Harassment

Home / Practices / Harassment
All practices
Labor and EmploymentClaims

Harassment defense and prevention for employers, covering workplace policies, training, complaint investigations, and remedial action that limit liability for sexual and other harassment and give you a credible defense when claims arise.

Harassment allegations move fast and travel far, putting both your liability and your reputation at stake. We help you prevent harassment with policies and training that work in practice, respond credibly when a complaint comes in, and defend hard when a claim ends up in front of an agency or a jury.

Prevention That Actually Functions

An anti-harassment policy only helps if people know it exists and trust it. We draft clear reporting procedures, build multiple complaint channels, and deliver training that managers and employees can actually use. A working prevention program reduces incidents and supports the Faragher-Ellerth affirmative defense if a hostile-work-environment claim is later filed.

Investigations Done Right

A botched investigation can do more damage than the underlying complaint. We guide or conduct prompt, neutral investigations, advise on interim measures, and help you reach defensible conclusions. We document the process so your remedial action looks reasonable and proportionate, which is exactly what a court examines when it weighs your response.

Defending Harassment Claims

When a claim proceeds, we challenge whether the conduct was severe or pervasive enough to be actionable and whether the employer is even liable for it. We assert the available affirmative defenses, scrutinize the timeline of complaint and response, and hold the plaintiff to their proof at every step from agency charge through trial.

Frequently asked questions

Harassment is unwelcome conduct based on a protected characteristic that is either severe or pervasive enough to create a hostile work environment, or that leads to a tangible job action like a firing or demotion. It doesn't have to be a long pattern, a single severe incident can be enough. The conduct has to tie back to a protected trait, not just be generally rude or unpleasant.

Define the prohibited conduct broadly, cover all protected characteristics, and give employees more than one way to report so they aren't stuck reporting to the person harassing them. Prohibit retaliation, explain how investigations work, and state that violations can lead to discipline up to termination. A clear, usable policy is also a key piece of your defense if a claim is filed.

Train employees and managers regularly, keep reporting channels clear and accessible, and investigate every complaint promptly and thoroughly. Enforce the policy consistently no matter who's involved, and make sure leadership backs a respectful culture rather than just the paperwork. Prevention is cheaper than defense, and it strengthens your position if a claim does come.

If a supervisor harasses an employee and it results in a tangible job action, the employer is automatically liable. For hostile-environment harassment with no tangible action, the employer can raise the Faragher-Ellerth defense by showing it took reasonable steps to prevent and correct harassment and the employee unreasonably failed to use them. That defense only works if your policy, training, and complaint process were actually in place and used.

These need extra care. Bring in an outside investigator for real independence, involve the board or audit committee for oversight, tighten confidentiality, and think hard about interim measures to protect both the complainant and the integrity of the investigation. Handling a senior-executive complaint like an ordinary one is a fast way to create a second, bigger problem.

Our team

People in this practice

Document products

Related document products

Order attorney-drafted documents related to this practice.

Browse all products

Bring our harassment team to your next matter.

Get in touch