I believe that my girlfriend is being harassed.

[Davidds]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

My girlfriend is being harassed in the work place, both mentally, sexually, and physically. She continues to hear derogatory comments, has been grabbed with excessive force (enough to leave bruises) in an attempt to force her into a bathroom with a man. Furthermore, she has been shown a pocket knife in an aggressive manner and has been threatened by hearing stories of what the man would do to her in Arabia if she talked back to him, which was to cut her vagina. As a result, she has had nightmares, has purchased pepper and a taser, and is afraid to go to work. What legal actions can we take?

 

[Proserpina]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

My girlfriend is being harassed in the work place, both mentally, sexually, and physically. She continues to hear derogatory comments, has been grabbed with excessive force (enough to leave bruises) in an attempt to force her into a bathroom with a man. Furthermore, she has been shown a pocket knife in an aggressive manner and has been threatened by hearing stories of what the man would do to her in Arabia if she talked back to him, which was to cut her vagina. As a result, she has had nightmares, has purchased pepper and a taser, and is afraid to go to work. What legal actions can we take?

What happened when she reported this to the police?

 

[cbg]

"We" cannot take any at all. SHE is free to speak to an attorney.

On the limited information you've provided, that's the best we can do.

 

[Davidds]

What happened when she reported this to the police?

She's pretty scared to report it. She did report him to a supervisor, but has lacked telling him the key details, such as the knife and the bruises. The man doing this is also brothers with one of the managers, but the brother is located in a different store.

 

[Davidds]

"We" cannot take any at all. SHE is free to speak to an attorney.

On the limited information you've provided, that's the best we can do.

I realize that she would be the one taking any actions here, I was just generalizing. Do you believe this is sufficient to seek legal assistance?

 

[Proserpina]

She's pretty scared to report it. She did report him to a supervisor, but has lacked telling him the key details, such as the knife and the bruises. The man doing this is also brothers with one of the managers, but the brother is located in a different store.

I'm not sure what she expects will happen if she doesn't come forth and report the relevant details.

Other than that, she's free to simply find another job.

 

[ecmst12]

I would strongly suggest that she call the police.

 

[Davidds]

I'm not sure what she expects will happen if she doesn't come forth and report the relevant details.

Other than that, she's free to simply find another job.

That's pretty much what I've told her. She is looking for other jobs, but hasn't had luck yet and can't quit because she is in need of money to get by. Either way though, once she leaves who is to say he won't just do this to another girl? I was just wondering if there is something to this, is she being harassed in the eye of the law?

 

[Davidds]

I would strongly suggest that she call the police.

Thanks, I'll show her this thread and hopefully she'll be motivated to do so.

 

[cbg]

What she should also do is report it to HR. If she should eventually take other action outside the company, she will want to be able to say that she took all possible actions within the company to make it stop.

 

[commentator]

Yes, if someone threatens you with a knife, on or off the job, or grabs your arm hard enough to make bruises, I really feel that calling the police and pressing assault charges are very appropriate action. But if she reports this to EEOC or tries to make any sort of legal complaint about the situation, and she has made no effort to inform her supervisor ( I suspect this "store" situation doesn't have an official HR) they'd just say, "I didn't know there was any problem or I would have fixed it." If this is a legitimate employer, and you quit, you would have a fair chance at being approved for unemployment IF you have tried to resolve the situation before you quit, and only left after your effort to inform the employer and make the harrassment stop has failed.