Knoxville, Tennessee Sexual Harassment Lawyer
Sexual harassment and discrimination are prohibited under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Unequal pay or unequal treatment along gender or racial lines may violate Title VII. Additionally, employers can be held financially liable in cases of sexual harassment involving offers of a promotion or job in exchange for sexual favors, unwanted touching, or sexually suggestive comments. In most cases involving sexual harassment or discrimination, a pattern of behavior emerges in regard to hirings, firings, and complaints to Human Resources personnel. When employers fail to enforce policies stated in their own employee handbooks in prohibiting sexual harassment or discrimination, they are especially vulnerable.
If you have been the target of sexual harassment, gender, race or age discrimination, contact discrimination attorney Patrick L. Looper today to schedule a confidential consultation to learn how we can help you AND protect your job.
Forms of Discrimination and Sexual Harassment
Discrimination can take many forms. At the law office of Patrick L. Looper, Attorney at Law, we advise and represent employees in cases involving the following:
- Unwanted touching, explicit emails, offering favors in exchange for sex
- Denying promotions to pregnant women
- Cancer discrimination
- Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) discrimination / denials
- Racial discrimination
- Age discrimination
- Gender discrimination
Working with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
If you file a complaint with the EEOC, they will open a file and send a letter to your employer notifying them. They will in turn request certain documents from your employer in order to begin their investigation. For this reason, you may want to first consult an attorney before contacting the EEOC in order to protect yourself legally should your employer try to retaliate against you. Additionally, you can collect evidence, gather e-mails, and attempt to resolve an issue through your HR department first, providing more time and leverage for your complaint.
Employee Handbooks, Sexual Harassment, and Discrimination
Even though an employee handbook is not, technically speaking, a contract, the courts have tended to hold employers accountable for the policies and procedures contained in them. If you followed company policy and procedures in contacting your HR department and yet your company failed to do anything to protect you, the court will likely hold them accountable for failing to adhere to their own stated policies.
Contact Knoxville, Tennessee Sexual Harassment Attorney Patrick L. Looper
If you're unsure of whether you have a case or what your legal options are in sexual harassment and discrimination cases, contact sexual harassment attorney Patrick L. Looper today to schedule a confidential consultation to discuss your case.
