While there are many different ways that sexual harassment can occur, there are two main categories of sexual harassment. One is known as quid pro quo harassment and the other is hostile work environment harassment.

Quid pro quo harassment

This type of sexual harassment occurs when employment decisions are being made based on the employees’ responses to sexual advances. This could be firing or demoting an employee when they resist sexual advances or offering promotions or pay increases in exchange for sexual favors.

Hostile work environment harassment

This harassment occurs when the interactions between co-workers or clients are inappropriate, general sexual comments being made, sexual jokes being made,  photos or videos of a sexual nature being shared at the workplace, unwanted touching and other actions that create an uncomfortable and offensive work environment. For it to be a hostile work environment though, it has to be more than an occasional comment. It must be persistent and consistent enough that a reasonable person would find hostile.

Employees who experience either type of sexual harassment may be able to help hold the offenders accountable for their actions and also be compensated for the damages they suffer as a result.

Sexual harassment can come in many different forms and there are many victims of sexual harassment in the Houston area. These victims have rights and should not be subjected to this type of harassment. These are very fact-specific cases though and it is not always easy to prove. Experienced attorneys understand the facts needed to prove these matters and may be able to guide one through the process.

The harassment can put undue pressure on employees, cause them anxiety and other emotional and mental anguish. This makes it not only difficult to work, but can cause problems in other areas of people’s lives as well.

Employees Are Protected Against Retaliation

That is why sexual harassment is not allowed and should not occur in the workplace. People may know that there are protections for the victims of sexual harassment, but there are also protections for employees who help the victims of sexual harassment.

If another worker reports sexual harassment, speaks out against it, or assists in the investigations, they cannot be retaliated against for standing up to sexual harassment.

What Are Examples of Retaliation for Reporting Sexual Harassment?

Retaliation can include:

• Being fired
• Being demoted
• Not receiving promotions they deserve
• Having their hours or pay cut
• Being transferred to a less desirable location
• Being left out of meetings they used to be involved in
• And other adverse effects at the workplace

What Damages Are Available in a Retaliation Case?

If people experience any form of retaliation after being involved in a sexual harassment claim, they could be entitled to compensation for the damages they suffer as a result.

This could be receiving the:

• Pay they lost
• Benefits they may have lost
• And other damages they suffered as a result of the retaliation

Sexual harassment should not be occurring in workplaces in the Houston area, but unfortunately, it still does occur and there are many victims of the harassment. To help put a stop to it, victims may need their co-workers to help with investigations or help them resist the harassment in other ways.

These co-workers need to feel free to help. If they experience retaliation as a result, they may be entitled to compensation. These can be complicated matters though and consulting with experienced attorneys can be beneficial.

Call the TB Robinson Law Group, PLLC at (713) 568-1723 or send us an email to schedule a consultation.

The lawsuit

Over the summer, the company faced a lawsuit from both the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing and U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. It was originally filed by the EEOC, and then the state agency joined. Both agencies filed the lawsuit over allegations of entrenched and pervasive sexual harassment and illegal discrimination at all levels of the organization.

The end of the lawsuit

In September, Activision Blizzard agreed to settle the case. The settlement included an $18 million financial component, but also significant institutional changes. Immediately, the company is creating an expedited performance review system that will focus on equal opportunity and fairness. Over the next year or so, the company will also change its training programs, internal hiring practices and update their HR policies. They also hired a new CPO, Chief People Officer to ensure equity, fairness and ensure the pervasive sexual harassment and illegal discrimination stops.

Mandatory arbitration agreements

In another move to change their company’s culture, Activision Blizzard, is waiving enforcement of their mandatory arbitration agreements. Prior to this recent announcement, employees were forced to arbitrate their sexual harassment and illegal discrimination claims, often with no appeal rights and always under full confidentiality. This allowed the company to hide their culture of sexual harassment behind confidentiality and avoid any true accountability or liability from victims. And, since this was a requirement of employment, potential employees would simply not be hired if they did not agree to the mandatory arbitration agreements.

It is hard to change company culture

For our Houston, Texas, readers, a key takeaway from the Activision Blizzard saga is that company cultures are hard to change, even if it is pervasive sexual harassment in the workplace. It took the weight of both the state and federal government to get this company to change, and that is often what it takes; an advocate willing to stand up to employer bullies.

Among other obligations, DFPS investigates allegations of child abuse and neglect and also is responsible for the care and protection of children who have been abused or neglected. Its role extends to protecting vulnerable adults as well.

