The world would never be the same without texting. We are all used to it. It’s fast, it’s convenient, and for many people, it opens a new door of communication. Moreover, some people feel more confident, masculine, and more protected when sending text messages compared to face-to-face interactions.
It’s no secret that texting creates a false sense of security, anonymity, and even impunity, which prompts many people to make careless statements in texts. And that’s why text messages increasingly become part of the sexual harassment problem in the workplace.
Inappropriate texts from employers or co-workers… Female employees in Riverside or elsewhere in California know the reality all too well. Whether it’s an occasional text from the boss asking to go on a date, or a derogatory sexist joke from a male co-worker, offensive texts can constitute sexual harassment.
Can texts be used as evidence of sexual harassment
Yep, even a text message can make its way to court and serve as solid evidence of sexual harassment in the workplace. Sexual harassment in the workplace does not necessarily have to involve face-to-face interactions, inappropriate touching or verbal offers to perform a sex act in exchange for promotion and other employment benefits.
Our Riverside sexual harassment attorney at JML Law explains that despite the fleeting nature of text messages, they can be used as evidence to hold employers and colleagues accountable for creating a hostile environment at work.
It may seem absurd – after all, many people still don’t take texting seriously even though half of the population heavily relies on this means of communication – but texting and other digital forms of sexual harassment entitle you to file a complaint.
Sure, for an employer it may not seem like a big deal to playfully ask his female employee to send a photo in underwear, or repeatedly flirt with her over texts on a weekend.
But for the female employee, this type of behavior on the part of the employer creates a hostile environment at work, which serves as a legitimate reason to file a sexual harassment claim.
Texts can create a hostile environment
No matter in which form an employee is being sexually harassed – via electronic devices, emails, voicemail, social media postings, physical notes or computer printouts – sexualized, offensive, sexist or derogatory comments can be used as evidence to file a sexual harassment claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
An employer should never be afraid to turn on her or his computer, check the emails, or answer the phone. In today’s world, electronic communications are becoming more common than face-to-face encounters at work, which is why an increasing number of bosses take advantage of technological progress to make offensive or sexualized comments or make unwelcome sexual advances.
If you have been a victim of sexual harassment in the workplace – in any form of digital communication, including emails, texts, notes, etc. – hire a sexual harassment attorney right away. Female employees often suffer from sexual harassment at work needlessly because they don’t know their rights and how to assert them to make the harassment stop.
More often than not, victims choose not to confront their harassers, but to put up with their inappropriate and offensive behavior in order to avoid losing their job. But after a while, it begins to negatively affect their work performance, emotional stability, mental health, and personal life.
In order to prevent this from happening to you, take action right away. Consult our best sexual harassment attorney in California at JML Law to find out your rights and start working on the strategy to take legal action against the harasser.
Contact our lawyers today for a free case evaluation. Call our Riverside offices at 818-610-8800 or send us an email.
