J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. will pay almost $1.5 million in a federal sexual harassment lawsuit that accused the company of creating an uncomfortable work environment for women mortgage bankers at its Ohio office, not far from Columbus.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has revealed that the money received in the settlement will be shared among 16 female employees who were employed at the call center in the bank’s Polaris Park office.
The lawsuit claimed that the office permitted inappropriate sexual behavior, which included comments made by supervisory staff and mortgage bankers, that meant an uncomfortably sexist atmosphere prevailed. The government stated that women mortgage bankers who complained about the demeaning actions were left out when it came to the taking of well paid sales calls and other monetary benefits.
The company agreed that discrimination and harassment should not take place in a work environment.
In the state of New York, under sexual harassment law, anybody can be a victim. Both women and men can be targeted and can also be the instigators of sexual harassment. They can be either a superior or a co-worker, too. Gender discrimination, which includes sexual harassment, is illegal under Title VII of the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) handles claims in relation to sexual harassment. The New York City Human Rights Law and New York State’s Human Rights Law makes sexual harassment illegal and affects far smaller employers than the Civil Rights Act. 11,717 claims for sexual harassment were lodged throughout the country in 2010.
If you think you have been sexually harassed in a New York workplace, there are things you can do about it, which include hiring a New York sexual harassment attorney and filing a lawsuit.
Before going as far as considering filing a lawsuit you should ensure that any jokes that are in poor taste or sexual advances are definitely unwanted by you. You should also lodge a complaint to your employer so he or she is aware of the conduct.
If you think that the actions, however physical, are definitely serious keep a record of any events that take place. This can include jokes, physical touching and date requests. In your record, write down the exact words said and the actions taken by the culprit and the names of any witnesses. If you received messages by email or through texts or even notes on your desk, keep them safe or print them if there is a possibility they could be removed from the computer’s drive or workplace server.
If you think that you have or are being sexually harassed, Richard S. Jaffe Esq. of the Law offices of Cohen and Jaffe LLP has considerable experience handling workplace sexual harassment cases and offers a free consultation to discuss your case. You can contact him at 2001 Marcus Avenue, Suite W295, Lake Success, NY 11042.
Phone: 516-358-6900 or toll free: 800-483-6149.
For a free legal consultation, call 516-358-6900
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