At King & Siegel LLP, we have helped hundreds of workers hold employers accountable through legal actions. If you have been sexually harassed at work, we are here to help. Call us today at 213-465-4802!
To give yourself the best chance to adequately resolve workplace sexual harassment, you need to notify your employer in writing as soon as possible. If you don’t know how to write a sexual harassment complaint letter to your boss, an experienced attorney can help you.
For an example of what a complaint letter looks like, please read the article below. And if you need an experienced sexual harassment attorney, you can speak to our attorneys at King & Siegel LLP.
To prepare to write your sexual harassment complaint letter, thoroughly read your employer’s complaint procedures. You should also read complaint procedures for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH).
Your employer’s complaint procedure should let you know what information is necessary to make a formal, internal report. And the EEOC’s Charge of Discrimination form and the CRD’s workplace harassment intake form can be helpful guides for what information to include in your letter.
In your letter, you should provide your employer with the following:
Let your employer know from the beginning that your correspondence is regarding sexual harassment in the workplace. While it is important to remain professional, you should not mince words or sugarcoat any harassment you have endured. By using matter-of-fact language, you can prevent your employer from feigning ignorance or twisting your words during litigation.
Imagine you identify as male, your name is John Doe, and you make arrangements in a flower shop. Your supervisor constantly makes comments implying that he believes men shouldn’t be arranging flowers, especially for events that he believes are more “feminine.” Your supervisor also engages in non-consensual touching. For this scenario, the following is a sexual harassment complaint letter you might write to your employer’s human resources department.
Re: Sexual harassment complaint against supervisor Daniel Brown
This is my official complaint regarding sexual harassment from my supervisor, Daniel Brown.
I have been a male florist for Employer for 10 years. Five years ago, I was promoted to a lead florist position and was assigned to mainly wedding accounts by my previous supervisor, Josh Matthews. I excelled at the wedding assignments. Last year, Daniel Brown became my direct supervisor. Soon after Mr. Brown became my supervisor, I noticed I rarely received wedding assignments and was relegated to providing greenery for small corporate events. When I inquired about the change, the following harassment from Mr. Brown occurred:
I have been severely depressed since this harassing behavior began. I have also lost significant commissions and professional advancement because of Mr. Brown’s refusal to assign me to wedding accounts.
I request that Employer take appropriate action to remedy this issue. I appreciate your attention to this matter.
At King & Seigel, our experienced California sexual harassment attorneys are assertive, responsive, and compassionate toward mistreated employees. Our skilled attorneys provide the same quality of legal services to employees that this nation’s biggest companies receive. We hope you will call us in your time of need. Contact us any time.
Julian Burns King graduated with honors from Harvard Law School and founded King & Siegel in 2018. As head of the Firm’s discrimination and harassment practice areas, she champions the rights of working parents and victims of workplace discrimination and harassment. She has been recognized as a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers annually since 2018 and has recovered tens of millions of dollars on behalf of her clients.
