Sexual harassment at work is disempowering, humiliating and can leave emotional scars for years. If an employee thinks if they simply ignore it and do not respond or report it, that the sexual harassment will not happen again, they are likely mistaken. Individuals who have not personally experienced being sexual harassed at work, may have no real sense of how deeply debilitating and long lasting, acts of sexual harassment are. These acts, whether done by a supervisor or by a co-worker, may be carried out with a conscious or unconscious intent to repress or to sabotage the quality of the employee’s effectiveness at work. However, proving such intent, or even alleging it, is not necessary to prevail in a New Jersey sexual harassment claim.
Don’t sit on your rights. I am an aggressive and compassionate employment law attorney who is experienced in successfully representing persons who were subjected to workplace sexual harassment, and in recovering financial renumeration for their humiliation, pain and suffering. If you are experiencing sexual harassment or discrimination in the workplace, you should contact this office immediately for a free consultation. I accept cases from all over NJ and have locations in Southern, Central and Northern NJ to meet with clients.
Quid Pro Quo and Hostile Work Environment
Two major theories of sexual harassment exist, quid pro quo and hostile work environment. The first theory, quid pro quo, occurs when a supervisor offers a tangible job benefit, such as a promotion, in exchange for some form of sexual access to employee. It need not involve acts culminating in actual touching. Quid pro quo could also be when a supervisor threatens job detriments if the employee does not comply with the sexual requests.
Simply put, if an employer attempts to coerce an employee's yielding to sexual demands as a condition of employment, it is quid pro quo sexual harassment. There must be a threatened or actual tangible employment action or loss of income. There need not be an actual termination. It could be being passed over for promotions, having one’s hours reduced, being demoted, being transferred to a less desirable work locations, and receiving negative Employee Performance Evaluations, if the harassed employee does not yield to the sexual demands.
A hostile work environment is the second theory of sexual harassment. A hostile work environment exists when there is conduct by a supervisor, or a co -worker, or in some certain instances, by a non-employee such as a client of the employer, or a supplier of the employer, who creates an intimidating, hostile of offensive workplace because of the employee’s sex. Here, unlike quid pro quo, there does not need to be offer of a job benefit or threat of a job detriment. It is the hostile environment itself. In some cases, both theories may apply to the facts. See NJ Sex Discrimination Attorney, Is There a Difference in Quid Pro Quo and Hostile Work Environment?
NJ courts have held that a hostile work environment may be created by either 1) one sufficiently severe act, or 2) numerous discrete acts spread out over time. A hostile work environment claim could involve many discrete harassing acts over time or sometimes an egregious act such as unwanted sexual touching. A hostile work environment claim in NJ does not require a tangible employment action, such as a reduction in pay. The illegal harm to the employee is the hostile work environment itself which is considered damaging to the employee. See NJ Employment Discrimination Attorney, Employee Discrimination in Employer Email or Other Internet Systems. Again, the acts need not be those committed by a manager or supervisor; hostile work environment occurs when an employer, supervisor, co-worker, client or vendor of the employer, harass or threaten in some manner, an employee because of his or her being a member of a protected class, to the degree at which the working environment becomes toxic and hostile. Quid pro quo may be more easily recognizable than a hostile work environment claim which could involve many discrete acts spread out over time and or reoccurring, but without any tangible employment action such as a demotion. See Bergen County, New Jersey Sex Discrimination Lawyer.
REPORTING SEXUAL HARASSMENT
REPORTING THE SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN WRITING AND KEEPING DOCUMENTATION ARE CRITICAL STEPS
Reporting the Harassment to Employer / Employer’s Responsibility
The employer cannot stop the harassment if they have no notice of it. Generally, NJ courts treat the issue of whether the employer had notice of the harassment differently, depending on the rank of the person committing the harassment.
Generally, when the harasser is your boss, or a manager or other supervisor with authority over you, courts generally hold the company liable for their illicit conduct. However, when the harasser is someone who is not your boss, supervisor or manager, but a co-worker, or client of vendor of the employer, the employer is liable if the management has knowledge of it, or should have known about the harassment, but failed to take appropriate measures to stop it.
Review your employee manual as to the proper person in the employer’s chain-of-command whom you are directed to report such harassment to and report it in writing (email is fine) to that person. Maintain a copy for your records at home and not on a company computer. You may keep it direct, stating some simple facts, and “I believe his comments are harassing and based upon my sex and have made my workplace hostile.”