The suit, which was filed in a Harris County court, alleges that the manager subjected a woman who reported to her to years of sexual harassment. The woman starting working with him in 2018 after getting a promotion. Her employment ended in early 2020.

To summarize, the lawsuit described how the manager would tell sexually suggestive jokes. He also repeatedly made romantic advances toward the woman, forcing the woman to make changes in plans on official trips so she was not staying in the same hotel. He also made unwanted phone calls and texts to her.

This is not the first time this manager has been accused of sexual harassment. Another victim came forward in 2019.

Public employees should not have to tolerate sexual harassment

Through its many government agencies, the State of Texas employees tens of thousands of people, as many as a very large corporation.

Likewise, local governments within Texas employ hundreds of thousands more people. The federal government also has a strong presence in Texas.

Public employees have the same rights to be protected from sexual harassment and a hostile work environment as do employees in the private sector.

If a public employer fails to respect these rights, a victim may be able to seek compensation for damages, including non-economic losses like emotional distress.

Remote work and sexual harassment

The flexibility of working from home has been beneficial for both employers and employees. While there are positives to this work model, there are setbacks and negatives. While one would presume that sexual harassment would not occur in a remote setting, there have been reports of incidents occurring throughout the nation.

Sexual harassment is not exclusively inappropriate or unconsented physical touch. Moreover, most workplace harassment isn’t physical. Sexual harassment in the workplace could look like inappropriate remarks or gestures. In a remote work world, this could be calling at odd times or putting inappropriate pictures in the background during a video call.

Current issue

Based on a national database, there were a total of 125 complaints of sexual harassment of women in the workplace in 2021 so far. In 2020, there were a total of 201 complaints. While this is lower than the 330 complaints received in 2019, those complaints were received when most employees were still working in the office. While the number of complaints has decreased, this illustrates that the problem still persists in the work from home era. It also suggests that sexual harassment may be more difficult to identify and report in a remote work setting.

Employees should feel safe in the work environment whether it is in the office, work site or at home. Therefore, if a worker believes that they are being subjected to discrimination or sexual harassment, it is important that they understand their rights and options to address the matter. Additionally, they could seek damages for the harms suffered through a legal action.

In far too many circumstances these individuals face negative employment actions like demotion, reassignment, or even termination. Their workplace can be hostile and uncomfortable, and they may be ridiculed incessantly. This is wholly unacceptable and should be stopped immediately.

Restaurant workers face high rates of sexual harassment

One of the industries that sees the highest rates of sexual harassment is the restaurant industry. Here, more than 40% of workers indicate that they have seen an increase in the amount of sexualized comments made by customers in their workplace over the last year or so, and another 25% state that they have been subjected to or witnessed a significant increase in the amount of sexual harassment that has occurred in their place of employment. These workers are amongst those that need to consider legal action.

This problem isn’t new in the restaurant industry, though. In fact, a 2018 study found that 90% of women and 70% of men reported being subjected to some form of sexual harassment while working in the field. But why are these rates so high?

Why sexual harassment occurs more frequently in the restaurant industry

There are a lot of reasons why restaurant workers are subjected to higher rates of sexual harassment. To start, much of a waiter or waitress’s wages are based on tips. Therefore, these workers are less likely to report sexual harassment by customers out of a fear of losing income.

Additionally, although a lot of businesses operate under a “the customer is always right” mentality, restaurants do so to an extensive measure. In order to keep business up, managers are less likely to directly confront customers who engage in inappropriate behavior. After all, these managers are often tasked with increasing revenues for the business.

Building your sexual harassment claim

If you work in the restaurant industry and feel like you’ve been subjected to sexual harassment, then you need to be bold and take the action that is oftentimes necessary to have your voice heard. This oftentimes means taking legal action. But before doing so, you may want to consider diligently building the evidence that you need to support your claim. This means talking to witnesses and gathering their contact information; taking notes of each instance of sexual harassment, being sure to write down every detail of the event; and keeping all communication from your supervisor and human resources department.

You’ll also want to be prepared to defend your work record. In a lot of sexual harassment cases, employers argue that they took a negative employment action because of the employee’s poor performance. Therefore, it’s a good idea to have your work appraisals and witnesses that can speak to your true work performance.

