Sexual harassment in any form can upend your life completely. It can be even more difficult to overcome when it happens in the workplace, where you should feel safe. There are many laws designed to protect employees from sexual harassment and punish the perpetrator.

You will even have the opportunity to file a civil lawsuit against your harasser when their sexual harassment has had a negative impact on your life. Read on to learn more about how you can seek damages after being sexually harassed.

What Constitutes Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment covers a variety of inappropriate actions. If you’re not sure whether your experience is considered sexual harassment, consider the list below:

  • Inappropriate gestures or comments
  • Requests for sexual favors as a condition for promotions, job offers, or pay raises
  • Sexual touching by a colleague, supervisor, or someone else at work
  • Sexual jokes that make you uncomfortable.

This is not an exhaustive list of sexually harassing behaviors. The key takeaway is that any comment, touch, word, or action that is offensive, creates a hostile or intimidating work environment, or makes you uncomfortable in any way can be considered sexual harassment.

If you haven’t already reported the harassment to your supervisor or your company’s human resources department, now is the time to do so. In cases where your harasser is part of the human resources department, or your immediate supervisor or boss, you should discuss your next steps with a sexual harassment lawyer before doing anything else.

If your harasser is in a position of power, a qualified attorney can advise you how to proceed without risking unfair retaliation for speaking up against sexual harassment, such as losing your job or receiving a demotion.

Obtaining Maximum Compensation in Your Claim

First and foremost, if you are preparing to file a civil claim against your harasser, you’ll need to act quickly. The statute of limitations for sexual harassment in Massachusetts is only three hundred days from the date you were last harassed. That might seem like plenty of time, but preparing to file a claim requires time and resources, so you’ll want to begin immediately.

Once you retain a knowledgeable attorney, he or she will begin quantifying your losses in order to calculate how much your claim should be worth. Some of the different damages you might include in your claim are listed below:

Your attorney will need to include every single way your life has been influenced by the harassment you endured in order to secure maximum compensation for your damages. For this reason, you should hold nothing back when reviewing these details with your lawyer.

Consult a Massachusetts Sexual Harassment Lawyer

If you’ve been considering whether pursuing compensation for your damages is the right choice to make, reach out to an experienced Massachusetts sexual harassment lawyer at Joel H. Schwartz, PC.

Our firm is prepared to work diligently to secure the funds you need to pick up the pieces of your life. Give our office a call at 1-800-660-2270 or complete the brief contact form below to schedule your initial case review today.