I worked as a Manager for a large car dealership in CT. THe owner started to email me that he wanted to meet me for drinks, he said if I played my cards right he would see I got places. I never responded to any of them. The last one said that my job was in jeopardy. I could not tell my General Manager, that is the owner's son-in-law. I quit the job and took one at less than half the pay. I am still very angry. I went to see a few lawyers who said I had a great case...but needed a large amount up front. I don't know what to do at this point. Please advise. Please don't make fun, this is serious to me.
2007-09-02 11:45:00 · 12 answers · asked by Sharon H 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Careers & Employment ➔ Law & Legal
There are two types of sexual harassment: quid pro quo (this for that) and hostile working environment.
Quid Pro Quo is a Latin term. Using this in the sexual harassment context means that the boss will do something for you, if you do something for him (i.e. sex for a promotion, raise, etc.).
A hostile working environment is simply what it sounds like. Someone (not a boss) shows you (or others) offensive pictures (pornography) or says something offensive.
It sounds like you have experienced the "quid pro quo" type of harassment.
Did you print out copies of the emails? If so, that is good.
Find an attorney who is willing to take this case on a contingency fee basis. There are some who deal with employment law (which this is) and would be willing to take it on a contingency fee basis.
You will also need to file a claim with your state's commission which handles those types of claims under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) - this is what it is called in California; your state may have slightly different terminology. You may also need to file a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) if you think some federal rights have been violated. You only have a limited time to file these claims with the state and EEOC.
2007-09-02 13:09:38 · answer #1 · answered by Princess Leia 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sadly not much. An independant car dealership doesn't have deep pockets, thus lawyer won't want to persue at all. If you were a big company or the government, this would be completely different with those crazy $300 million (etc.) settlements. The car dealership may or may not have a million in assests, thus a lawyer wouldn't want to persue at all.
The retainer in this sort of thing can be around $10k depending on the person you find. It actually does take a bit of work on the lawyer's case to make sure you claim is valid, but without hard proof such as in front of a law enforcement individual, forget about it.
When you look at the movies, the court cases in general were big and settled for huge amounts like Erin Brockovich or the North Country case in North Dakota. Sorry to say but little companies can still get away from it.
The only defense on your part is to leave and to start fresh on a new position. Make sure not to mention anything about your prior issues with your former company or sadly, you'll look like a troublemaker.
In my case, the person in question (in your position) ended up getting raped by her boss and used the DNA evidence from their child as proof. Sadly, it came to that point, but she was called everything in the book in the process.
2007-09-02 12:16:59 · answer #2 · answered by atg28 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go to www.eeoc.gov that is the website for the EEOC. You can file a complaint there without a lawyer. Your state probably has a Department of Human Rights that also will take a complaint. Do an Internet search on your state plus Human Rights department. What happened to you is constructive termination -- you were forced to quit because of a hostile work environment.
Good luck
2007-09-03 11:19:31 · answer #3 · answered by CatLaw 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, you have described is sexual harassment and bullying. If you’ve informed the teacher and it has resulted in no action within an hour, then tell the Principal. If the Principal provides no action, then have your parents tell the Superintendent of your school district. At this level, you will get action. If no action here, then an attorney is needed. Trust me, no school district likes it when an attorney contacts them. It means money out of their pockets. Action will happen within the day. --- Here's an alternate action you can take right now, without confrontation at school. Copy your question and all the answers here into an email, and address it to the Principal and Superintendent (the email addresses are available on your school district website). Tell them you were the one that asked the question. I bet you by tomorrow AM, the guys will be taken out of class for a discussion... and that you will not be bothered again.
2016-05-19 21:36:53 · answer #4 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you still have those e-mails then call or e-mail an attorney until you get somebody who will work on a contingent basis.
Which means when you get paid they get paid.
Do you still know and talk to other people that still work there? if so then ask if anybody else ever had that problem and get it documented. If all of this fails then go to a local news station and find somebody that will listen to what happened to you. In my area we have a few different ones that help people that are being mistreated like, Ruth to the rescue and problem solvers. Good luck!
2007-09-02 12:16:52 · answer #5 · answered by jerisdream3 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you have the evidence, you may be able to file a complaint with one of the state agencies. I believe its called the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the State Human Relations Board or something like that. It probably varies from state to state. I believe that the end result of this would be an action against the company,, and not necessarily financial restitution to you. Check out their web site.
2007-09-02 12:16:47 · answer #6 · answered by hottotrot1_usa 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It all depends on what you hope to accomplish by taking legal action. If you are hoping to punish your previous employer, than you may find it worth the effort. You have lawyer's opinions, and I guess you have incriminating evidence with those e-mails. If you are hoping to get financial compensation, that may be more difficult. Even if you win the case, you still have the lawyer's fees to cover.
That being said, if I were you, I would go after them. I would like to see justice served.
Good luck.
2007-09-02 12:00:21 · answer #7 · answered by rod85 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Contact my attorney's office (they are presently representing me on a SH case) Tuckner, Sipser, Weinstock and Sipser. You may have to pay a retainers fee, but the consultation which is about an hour or more in length is free. I suggest you do this immediately. If your case can go before the EEOC (definitely sounds as if it can) you only have 180 days to file. Best of luck to you!
2007-09-03 02:51:31 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
a big part of a sucessful case would be that you responded very clearly that the attention was unwanted and unwelcomed. If you had done that and the behavior had continued, you have a good case. If you said nothing and did nothing, you don't really have a good case--that doesn't mean you don't have every right to be flaming mad about the whole situation, it just means that it is legally not a very strong case.
2007-09-02 11:52:27 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you kept copies of all the e-mails, yes you have good case.
Lawyers do cost so try to find one that won't hit you up front
Using the "playing cards" analogy, you may have had a better hand you play if you had stayd there. If you hand demanded a meeting, and presented copies of all the emails.
2007-09-02 11:54:18 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