We’re here to help you stand up for your rights

You have the right to work in an environment that is safe and free from discriminatory and harassing behavior. When your employer fails to provide you with that protection and retaliates against you for reporting it, then you should stand up and make sure that you put an end to the egregious behavior and secure what is rightfully yours. We know that can sound daunting, but you don’t have to be afraid. Attorneys like those at our firm stand ready to zealously advocate on your behalf so that your voice can be heard and your future can be protected.

According to the lawsuit, which was filed in a Houston federal court, the three women were all brought onto the force in order to help deter human trafficking. The women were involved in sting operations.

Reports are that the sting operations, which were designed to catch people engaged in sex trafficking, instead become a kind of ploy for other deputy constables, including supervisors, to engage in sexual harassment and abuse of the victims.

Specifically, the women were assigned to play the role of prostitutes during sting operations while male officers played the role of johns, men who hire prostitutes. The operations were funded with public dollars.

The role-playing allegedly crossed boundaries in profound ways. For example, the supervising officer would kiss and sexually touch his female subordinates after getting drunk.

Constable denies the allegations

For his part, the Constable of the Harris County precinct where the misconduct allegedly happened has denied all allegations. He pointed to the fact that none of the employees ever lodged an internal complaint about their treatment, even though they were given opportunities to do so.

Through their representative, the women countered that both the Constable and the local prosecutor’s office knew that they were being subjected to abuse in the course of sting operations and either ignored the problem or, worse, rebuked those who reported it.

The women are seeking damages, including actual expenses and non-economic damages like emotional distress. They have also requested punitive damages.

Now, one year later, Texas lawmakers have introduced a bill — Senate Bill 623, also known as the Venessa Guillen Act — that will protect military members from Texas against sexual harassment and sexual assault. Once passed, the act would mandate a third-party independent investigation into sex-related offenses and a confidential recording option for sexual harassment, allowing victims to file a formal complaint for sexual harassment at any time.

Sexual harassment at the workplace

Incidents of sexual harassment at the workplace are fairly common. Sometimes, it is subtle verbal comment that one may even fail to notice or report but when that continues unchecked over a period of time, it can reach dangerous proportions. In fact, if these unwarranted advances are not countered in  time, there have been many instances when the perpetrators went on to physically stalk and sexually assault a coworker. On the other hand, there are also cases of quid pro quo sexual harassment, which is not just a harrowing experience but also demeaning and demotivating.

In view of these factors, it is always a wise decision to nip sexual harassment in the butt. One needs to remember that there are a number of federal and state laws that protect victims of sexual harassment and sexual assault. However, nothing can happen if the incidents are unreported. Therefore, if someone is a victim of sexual harassment and is unsure of what needs to be done, the wisest decision would be to seek legal guidance at the earliest opportunity. With timely, adequate legal intervention, incidents of sexual harassment can often be dealt with effecively.

What is considered a hostile workplace?

Hostile workplace sexual harassment is a potentially actionable type of sexual harassment that is prohibited in the workplace. Hostile workplace sexual harassment includes sexual-type conduct that is unwelcome and is severe and pervasive enough to create an abusive and offensive work environment. To determine if a hostile work environment exists a variety of elements may be evaluated including:

• If the conduct complained of was verbal, physical, or both;
• The frequency of the conduct complained of;
• If the conduct complained of was hostile or patently offensive;
• If the alleged harasser was a co-worker or supervisor to the victim;
• If others joined in perpetrating the harassment; and
• If the harassment was directed at more than one individual or singled out the victim.

Examples of this type of sexual harassment can include offensive behavior such as persistent and offensive sexual jokes, inappropriate touching or posting offensive material on a bulletin board at work.

Depending on the number of employees the employer has, federal or state employment laws may provide protections for victims of sexual harassment who may be able to seek compensatory and punitive damages for the harm they have suffered. It is important to keep in mind that employees are protected from this type of unwelcome conduct which can making going to work every day a nightmare for victims.

Workplace protections against sexual harassment

Just as workplace sexual harassment has not gone away, the protections for victims have not gone away either. With an increasing number of workers working remotely during the pandemic, sexual harassment has taken on some new online forms. Many workers are still in their workplaces, however, and may also be experiencing sexual harassment and in need of protections. The age of remote work has led to a decreased likelihood that bystanders can intervene and may also be leading to a decrease in reporting. That is not to say that sexual harassment is not going on but only that it may not be reported with the same frequency.

In some ways, remote work in the virtual setting has made workplaces more relaxed or casual which can also lead to inappropriate behaviors including sexual harassment. The line that may once have existed between work and home can also be blurred for workers unaccustomed to working from their living rooms.

