When they experience sexual harassment on the job, some employees will make a report immediately. Maybe a coworker makes derogatory jokes and will not stop when asked. This creates a hostile workplace, so the employee immediately goes to HR and files a report. They want to have a paper trail in place to show what type of behavior is occurring.
But these employees are relatively rare. It is much more common for people to delay making the report. Additionally, one report will sometimes bring others to light. For example, an employee will say that they were sexually harassed by their CEO two months before. This prompts two other employees to come forward and say that the same thing happened to them, but it was years prior.
Why is there a delay?
Each employee has their own reasons for delaying this report, but one of the most common is fear. Employees think that they are going to be retaliated against. If they report the behavior, their hours are going to get cut, they’re going to get fired or they’re never going to be able to get a good recommendation in the industry again.
Often, this fear is based on the simple premise that people won’t believe them. In fact, this issue is why employees will often come forward later, with one report leading to others. Employees may not have spoken up because they didn’t think they would be believed, but hearing that someone else has had the same experience gives them more confidence.
Even when there is a delay in reporting, these accusations can certainly be accurate. Those involved need to know what legal options they have.