Hi all,
Location: Oregon
I’m looking for legal advice regarding an extremely uncomfortable and serious situation I’m dealing with at work. I work for a small company (fewer than 5 employees), and the owner of the company has started making inappropriate and disturbing advances toward me over the past few months. I’m at my wits’ end and unsure how to proceed.
Here’s a breakdown of the situation:
Drinking at work: The owner has started drinking heavily at the office, and his behavior has become increasingly inappropriate.
Unwanted physical contact: He has touched me multiple times without my consent, in ways that felt both inappropriate and aggressive- I have voiced and physically stopped his advance
Urination: On one occasion, he urinated in front of me in a shared space—this was absolutely not an accident and felt completely intentional.
Filming: I found out he had been secretly filming me without my knowledge or consent at work.
I am terrified about retaliation if I say anything, but this behavior has crossed a line. I don’t feel safe or respected at work anymore. The owner is also in a position of power over me, and the office is small, so there aren’t a lot of people I can turn to for support.
A few questions I have
What legal steps should I take in a situation like this? There is no HR. can I file directly with an external body?
Is there a specific law or legal action I should be aware of when it comes to sexual harassment by the business owner, since they’re at the top of the chain?
Ty.
Comments
Speak with a labor attorney. Collect as much evidence as possible. Keep emails. Document everything.
Real question: what do you want to happen?
This sort of behavior is illegal in Oregon, but not federally, so ignore anyone who tells you to file with the EEOC. The feds won’t give a shit because there aren’t 15 employees. BOLI will.
But there’s nothing that can make this guy stop. He’s not going to get shut down. The only consequence is financial. And that financial consequence 99% of the time comes with you losing your job, either because you were fired in retalation for your complaint, you quit, or because your settlement offer also includes you leaving your position.
You probably should discuss this with an OR employee-side attorney for your best course of action and how best to extract yourself from this situation. Start looking for a new job now. There is a 99% chance you will not keep this one.