It is important to keep in mind that sexual harassment remains prohibited whether it is in a virtual or in-person workplace and employment law is an area of the law in place to help victims and workers. Victims should be familiar with how they can make a sexual harassment claim if it is happening to them.

Quid pro quo as a basis for your sexual harassment claim

Sexual harassment can take many forms, but one of the most common is quid pro quo. This type of harassment can occur in one of two ways. In the first, an individual in a position of power promises something beneficial in exchange for a sexual favor. A promotion, pay raise, better work assignment, or better hours are examples of things that may be promised.

The second type of quid pro quo sexual harassment involves an individual in power threatening negative employment action if there isn’t compliance with a sexual request. These threats might include demotion, worse working conditions, a less desirable work assignment, and even termination.

Regardless of what type of quid pro quo sexual harassment you’ve been subjected to, it’s unacceptable and can have significant ramifications for your emotional well-being, your career, and your future.

Proving your case

The burden is on you to prove that a negative employment action has been taken against you for failure to submit to a sexual favor. Once you prove that, then the burden shifts to your employer who must demonstrate that the employment action was based on something other than sexual harassment if they it hopes to avoid liability. This means that you have to be prepared to play aggressive offense and defense if you hope to win your case.

These kinds of claims can be challenging, especially when going up against your employer. Fortunately, though, you don’t have to face these matters alone. Instead, you can have an experienced legal professional by your side to help you fight for an outcome that is just.

Vast majority of harassment, similar claims not investigated

As KVUE-TV reports, UT Austin employees received 1,052 reports of sexual harassment, sexual assault and stalking at the university. The reports were made from Jan. 1 to Aug 13. Out of the more than 1,000 claims, university authorities have formally investigated just 112, or about 11 percent. Eighty-one of those cases are still under investigation. Out of the 31 finished investigations, 10 resulted in disciplinary action. This included the firing of a professor accused of sexual harassment and several other forms of misconduct.

In a little under half of the cases, the university decided not to investigate or take action against the accused. Reasons included insufficient information, not knowing the victim’s identity and a “respondent” who is “not affiliated with the university.” It is not clear what happened to the rest of the complaints.

When your employer won’t help you

Most employers in Houston have sexual harassment policies in place. Generally, victims are required to report harassment to their supervisor, manager or HR representative. While employers sometimes take these reports seriously and investigate, often, employees are told that they were exaggerating or that there is not enough evidence to take action against their harasser. They may even retaliate against the victim for “causing trouble” by demoting them, humiliating them or even firing them.

That is where the legal process comes in. When a business or other employer tolerates sexual harassment, the victim may have no choice but to take them to court.

Spotting the signs of sexual harassment

Working from home may decrease or eliminate certain types of sexual harassment. Most of these behaviors, though, relate to unwelcome touch. If your supervisor or a colleague has committed physical sexual harassment against you, they may shift to other forms that they can engage in over chat apps, emails or video calls. You can experience sexual harassment through these mediums if:

• Your supervisor or colleagues share images or videos of a sexual nature
• Your supervisor or colleagues expose themselves
• Your supervisor or colleagues make sexual jokes to or about you
• Your supervisor or colleagues make suggestive comments about you or your appearance
• Your supervisor propositions you with the promise of incentive or as a condition to your employment

Reporting sexual harassment

You may find that you have an easier time reporting workplace sexual harassment when it happens online. Gathering physical evidence of the harassment can be difficult if it took place in the office. Yet, you can take screenshots of any harassing chats or emails sent to you by a colleague or supervisor. Furthermore, you can record any video calls or conversations where you were sexually harassed. By documenting this information, you will have evidence supporting you when making a complaint. Depending on your employer’s policies, you will either make it to your supervisor – unless they are your harasser – or a human resources representative.

Keep in mind that your employer may dismiss or fail to investigate your sexual harassment complaint. In these cases, you will want to file a discrimination complaint through the Texas Workforce Commission. You also have the option to take legal action against your employer, which may make sense depending on the severity of the harassment.

What is sexual harassment?

In the workspace, it is unlawful to make unwelcomed sexual advances, requests or favors to fellow employees, staff members or even clients. This is typically seen through verbal and/or physical provocations that could potentially be sexual in nature or not. However, it is not always obvious to know what sexual harassment is. It is important to know what could be considered inappropriate behavior in the workplace.

Inappropriate conduct:

Many of the following behaviors listed below qualify as potential sexual harassment:

• Consistent compliments of a co-worker’s appearance
• Mentioning the attractiveness of other people in front of other employees
• Talking about an employee’s sex life
• Asking a co-worker about his or her sex life
• Passing on pornographic or nude content in the workplace, including shirtless, bikini and/or underwear pictures
• Making sexual jokes
• Sending suggestive texts messages and emails with strong sexual content
• Giving unwanted sexual and/or romantic gifts to someone
• Spreading sexual rumors about an employee
• Unwanted touching of a fellow employee

The list could go on and there are several more behaviors that could be considered toxic and hostile in the work environment. It is important to know what these are to further put a stop to them and make sure that every employee is safe.

It’s telling that many of these men were in positions of power within the company. In fact, 56% of men say they’re aware that consequences generally don’t happen after a sexual harassment report.

Because of this culture of denial and gaslighting, it can be difficult for women to feel safe reporting an incident. That’s why it’s necessary for other colleagues to pay attention and take note of possible sexual harassment taking place at work, because the women experiencing it may need an advocate down the road.

An insidious problem

Sexual harassment doesn’t have to be as overt as physical advances. Sometimes, it permeates office culture in subtle ways: the way men talk about women, the jokes cracked at women’s expense, and a general disproportionate balance of power favoring men. Anyone can participate in these inequitable dynamics, which often set the stage for harassment to thrive and go unnoticed except by the victims.

The following are a few tips for learning how to spot and call out harassment in your own workplace:

1. Consider the industry you work in – some work environments incur higher rates of harassment than others. Positions creating isolation, such as janitorial, hotel, agriculture, and home healthcare workers, open up more opportunities for harassment. Tipped workers tend to face harassment frequently, especially in the restaurant and bar industry. From comments to unwanted advances, female servers are often on the receiving end of these behaviors with no support.
2. Be vigilant of office culture – if there is a prevalence of jokes at the expense of either women in general or a particular woman, it’s important to recognize that this may either be a precursor or indicator of sexual harassment that’s already occurring.
3. Look at your workplace’s power structures – if men occupy the majority of positions of authority, be aware that women in other positions may be experiencing harassment and feel like they can’t report it.

If you spot these or other possible scenarios in your workplace that might welcome harassment, it’s important to step up and advocate for your colleagues. Let them know you’re willing to act as a witness, provide them with support like legal contacts with an experienced attorney or back them up when reporting to Human Resources.

If you’re the victim of sexual harassment at your workplace, there are options. Contact an attorney today to begin your case and seek the justice you deserve.

Specifically, a hostile working environment is a legal term with which actions such as discrimination and harassment coincide. Simply experiencing negative behavior like bullying may not have legal implications. So, how can you tell if you are a victim of something more serious? Something with legal implications, that is.

Defining unlawful workplace harassment

An isolated incident, small remarks or general annoyances may be construed as bullying. But they are not necessarily harassment. Unlawful harassment occurs when unwelcome behaviors based on protected statuses lead to continued employment conditions or a hostile environment. These protected statuses are usually one’s race, sex, religion, color, disability or nationality.

Furthermore, a supervisor, co-worker or even a non-employee may be the harasser. It may be harassment if the harasser does one or more of the following:

• Uses slurs or makes offensive jokes
• Physically threatens or intimidates you
• Mocks or ridicules you
• Interferes with your ability to work
• Posts offensive objects or pictures

Texas and the federal government take these matters very seriously. And employers who do not make strides to prevent unlawful harassment may be liable for the actions of your harasser.

Legal measures

The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has said that it is forbidden for employers to retaliate against the victims of sexual harassment in their workplace. If the victim of sexual harassment files a claim against the employer, then it is illegal for said employer to file a complaint or an investigation on the victim; the employer is also forbidden to make an investigation on the events; the employer should not intervene in the ongoing legal process by covering up evidence or protecting the people that were involved in the act or to even refuse to follow certain legal orders that could potentially lead to discrimination in the workplace.

There are other ways that an employer might retaliate the victim and this could be by punishing the victim by giving him or her a low grade on their performance level, physically or verbally abuse the victim, make the victim’s working conditions more difficult, lowering their salary, scrutinizing the victim, amongst many others.

What to do?

If the victim suspects that he or she is being retaliated, then immediate action must be taken like taking the matter to human resources or even talking directly to the employer. If none of the parties can provide a reasonable explanation to their behavior, then the victim should take the matter to EEOC or to the victim’s state’s fair employment agency.

McDonald’s restaurants common sites of sexual harassment

Still, it is disturbing to learn that in a recent survey of female current and recent McDonald’s employees, three quarters reported being sexually harassed at work. One third said they had been sexually assaulted. Half said that supervisors or co-workers had made sexually suggestive comments. Half also experienced sexual gestures or suggestive looks. Nineteen percent said they were threatened for not having sex or dating a co-worker. In all, two-thirds of the respondents said they had experienced multiple forms of sexual harassment, suggesting how rampant the problem is at McDonald’s.

Besides the apparent pattern of behavior, another problem could be reporting sexual harassment and getting the management or ownership of a McDonald’s franchise to do anything about it. In one example, a woman who was repeatedly harassed by a co-worker complained to her general manager. But, the woman says, the manager did nothing. So when she was later victimized by a shift manager, instead of filing another complaint, the woman was forced to cut her hours. She said she did so to avoid the new round of harassment.

Fighting back after your employer lets you down

If you have been sexually harassed, and you have tried to go through your employer’s reporting requirements without a satisfactory result, your next step could be to consult an employment law attorney. Talking with a lawyer who represents employees in sexual harassment litigation can help you understand what you might be entitled to in terms of compensation.

Many workplaces and universities have policies in place against discrimination and harassment, but whether those policies are robustly enforced or swept under the rug is another matter entirely. In some cases, the policies may be outdated and allow for loopholes, or fail to fully protect victims.

What should you look for in your own workplace or school’s policy to know whether their policy is up to speed with the times and offers adequate protection?

1. A clear definition – there should be no ambiguity in referring to or defining sexual harassment or discrimination. Examples should be provided, and language should be consistent.
2. Confidentiality for victims – there should never be a risk of having a report leak beyond the necessary management, investigators, and legal representatives.
3. Zero tolerance – it’s important that discrimination and harassment are prohibited across the board, with no exceptions.
4. Protection for people reporting – people who step up to file a sexual harassment or discrimination complaint often do so by summoning tremendous courage. Fears of retaliation and punishment can alter a person’s willingness to come forward in the first place. Therefore, it’s imperative that the policy provides full protection for victims.
5. A strong reporting procedure – people filing a report should be given a clear understanding of what the procedure will look like, and all of the steps should be laid out. Similarly, the accused should understand what their part in the procedure will look like and be held fully accountable for participating.

If your workplace or university doesn’t have strong support for victims of sexual harassment and discrimination, and doesn’t meet at least these basic criteria, find out what your legal options are for petitioning stakeholders as well as for beginning a case against someone who has sexually harassed or discriminated against you.

In February of 2018, the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Civil Rights Act of 1964’s Title VII makes discrimination against employees based on their sexual orientation illegal. This ruling was vital for these employees. A survey by Career Builder noted that of the 3,420 full-time employees who identified as LGBT and participated in the study, 56 percent were repeatedly bullied at work.

LGBT discrimination harms everyone

LGBT employees who are being harassed or discriminated against may leave their jobs because of this. The employer would then have to find replacements and cover the training costs for new employees. Sometimes, these workers will call in sick because of the incidents, and some report that they suffered health problems because of the bullying at work.

The victims of harassment or discrimination may bring the issue at a workplace to the public’s attention. This negative publicity will hurt the business. It can also make life more complex for the employee. If the person needs to find a new job, it might be difficult due to the circumstances surrounding their previous employer.

Not all incidents are obvious

While there are some incidents that are blatantly obvious, such as snide comments, others aren’t as easy to spot. For example, with respect to gender-related biases, some nonbinary teachers report that colleagues or administrators refuse to use gender neutral terms, such as Mx., they and them. They note that some people are still referring to them as Ms. or Mr., which forces them to accept a gender identity they don’t truly accept. This refusal could lead to problems like gender dysphoria for the nonbinary individual.

Employees must be empowered

Less than one-third of LGBT workers who were bullied reported the incidents to human resources. This shows that workplaces must make it clear that any forms of sexual orientation discrimination or harassment should be immediately reported. Part of this means letting all employees know that they won’t face retaliation for filing factual complaints. Employers who enact and enforce this policy can make the workplace a more welcoming environment for all employees.

For LGBT employees who are still facing harassment or discrimination at work, taking legal action might be in order. Learn your options and create a plan based on your circumstances.