To win your sexual harassment lawsuit, you will need evidence - proof of the sexual harassment and the harm it caused you. You may have a medical or therapy history that will support your claim that the sexual harassment caused you injuries. Obtain all of your medical and therapy records (if any) for the past ten years and provide them to your lawyer for consideration. While some may be private and irrelevant, some may help prove your case for compensatory damages. Provide your attorney with the names, addresses and phone numbers of all physicians and therapists you have treated with.
Your attorney will need the names and contact information of all witnesses to the events in question in a sexual harassment case whether you think they will testify for you or against you and whether you think they will remember or not. Your attorney will also need a complete employment history from you that states the names and addresses of each former employer, the dates of employment, the titles you held, the names of your supervisors, your rate or pay, and the reasons for your separation from the employer. You should prepare a chronological account (history) of the incidents you will tell the court about during your lawsuit. Complete it and send it to your lawyer as soon as possible. Further, your lawyer will need the names of all of your healthcare and therapy providers for the past ten years. Be sure to provide your lawyer with:
- Witness list
- All documents related to your employment
- Background information about the terms and conditions of your employment
- Chronological history of the important events in your employment and sexual harassment history
- Paychecks, pay stubs, itemized wage statements, and other payroll records
- Expense (mileage, parking, travel, tools, supplies, materials, meals, uniforms) and reimbursement records
- Direct deposit receipts and bank statements showing when you were paid wages
- Text messages, email messages, Facebook chats, Twitter tweets, and letters between you and coworkers and supervisors
- Prior lawsuits, claims, complaints and grievances to your employer or against your employer
- Complaints to the DFEH, EEOC or Labor Commissioner
- Performance evaluations
- Disciplinary notices and write-ups
- Firing and layoff notices
- Severance agreements, settlement agreements, and releases
- Personnel files
- Email communications
- Memos
- Company policies
- Employee handbooks
- Company manuals
- Employment agreements
- Awards and commendations
- Pay raise notices
- Work schedules
- Greeting cards from coworkers
- Direct deposit stubs
- W-2 and W-4 forms
- Resumes (new and old)
- Job applications
- Personnel files
- Time cards and time sheets
- Work uniforms
- Name tags and badges
- Photographs with coworkers
- Work related photographs (including holiday parties)
- Work related video recordings
- Work related audio recordings
- Diaries and journals in which you recorded your impressions and feelings (depression, tragic events) and incidents at work
- Arbitration agreements
Certain evidence may even arise after you file your sexual harassment lawsuit. Be sure to save all of your records of efforts to find a new job, including applications and resumes, job advertisements you check, internet job postings you respond to, responses from prospective employers. Also, keep notes of every effort you make to find a job on a daily basis. This will help prove your case for lost wages and overcome the “mitigation” defense.
At the time of your lawsuit, you may still be working for the employer you sue. Any records you gather during your employment that relate to your employment are evidence. You must save them and provide them to your lawyers. However, if you have documents or property that may belong to your employer or the harasser, immediately bring the property to your lawyer’s attention so he or she can arrange to have it returned. It will weaken your case if your former employer can accuse you of theft or other wrongdoing with its property. The wrongs your employer committed against you do not justify you holding on to your employer's property. This rule may even apply to paperwork, receipts, and emails involving your employer, its customers, and its employees. Your employer likely has policies that prohibit you from taking such information. It may jeopardize your job if you remove such paperwork from the workplace.
Similarly, it may not be a good idea to secretly record witnesses or your employer to catch them admitting to wrongdoing. Audio or video recording a person without his consent is a crime in some cases.
Not only is sexual harassment illegal. The law also prohibits:
- Racial harassment
- Religious harassment
- Age-based harassment
- Harassment based on disability
- Harassment based on ethnicity or national origin
- Retaliation
Most people are familiar with workplace sexual harassment claims. Harassment in professional, business, and educational relationships are also illegal.
Sexual Harassment Topics: