How To File A Sexual Harassment Complaint In New York

Find out how to file a sexual harassment complaint in New York.

Before you even begin to file a sexual harassment complaint in New York learn about the types of harassment that are against the law, learn about what happens if your employer retaliates against you for filing a complaint, and find out when and how to file the complaint.

If you’re thinking about filing a sexual harassment complaint in New York, you may be wondering what types of harassment are illegal. The law protects both male and female domestic works from a couple different types of harassment.

Under the Human Rights Law any of the following types of conduct can be grounds for filing a complaint:

• Sexual assault;
• Inappropriate and unwelcome physical contact;
• When an employee is pressured (explicitly or implicitly) by their employer to engage in unwanted and unwelcome sexual activities as a condition of keeping their employment;
• When an employer or coworker continues to make unwanted advances toward an employee and it not only creates a hostile work environment, but it interferes with the employee’s job performance;
• When an employee bases employment decisions such as pay and work hours on whether or not employee submits to their requests for sexual favors;
• When an employer or coworker creates a hostile work environment by making offensive comments or jokes of a sexual nature.

Complaints may also be made if the harassment is based on an employee’s gender, race, religion, or national origin and is intended to create an offensive work environment.

Retaliation

Under the Human Rights Law, employers can’t retaliate or discriminate against an employee for complaining about harassment. What this means is that they cannot fire an employee simply because they complained about harassment. Additionally, an employer cannot take any negative actions against the employee for filing a complaint, testifying, or assisting in any proceeding, either.

How To File A Sexual Harassment Complaint In New York

If you’ve read the above and believe that you’ve experienced sexual harassment in the workplace, you can either file a complaint through your company’s human resources department or you can file with the New York State Division of Human Rights.

In order to file with the NY Division of Human Rights, you must file your complaint within one year of the sexual harassment occurring.

If this isn’t an option because of the time limit, you may also file with the state court system within three years of the sexual harassment occurring. 

For any harassment complaint it is important to keep detailed records of times, dates, and types of harassment experienced.

For more specifics of filing with the New York Division of Human Rights visit a nearby office location or visit their website by clicking here.

Once you’ve filed with the New York Division of Human Rights, they will proceed with an investigation and may present the case in a public hearing.