Steffans Legal Files Sexual Harassment and Hostile Work Environment Lawsuit in Hampden County Superior Court

Steffans Legal was recently hired to represent a former highway department employee based in Springfield, Massachusetts, in claims of unlawful workplace sexual harassment and a hostile work environment. After a department transfer, our client began working for a supervisor who engaged in severe and persistent sexual harassment, creating an extremely hostile work environment. Among general sexual comments and innuendos, the supervisor attempted to trick our client into sending him a shirtless photograph and later offered to pay our client for naked pictures to put in the supervisor's “private collection.” Our client feared for his safety and was afraid to be alone with this supervisor. He also learned from other employees that he was not alone in experiencing sexual harassment from this supervisor and that other employees had already complained about the unlawful sexual harassment to management. This case is currently pending in the Hampden County Superior Court.

What is a hostile work environment under Massachusetts law?

In this case, we allege that our client was subjected to a hostile work environment because he was sexually harassed by his supervisor. According to the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, to succeed on a sexual harassment hostile work environment claim, you need to satisfy the following:

• You were subjected to conduct of a sexual nature;

• The conduct was unwelcome;

• The conduct altered conditions of your employment by creating an intimidating, hostile, humiliating, or sexually offensive work environment; and

• The conduct was carried out by a supervisor or the employer knew or should have known of the harassment and failed to take prompt and effective remedial action.

As described above, our client can satisfy all the elements of a hostile work environment claim: he was subjected to conduct of a sexual nature, the conduct was unwelcome, the conduct altered conditions of his employment, the harasser was our client’s supervisor, and the employer knew of the harassment and failed to take immediate remedial action. To learn more about sexual harassment and hostile work environments, click here.

Steffans Legal’s employment attorneys have decades of combined experience representing Massachusetts employees in workplace sexual harassment and hostile work environment cases. If you are a victim of workplace sexual harassment, contact us today for a free, confidential consultation.