Sexual Harassment Attorney Louisville KY
Sexual harassment is illegal and if you’ve been sexually harassed, you are not the one who should be afraid — Your harasser should be.
No matter your line of work, sexual harassment while on the job is both inexcusable and illegal. You are entitled to work in a safe, healthy, and professional environment. State and federal law protect both male and female employees from unwanted sexual advances made by either management or a co-worker of the same or opposite sex. Sexual harassment in the workplace can take a variety of forms, some more obvious than others. Yet, inappropriate conduct does not have to be extreme to rise to the level of illegal harassment.
Understanding the Scope of Workplace Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment is not limited to overt physical acts or explicit propositions. It can also manifest through subtle behaviors that create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. This may include repeated “jokes” with sexual undertones, unwelcome flirting, or even exclusion from professional opportunities based on gender dynamics.
What matters legally is whether the behavior is unwelcome, pervasive, and severe enough to interfere with an individual’s ability to do their job. It is important to note that victims do not need to suffer economic harm, such as termination or demotion, to have a valid claim. Emotional distress, anxiety, and a hostile atmosphere can alone constitute grounds for legal action.
Can I Be Fired For Reporting Sexual Harassment?
What are the Most Common Forms of Sexual Harassment?
- Whistling, catcalls or indecent gestures
- Deliberate bumping or leaning against another person
- Comments about your body or bodily movements
- Demands for dates or sexual acts
- Inappropriate grabbing or touching of your body or clothing
- Sexual phone calls, text messages, voice messages or e-mail messages
- Sending or leaving pornographic materials or sexually explicit pictures
- Repeating dirty jokes or making lewd comments
Under Kentucky and federal law there a two main types of sexual harassment: Quid Pro Quo and Hostile Work Environment.
“Quid pro quo” is a latin phrase that means “something for something.” Quid pro quo sexual harassment happens in the workplace when a superior — like a supervisor, team lead, or manager – requests sexual favors in exchange for a benefit at work — such as requiring sexual favors to grant a promotion. If an employee is fired, demoted, or refused a promotion because she refused a sexual advance or request, quid pro quo sexual harassment has occurred. It is a violation of the law to condition a benefit at work on a sexual favor.
Hostile work environment, usually the more common category of harassment, occurs when a coworker, superior, or even customer subjects an employee to sexually offensive conduct in the workplace.
The Legal Framework: Title VII and Kentucky Law
At the federal level, sexual harassment is prohibited under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This law applies to employers with 15 or more employees and ensures that all workers are treated with dignity and respect. In Kentucky, the Kentucky Civil Rights Act offers similar protections for employers with as few as eight employees. This means that smaller businesses also have to follow these guidelines to ensure that their employees are not subjected to harassment.
Both laws are enforced by government agencies: the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission at the federal level and the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights at the state level. If you have been a victim of sexual harassment, you typically have 180 days to file a complaint with the Kentucky commission and up to 300 days with the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission. However, these deadlines may vary depending on your circumstances, so it is important to consult an experienced attorney as soon as possible. Miss these deadlines could result in losing your right to seek legal remedies.
What Should I Do if I Feel Sexually Harassed?
- Say “NO” clearly. Make it clear that the harassment is unwelcome.
- Make a clear statement to the harasser that the conduct is offensive and unwelcome.
- Start documenting the facts immediately. Include time, dates, situations, comments or gestures, and any other important details. Always keep your own copy. This documentation is very important and can be evidence to support your claim.
- Keep your documentation in a safe file away from work.
- If appropriate, discuss the situation with your labor or union representative.
- Tell your employer about the harassment. Follow the reporting requirements outlined in your employer’s Harassment policies and file a grievance complaint if that process is available to you.
- Decide whether you want to file a complaint with the appropriate county, state, or federal agency and whether you want to speak with an attorney.
Sexual harassment can often lead to retaliation after a person rejects the sexual advances of the sexual harasser, or reports the harassment to his or her employer. Acts of retaliation can include demotions, cuts in pay or benefits, or even termination. However, it’s not just wrong to fire someone for reporting sexual harassment, it is illegal. Speak up – refuse to live in fear.
Learn More About Sexual Harassment & Hostile Work Environment
Your Voice Matters—And So Does Your Future
If you or someone you know is a victim of sexual harassment in the workplace, the attorneys at Abney Law will advocate for your rights while respecting your privacy and dignity. Harassment cases can be complicated and require an attorney with experience handling these types of claims.
If you’ve been sexually harassed, you are not the one who should be afraid — Your harasser should be. We fight for our clients to hold their harassers accountable and have years of experience handling sexual harassment and discrimination claims.
If you have been the victim of sexual harassment, contact the sexual harassment attorneys at Abney Law online or call (502) 498-8585 to schedule a free consultation.
Common Sexual Harassment FAQs
Under Kentucky law and federal statutes (like Title VII), sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that affects an individual’s employment, unreasonably interferes with their work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. It is not limited to physical acts and can include inappropriate comments, gestures, jokes, images, or text messages. The conduct must be severe or pervasive enough to alter the conditions of your employment.
These are the two primary legal categories. Quid Pro Quo (“this for that”) harassment occurs when a supervisor or someone with authority conditions a job benefit (like a promotion, raise, or continued employment) on the submission to unwelcome sexual conduct. Hostile Work Environment harassment occurs when unwelcome sexual conduct from anyone in the workplace (a supervisor, co-worker, client, or vendor) is so severe or pervasive that it creates an abusive, intimidating, or hostile work environment that a reasonable person would find offensive.
Yes, absolutely. A harasser can be anyone in the workplace: a co-worker, a supervisor from another department, a contractor, or even a customer or client. The key question is whether your employer knew or should have known about the harassment and failed to take prompt and appropriate corrective action to stop it. Employers have a legal duty to maintain a workplace free from harassment, regardless of the harasser’s title.
We advise taking clear, documented steps: 1) Tell the harasser to stop in clear, unambiguous terms if you feel safe doing so. 2) Report the harassment internally by following your company’s policy, typically to HR or a supervisor. This creates a formal record and triggers the employer’s duty to act. 3) Document everything meticulously: dates, times, witnesses, what was said or done, and your responses. Keep this record privately, outside of work. 4) Consult with an attorney to understand your rights and the strength of your claim before filing with any government agency.
The process typically begins with an internal complaint to your employer. If that fails to resolve the situation, the next step is often filing a formal charge of discrimination with a state or federal agency, like the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights (KCHR) or the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). These agencies have strict filing deadlines (as short as 180 days). Following their investigation, you may receive a “Right to Sue” letter, which allows you to file a lawsuit in court. An experienced attorney guides you through each stage to protect your rights and seek remedies like compensation for lost wages, emotional distress, and sometimes punitive damages.
Retaliation is when your employer takes an adverse action against you for reporting harassment or participating in an investigation. This is illegal. Adverse actions include termination, demotion, pay cuts, schedule changes, increased scrutiny, or creating a hostile work environment. The law strongly protects employees who, in good faith, complain about harassment. If you experience retaliation, it constitutes a separate, serious legal claim.
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