In a situation where the person you are directed to report the harassment to, is the actual harasser, himself/herself, in that case, report it to a person higher in authority than the harasser and to the head of Human Resources or the company’s civil rights compliance officer. This should prompt the employer to investigate the allegations and take corrective action against the offender.
In addition to keeping a copy of your letter complaining about harassment, keep (at home) a printout of the proof that you served such notice of the harassment, such as an email or if it cannot be emailed, US Mail with Proof of Delivery. Without such a writing and without proof that it was served and received by HR or other appropriately designated person, the employer may later deny that you ever complained about the illicit acts, and therefore allege they had no reason to investigate it and correct it. If no one specific is mentioned, then serve it on the actual Head of HR, not to the secretary to Head of HR, and not to another staff member in HR, but to the actual Head of HR.
Many employees avoid reporting such occurrences of harassment, because they don’t want to experience the stress and uncomfortableness that may follow. They may fear that they will not be believed, especially if there were no witnesses. Even if there were no witnesses, you should still report.
Maintain a Log of All Details of Harassment at Home
An employee who experiences sexual harassment should immediately take steps to document the details every time they arise, particularly when they are discrete acts over time and keep a log at home. Keep documentation of the acts, the words, the place, the names of witnesses if there were witnesses, etc.
Once you report the harassment, the employer should take steps to correct and will open an investigation. They may ask you to provide written details. It is important that the employee document the acts of harassment in writing, and have proof that it was served on the appropriate person. If the matter is not resolved, but results in your filing a lawsuit, the detailed log will be evidence in your favor to counter the employer denials.
Don’t Make Assumptions
Don’t make assumptions that management will automatically believe in the veracity of your complaints. This is one of the many reasons why it is critical that you keep a detailed log at home.
It is Illegal for the employer to retaliate against you for reporting the illegal harassment. If they do retaliate, you will have a second claim for illegal retaliation under New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, N.J.S.A. Sec. 10:5-1 et seq. You may also have a claim under the NJ Conscientious Employee Protection Act, CEPA, N.J.S.A. 34:19-1 et seq., which protects employees from retaliation for reporting unlawful employer actions. See New Jersey Whistleblower Laws Attorney. When the acts of retaliation have the same fact pattern, while both statute violations may be pled in a lawsuit, typically one will eventually be chosen.
According to a 2025 government release, women trail men in annual earnings, and another government agency reports that women file the vast majority of sexual harassment charges, accounting for approximately 78% to 82% of all claims filed with one government agency. While sexual harassment may be same-sex harassment or female harassment of a male employee, the majority of claims are of males harassing females. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, women are under-represented in positions of authority. This may lend itself to more incidents of harassment committed by a male supervisor.
Note: This article is for general information purposes only, and it is not to be construed in any manner as giving legal advice in any specific case. It is important that you consult with an experienced sexual harassment attorney before taking any action and to determine the best course of action for your particular situation.
If You Quit Your Job, You May Lose Right to Prevail in a Lawsuit
In many instances of discrimination, if you quit your job, you may lose right to prevail in a lawsuit unless you first take certain legally required measures to preserve your job while you are still employed. If you are thinking of handing in a resignation letter or think you will be fired (or have already been terminated), you should contact this office immediately for a free consultation to discuss your options.
Don’t Sit on Your Rights
I am an aggressive and compassionate employment law attorney who is experienced in successfully representing persons who were subjected to workplace sexual harassment, and in recovering financial renumeration for their humiliation, pain and suffering. If you are experiencing sexual harassment or discrimination in the workplace, you should contact this office immediately for a free consultation. I accept discrimination and whistleblower cases from all over New Jersey and have locations in Southern, Central and Northern NJ to meet with clients.
Hope A. Lang, Attorney at Law represents workers throughout the entire state, including Hackensack, Jersey City, Newark, Irvington, Orange, East Orange, Trenton, Paterson, Montclair, Elizabeth, North Brunswick, Cherry Hill, Vineland, Union, Plainfield, Hamilton Township, Lakewood, Edison, Parsippany-Troy Hills, Franklin, Lakewood, and every NJ County, including Bergen, Hudson, Middlesex, Essex, Monmouth, Somerset, Ocean, Union, Camden, Passaic, Morris, Gloucester, Atlantic, Burlington, Camden Counties.