What Information Do You Need To Start My Sexual Harassment Case?

We need to know the name of your employer, the harasser’s name, and the basic facts regarding what happened to you by the harasser and employer. Importantly, if you have more than one employer, then we will need to know the name of all of your employers. This sometimes happens in circumstances like a warehouse job, or where there are projects involving different companies working together. We will also need to know the facts of the sexual harassment, including what happened, who was involved, when it occurred, and where it occurred. We always find it extremely helpful if you bring a narrative or summary of events, or calendar or diary entries so we can get it exactly correct. We will need to ensure that we initiate the appropriate proceeding with the California Department of Fair Employment And Housing within one year of the harassment in order to preserve your right to file a lawsuit.

What About Coworkers Who Have Complained Of Harassment But Are Afraid To Come Forward?

Coworkers are usually the most critical witnesses in sexual harassment cases, because juries tend to put extraordinary significance on their testimony. If there is a witness who you think may be favorable to you, then we are going to need their information. Even if the witness is unfavorable, we still need the information so we can do our investigation. We will ask that you let them know that we will be contacting them by phone so that they are not alarmed or surprised by our phone call. It is also important that you understand that anyone who participates in an interview cannot be fired or have any adverse job action taken against them by the employer. For that reason, we always like to do as much investigation as we can to uncover the truth, and we can give confidence to witnesses who come forward that nothing should happen to them by their participating in the investigation. Every now and then, and employer will take some form of adverse job action against a favorable witness, like a demotion, or something minor, and for this reason we always ask our clients to tell all their coworkers that retaliation is illegal and to call us if anything like that happens along the way.

When we do our interviews, we always ask everyone to be sure to tell us the truth, no matter what. We ask them to tell us everything they remember, we take notes, ask follow up questions, then use that information in the case, good or bad. Under no circumstances do we want anyone to lie; we want them to tell us the truth, and we will deal with whatever facts are given to us.

If a second coworker, or third, or fourth, has been similarly harassed, then we may be able to represent you and that coworker or other coworkers in the same lawsuit, which could result in a better outcome for everyone. In the past, we’ve handled cases involving multiple coworkers—the most being 12. When multiple coworkers are suing the same harasser for the same conduct, the cases become much stronger and the value of each case increases. This is because when multiple people are testifying to the same or similar events by the same harasser, it forms a clear picture of the harasser’s conduct and modus operandi, and it is much harder for the employer to claim that every one of our clients are lying. In cases where we have a single client, it is a common tactic for the employer’s and the harasser’s attorneys to claim that our client is to be distrusted as a liar. When there are multiple, corroborating accounts of harassment from multiple victims, in almost every circumstance the defense changes tactics from blaming the victims for making up stories to instead trying to minimize the case exposure by offering an early, larger settlement than would likely have been offered with only one client. For this reason, it is very important to get the name, address, and phone number of anyone who may have also been a victim of harassment.

If a coworker agrees to speak with us, we might be able to send a letter and protect them from retaliation by the employer.

For more information on Information To Start Sexual Harassment Suit, A Free Case Evaluation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you’re seeking by calling (909) 833-8999 today.