Sexual Harassment And Assault

Sexual harassment, assault and gender discrimination have become a common occurrence in the workplace and in our communities. In 2016, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released a comprehensive study of workplace harassment in the United States, which concluded that fifty (50%) percent of women report having experienced sexual harassment in the workplace.

More recently, Time Magazine reported that forty-eight percent of women who are currently employed in the U.S. say they have experienced either sexual, verbal or physical harassment in the workplace.  Yet, seventy-five (75%) of all workplace harassment incidents go unreported altogether.

The United States government defines “SEXUAL HARASSMENT” in 29 C.F.R. § 1604.11 as:

Any unwanted physical touching, requests for sexual favors, and other unwanted sexual conduct where such conduct creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.

In Texas, “ASSAULT” by offensive physical contact is defined as:

the physical touching of another person where the offender knew or reasonably should have known that the victim would regard the contact as offensive or provocative and where the contact offends a reasonable sense of personal dignity.

According to a recent survey, forty-four percent of the women surveyed said recent news stories about harassment made them want to speak out, and 77% of men to say they are “now more likely to speak out if they see a woman treated unfairly,” according to the poll.  Overall, most men and women in America – 62% of men and 71% of women – believe sexual harassment in the workplace is widespread, the poll found.

Cherry Johnson Siegmund James has a history of working to protect the rights of the most vulnerable people throughout our community. This firm was founded on the idea that attorneys have an obligation, a responsibility, to protect those who cannot protect themselves, to stand up for those who have been mistreated and to make our homes, our workplaces and our community a safer place. Our goal is to protect our clients’ rights to work in a harassment free environment, secure our clients’ financial futures and to make our community a safer place to work.

If you are the victim of harassment, assault or gender or racial discrimination, please contact our office for a free and confidential consultation.  To schedule an initial consultation about a sexual harassment or discrimination case in Texas, call Cherry Johnson Siegmund James LLC at (254) 732-2242 or complete our inquiry form.