Mixing business, romance, and sex can lead to messy situations at your job. Despite all the recent high profile sexual harassment accusations in the news (Matt Lauer, Harvey Weinstein, etc.), having sex with your boss is not necessarily against the law in Connecticut. But as the best Connecticut sexual harassment lawyers and attorneys can explain, when the sex becomes a condition of your employment, it triggers Connecticut “hostile work environment” discrimination and retaliation laws that can protect you and your employment.
What makes these cases even messier is when your boss rapes, sexually assaults you, or gives you a sexually transmitted disease (an STD) like genital herpes or genital warts.
That’s when you may be able to sue your boss and employer for damages…
Not necessarily. So long as the sex is consensual, and so long as the sex is not a requirement of your employment, then it may not be illegal or grounds for a lawsuit.
Most companies have human resources policies about relationships within the office, sometimes even requiring the consenting parties to disclose the sexual relationship to Human Resources so that it’s documented and so that both parties can be properly advised of sexual harassment laws. Sometimes companies will make you even sign “love contracts.”
It’s not so unreasonable to think that people in the workplace fall in love, or begin sexual or dating relationships. It can get challenging, however, when the parties break up, or if one person gives the other a sexually transmitted disease like genital warts or herpes.
You have several options if your boss or coworker gave you an STD in Connecticut. But you first better be 100% certain that you know the identity of the person who gave you the STD. Falsely accusing someone in Connecticut of having a sexually transmitted disease / STD is per se (automatically) defamatory. This means that if you wrongfully accuse someone – verbally, on social media, or in writing – of having an STD in Connecticut, then they can sue you for libel or slander.
You should talk to a top Connecticut sexual harassment lawyer attorney before making any accusations against your boss, coworker or employer about an STD.
While employers and companies definitely like to settle cases like this quietly, understand that they will countersue you aggressively if your claims are false, malicious or fictitious.
Many victims of workplace sexual harassment in Connecticut are often too embarrassed or ashamed to report it to their supervisor or Human Resources. They are often scared of retaliation or of being blacklisted in the industry.
Hopefully the recent #metoo social media campaigns and national sensitivity to sexual harassment victims has put Connecticut sexual harassment victims more at ease to come forward with legitimate harassment claims.
At the very least, you should preserve texts, emails and social media evidence of the harassment and show it to any of the best sex harassment lawyers in Connecticut.
So if you are being sexually harassed in Connecticut, or your boss or coworker has given you an STD, then you may want to discuss your case with a Connecticut sexual harassment law firm. The sexual harassment lawyers at the Mark Sherman Law Firm routinely take these cases on contingency (meaning the Firm does not charge a fee unless we win a trial award or settlement for you). You can follow this link to see what our former clients have to say about their experiences with our firm.
Then give us a call today for a consultation at (203) 358-4700.
