What kind of a lawyer is needed when someone is accusing you of sexual harassment?
RENATO C asked:
An ex-coworker is suing the company that we worked for and is also accusing me of sexual harrasment, I’m a straight guy and far from sexually harrasing an other fellow man. I’m very concern, and need to talk to a lawyer but don’t know what kind of lawyer.
An ex-coworker is suing the company that we worked for and is also accusing me of sexual harrasment, I’m a straight guy and far from sexually harrasing an other fellow man. I’m very concern, and need to talk to a lawyer but don’t know what kind of lawyer.
January 5th, 2009 at 11:22 am
civil rights
January 7th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
A defense lawyer. Also look up the def of sexual harassment. You don’t have to be hitting on someone for it to apply, all you have to do is make off color remarks that the person finds objectionable.
January 10th, 2009 at 12:30 am
Your company’s HR department can probably make some recommendations, if they don’t already retain counsel. Generally people are not sued for harassment by themselves, but as part of the company in which the alleged harassment occurred. In addition, you do not have to “hit on” a person to be guilty of sexual harassment. Suggestive talk, pictures, or otherwise offensive or objectionable behavior can also qualify. There are legally required postings in every workplace that provide a pretty clear definition of harassment.
January 12th, 2009 at 8:35 am
There’s a lot of unanswered questions here. Do you still work for the company? Has a Court Petition been served on you, and are you named as an individual in the lawsuit?
Did the incident(s) of alleged sexual harassment happen at work?
If this is a work-related issue and the lawsuit was filed against the company AND you are named as an individual in the lawsuit, call the company and ask to speak to the attorney’s handling the lawsuit for the company. Typically companies will defend their employees in the lawsuit (if there aren’t any criminal charges filed against the employee). They will advise you of your legal rights.
If you were not named as an individual in the lawsuit, you can be subpoenaed to testify in court, but you would not personally be held responsible for any judgment against the company.
If there were criminal charges filed against you, or you were sued individually, then you should consult a defense attorney.