Beth Langley, a partner in the Greensboro office of Brooks Pierce, was quoted by Westlaw in an article entitled “Barriers to Harassment Reporting: How To Overcome Them.”
In light of the #MeToo era and the recent onslaught of sexual harassment allegations taking place within many organizations, the article addresses barriers employers may face even if communication channels are available for employees to report misconduct. According to the article, there are several reasons employees don’t report their concerns including, fear and distrust, shame, poor reporting mechanisms, a lack of communication channels and a perceived lack of enforcement.
Langley said employees generally don’t report their harassment concerns due to a fear of retaliation or a belief that nothing will be done. “Both of those issues are due to lack of trust in the process and a perception that reporting will not make a difference,” she said.
Langley, who has more than 25 years of experience, focuses her practice on a wide range of employment issues, including matters involving civil rights, non-competition agreements and trade secret protection and provides counsel to clients on discrimination and harassment issues related to Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act.
The full article is linked below.
