities than permanent employees, but do they have different employee rights in the workplace?

Both state and federal laws protect employees from being treated unfairly on the basis of their race, sex, age, disability or religion in the workplace. Workers who experience workplace discrimination on the basis of these, or other protected classifications, have the right to seek legal recourse.

By Rocket55DevAdmin | May 20, 2020

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) initiated a lawsuit against Wal-Mart alleging that the retail-giant allowed an employee to sexually abuse a female employee over a number of years, and then retaliating against the woman when she complained of the abuse.

According to a complaint filed in federal district court, the woman, who is developmentally disabled, endured harassment of a sexual nature (including touching in inappropriate areas) while at work from April 2005 through January 2011. The complaint also alleges that store management did not take prompt or effective actions to address the abuse. Three weeks after complaining about the long-standing abuse, Wal-Mart terminated her employment.

By Rocket55DevAdmin | May 5, 2020

Minnesota workers are protected under employment law from discrimination at work on the basis of their gender, race, age, disability or religion. But, what happens when the perpetrator is an equal opportunity offender?

A recent news story examines this new trend in the workplace – bullying. This behavior consists of supervisors hassling their subordinates byway of poor performance evaluations, verbal abuse, contradictory directives, and even barring them from certain work or social activities.

By Rocket55DevAdmin | March 8, 2020

International Women’s Day, celebrated on March 8^th, is a time to reflect on the progress made for women over the last 100 years and celebrate their courageous acts throughout history.[1] It is also a time to call for continued change.

The Continued Uneven Playing Field

Despite the movement to propel women’s opportunities, corporate America continues to allow an uneven playing field.

A recent study, Women in the Workplace 2018, by McKinsey & Company and in partnership with LeanIn.Org, found that the growth of women at every level in corporate American has stalled.[2] While the study found that women are doing their part – earning more bachelor degrees, asking for promotions, negotiating better salaries, and staying in the workforce at the same rate as men – women remain unrepresented at every level.

It begs to question if women are doing their part – what’s the problem?

The Answer – Companies are not held accountable.

While the vast majority of companies say they are committed to gender diversity – the evidence indicates otherwise. Women are less likely to be hired for entry-level positions and promoted to manager-level jobs. The disparity widens further – and further – as promotions hit the C-Suite level. Factors such as discrimination and sexual harassment contribute to lack of diversity in the workplace.

Discrimination

Gender discrimination can take many forms, yet it always signals disrespect. It is also illegal under Title VII and the Minnesota Human Rights Act, among other laws. Sexism can be subtle, such as a male coworker questioning a female coworker’s judgment on an area of expertise. It can be severe, such as a male manager making a derogatory sexist comment to a female colleague. As negative experiences compound over time, women view their workplaces as less fair and are three times more likely to leave their jobs.[3]

Sexual Harassment

Thirty-five percent of women in corporate America experience sexual harassment at some point in their careers, such as hearing sexist jokes to being touched in an inappropriate sexual way. Women who do not conform to traditional feminine expectations – holding authority and working in male-dominated fields– are more likely to be targeted. Despite the momentum of the #MeToo movement, we need continued emphasis that sexual harassment is unacceptable and will not be ignored.

Take Charge

If you have experienced discrimination or sexual harassment, know that you are not alone. We can help. For over 20 years, Halunen Law has fought for the rights of both men and women, who are subject to unwelcome sexual comments and behavior, as well as those subject to unlawful discrimination. We hold employers accountable so that you can feel safe in the workplace.

Learn more about International Women’s Day 2019.

By Rocket55DevAdmin | December 16, 2019

A young man plays the trumpet in a band classroom setting as a girl plays the guitar beside him and another boy holds an instrument in the background. We often write about the more common protections for employees in Minnesota, such as protections against discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation for reporting law violations (i.e. whistle blowers), and protections for employees who take medical leave. But, did you know that Minnesota also provides lesser-known protections to employees? For example, Minnesota law allows employees to take up to 16 hours of time off work to attend their child’s school conferences and activities each year and for each child.

By Rocket55DevAdmin | November 1, 2019

employers violate employee rights Although Minnesota is an “employment at-will” state—meaning the employer may terminate an employee at any time for any reason—there are, in fact, exceptions to the rule. Since 1967 the Minnesota Human Rights Act has served as the State’s comprehensive employment rights law and provides a wide range of protections for employees. Yet even with the law in place, employers continue to violate employees’ rights in countless ways. Here are 20 of the most common violations for which an employee may seek monetary relief under the Minnesota Human Rights Act:

By Rocket55DevAdmin | September 30, 2019

A professionally dressed man and a woman walk toward the glass doors of the airport. They both carry bags and roll suitcases behind them.

Sexual harassment or sexual assault can be actionable if it occurs on business travel or at work-related events. In fact, over half of the sexual assault cases we have handled involved assaults that occurred outside of the office and outside of work hours. If the harassment or assault can be shown to be related to the employment relationship and the incident is sufficiently severe or repetitive, you may have an actionable claim against your employer.

Minnesota law prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of sex, including sexual harassment. Sexual harassment “includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, sexually motivated physical contact or other verbal or physical conduct or communication of a sexual nature when . . . that conduct or communication has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an individual’s employment . . . or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive employment . . . environment.” Minn. Stat. § 363A.03, subd. 43(2).

By Rocket55DevAdmin | July 24, 2019

A woman in a black and white striped shirt looks down while holding out her hand with her palm outward in a gesture of "stop." The #MeToo movement has shined light on sexual harassment and sexual assault in the workplace and work-related events. However, there is still a value in increasing knowledge, training, and education when it comes to sexual harassment and sexual assault in the workplace.

In light of this, it’s vital that employees take the time to understand what sexual harassment and sexual assault are in the workplace, and how certain employment situations may make them more vulnerable than others. As an employee, it is important to know that such misconduct can happen to anyone, and if it happens to you, you are not alone – we are here to help.

By Rocket55DevAdmin | May 2, 2019

Recently the U.S. Supreme Court struck another blow against consumers and employees in the case of Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela. Yet again the Court reasoned backward from the result it wanted to reach and went out of its way to find in favor of a corporate defendant – at the expense of individual citizens – by reading into a contract language that did not exist.

By Rocket55DevAdmin | October 4, 2018

Portrait of three diverse women who are staring at the camera, serious and confident. As an immigrant from Bangladesh, Eva Biswas was granted asylum in the United States to escape the persecution, terrorism, and sexual violence she experienced in her home country. But she found life in her new country brought unexpected challenges in the form of the alleged sexual harassment from her workplace supervisor at a national chain store. In her lawsuit, Ms. Biswas alleges her store manager propositioned her for sexual favors in exchange for a promotion. She claims that she told the other managers at her store what happened, but was told to keep it to herself and that she had “misunderstood” what her manager did because she didn’t understand American culture.