Getting a job opportunity is a blessing to most people, especially if the job offer is an upgrade from a person’s current employment. However, everything can change when the promising career has a caveat that requires doing sexual favors. This is a clear indication of sexual harassment, a situation that is not just morally wrong but has criminal implications. Recently, a New York intern was allegedly at the receiving end of workplace sexual harassment and she has filed a case against people who she claims are responsible.
The 24-year-old woman claimed that she was sexually harassed by one of her advisors in a wealth management company where she worked as an intern. The former intern stated that she was offered the job by the advisor after meeting him in a bar in Huntington, where she worked as a bartender to help her through college. She agreed to work as his assistant and was paid $10 per hour and worked 20 hours per week.
While working for the advisor, she was offered designer shoes and bags as a “bonus” in exchange for sex. The woman declined the advisor’s offers. The harassment continued until June of 2013. Soon after, she was informed that her internship was ending. She eventually received a text message from the advisor informing her that if she did not meet up with him, she would not continue working with the company. She declined to meet the advisor.
The woman complained to an assistant manager, but it fell on deaf ears. She eventually filed a complaint to the state’s Division of Human Rights. She is asking for $5 million in damages.
Lewd comments and sexually suggestive behavior leads to a hostile working environment. Although this kind of work atmosphere may seem like a joke to some people, it is considered legally inappropriate. New Yorkers in a similar situation can take legal action against the harasser .
Source: Think Advisor, “Ex-UBS Intern Sues for $5M Over Sexual Harassment, Discrimination,” Janet Levaux, Sept. 16, 2014
