When an employer chooses to sexually harass an employee in Indiana, this employer may be held accountable through the legal system. In one out-of-state case, a former mayor, her husband and a bakery have been sued for sexual harassment as well as retaliation. A woman who claimed to have been victimized by them recently filed a legal suit against them as a result.
The former mayor and her husband co-own the bakery. Meanwhile, the woman who filed the suit against them used to be a manager of the bakery. The woman said the man repeatedly told her to hug him while she was working there, and he also gave her kisses that she did not want. He further reportedly made unwanted advances and comments of a sexual nature toward her.
The woman said the man also groped her under and over her clothing. He further allegedly sniffed her hair and personal items, and he even licked the woman’s coffee cup. The man is accused of discussing his sex life with the woman as well as asking her about her own sex life. The woman said she complained to the co-owner of the bakery, who is also the man’s wife, but the wife did not take corrective action or protect the woman; in fact, the woman’s office privileges and managerial duties were taken away, and she ended up being discharged.
In her lawsuit, the woman alleges not only sexual harassment and retaliation but also the failure to prevent this type of harassment. When people in Indiana or in other states believe they are victims of sexual harassment and retaliation, they have the right to explore all of their legal options in an effort to right any wrongs that have been committed. A successful outcome of a sexual harassment and wrongful discharge lawsuit may lead to remedies, such as the reinstatement of a job and other recompense.
Source: ksbw.com, “Former Santa Cruz mayor and her husband sued for sexual harassment”, Amy Larson, July 20, 2015
