Sexually Abused and Mistreated on the Job: Citizens and Immigrant Women Have Rights
The vast majority of women in the United States – citizen and immigrant alike – work outside their homes to support or help support their families, their children and loved ones. Before leaving for their jobs and upon returning after finishing their shifts, they labor at home preparing meals, cleaning their homes, doing the laundry, raising and teaching their children and instilling solid values in them, and daily making sure that the endless list of major and minor tasks of life and living get done. In short, they work hard, face constant demands, stay busy and pressed, sacrifice for their families and loved ones, and have exhausting schedules. They have little time for themselves; they spend their money, time, efforts, and their lives to benefit others. Many of these women are immigrants or are citizens with limited education and job skills; they work at low paying jobs.
In spite of the incredible demands heaped on them, too many women – whether citizens and immigrants – endure another serious, troubling, exasperating issue. While at their jobs, some employers, supervisors or managers make crude sexual comments, ask them to utter crude sexual comments to them, ask them about their sex lives and sexual practices, sexually touch them or rub against them or make obscene sexual gestures, drop their pants, or create an intimidating environment where women feel harassed, uncomfortable, and ill at ease because of unwanted sexual pressures and acts. Sometimes, these managers, supervisors or employers press or force their female employees to kiss, touch or act intimately with them, demand sex, or hit them, or at times, rape them. If they refuse, certain employers directly threaten them with loss of job. Some women fear that they will lose their jobs or their employers will withhold income or benefits, short-change them on pay, insist they work overtime but not pay them for the additional hours worked, disrupt their work lives, or if they do not give in to these demands, they worry that their children will go hungry. These employers, supervisors or managers are in a position of authority and power over their female employees. They use their authority and power as employers or managers to abuse and victimize them.
Many women are afraid to speak out or stand up to their employers. Often, the incomes and wages of female employees are critical for their families. Ironically, some women feel that they are to blame for the terrible actions of their employers, managers or supervisors; they suffer in silence and fear repercussions – loss of job, loss of income, fear that their husbands or significant others will blame them, and more — even though they are victims and simply were trying to do their jobs and worked hard.
Immigrant women or women who may have limited understanding of American law and little knowledge of their legal rights often feel as if they have nowhere to turn for help and endure these unwanted sexual advances. Due to their fear, sense of shame, lack of access to lawyers and legal resources, language barriers, lack of knowledge of the law, immigration concerns, or cultural pressure, they often endure this mistreatment. But there is good news. In the United States, federal and state laws give women strong remedies for sexual abuse, sexual harassment and employers’, supervisors’ or managers’ unwanted sexual advances or demands. These laws allow victims of these terrible acts to recover money damages, to receive orders prohibiting the conduct in the future, to recover lost wages, payment of mental and emotional suffering, and to compel the employer to pay their attorney fees, and more.
Separately, when an employer does not pay overtime as federal law requires, a separate law gives employees the right to force the employer to pay overtime. Other laws give women a right to sue those who hit them, act violently to them, and hit or threaten them. Many women are not aware that they have these rights, and consequently, needlessly suffer.
If your employer, manager or supervisor has demanded sex, created a hostile environment based on sex, demeaned you on account of the fact that you are women, made unwanted sexual advances, sexually abuses or threatened you, not paid overtime or hit you, know this: you have rights and remedies, contact Attorney Perry A. Craft; he will fight for you.
Perry A. Craft has dedicated his life to helping people in need. He has tried, settled, or resolved numerous civil and criminal cases in State and Federal courts, and has represented teachers and administrators before school boards, administrative judges, and the state Board of Education. Learn more about Attorney Craft.