Workplace sexual harassment remains a common issue, as some people have no qualms about abusing their professional authority for personal gain. Unfortunately, people victimized by their coworkers or supervisors often struggle to seek justice. The person enduring harassment may not have any clear evidence of the misconduct they have experienced at work.
Much of what occurred may have taken place in private settings, such as a supervisor’s office, rather than in front of many others. Often, there are not any other people present at the time that a supervisor engages in unwanted advances or quid pro quo harassment. Employees can relate what they experienced to others and keep journals as a means of documenting the harassment.
However, their claims can be very difficult to prove when dealing with the company or outside authorities. People often want conclusive proof of the mistreatment that they have experience to help them prove what has occurred to others. In some cases, mobile phones can be beneficial for those trying to prove that they have experienced workplace sexual harassment.
State law does not prohibit workers from recording
Some states have privacy or wiretapping laws that effectively prevent anyone from recording a private conversation or phone call without the consent of everyone involved. Thankfully, current state statutes in Missouri are more lenient than that.
The consent of one party involved in a conversation is typically all that is necessary to make recording an interaction theoretically lawful. So long as they do not record conversations with criminal intentions, people can document their interactions with others using mobile devices or even specialized devices acquired for that specific purpose.
It can be difficult to keep recording activities a secret in a work environment, and some employers do not allow workers to carry their phones at all. Depending on the circumstances, employees dealing with sexual harassment may need to look into other ways to document the conduct of a supervisor or coworker to prove that they have experienced ongoing mistreatment in the workplace.
Gathering adequate evidence of workplace sexual harassment is the first step toward holding an individual harassing a professional accountable. An attorney can help frustrated workers take the right steps to seek justice.
