Tips for Your Workplace Harassment Complaint Letter

Unlawful workplace harassment is said to occur when you are the subject of unwelcome physical or verbal behavior from co-workers which may have an effect on how you do your job. If you have been harassed at work, you will need to file a complaint letter to your employer and your HR department.

Before you do that, you could write a brief letter to the harasser pointing out that harassment is illegal, and that you may file a lawsuit if the harassment doesn’t stop. You should also check your workplace policy on workplace harassment and see what the harassment rules are before writing your complaint letter.

Tips on Writing a Workplace Harassment Complaint Letter

Tip 1. The letter should stick to the point and be polite.

Tip 2. Do not write the complaint letter while you are angry or upset.

Tip 3. Write down everything you experienced.

Tip 4. Include witness statements.

Tip 5. Make references to the law about workplace harassment.

Tip 6. Ask your employer to approach the harasser.

Tip 7. Tell your employer you intend to file a lawsuit.

Tip 1. The Letter Should Stick to the Point and Be Polite

You should write your letter in a formal business style. That means start the later with Dear (name of employer) and end it with Kind Regards and your name. Don’t make out you are angry - just be clear, concise and polite. This will be doing you a favor if you get no response and have to file a lawsuit against your employer for allowing the workplace harassment to take place. If you use any type of threatening language you may end up being accused of being the harasser which you certainly want to avoid.

Tip 2. Do not Write the Complaint Letter While You are Angry or Upset

If you start the letter when you are feeling angry about the harassment, stop immediately. You are almost bound to lose your politeness and end up throwing accusations at your employer for failing to do anything about the harassment.

If this happens not only could you lose your job, but you could be subject to legal action yourself for harassing your employer. Write in a cool, calm and collected way so that you don’t lose your employer’s support. Do remember that you can’t be fired for complaining about workplace harassment.

Tip 3. Write Down Everything You Experience

It is important that you write down all the necessary information about the harassment. This should include the harasser’s name, your relationship to the harasser, the names of witnesses and their job titles, date the harassment took place, where it took place, how it took place such as via text messages, voicemail, email or face-to-face communication.

Tip 4. Include Witness Statements

If you are lucky and you have co-workers who have witnessed the harassment, it would be of great use to you to get the witnesses to write statements to support your workplace harassment. Each statement should be short and include the following:

a brief description of the harassment;
when the harassment took place;
where the harassment took place;
what the harasser said or did.

Tip 4. Refer to the Law About Workplace Harassment

Federal and state laws both protect employees from unlawful harassment, however, not every type of mistreatment is considered illegal harassment. Typically, workplace harassment is considered more serious if it has occurred to a worker who is protected. This could include any of the following:

age;
AIDS or HIV diagnosis;
color;
disability;
genetic information;
immigration status;
marital status;
national origin;
pregnancy;
race;
religion;
gender.

Just a passing comment isn’t necessarily workplace harassment. The harassment must have created a hostile environment.

Tip 5. Ask Your Employer to Approach the Harasser

In your complaint letter you could suggest to your employer that s/he approaches the harasser and negotiates with him/her to arrive at a solution. If it is successful this will save you all time, effort and money as there should not be any need to go any further.

Tip 7. Tell Your Employer You Intend to File a Lawsuit

In a polite way say you are going to file a lawsuit against the harasser if the harassment does not stop,

Tip 8. Save a Copy of the Letter

As soon as you have submitted a letter to the Human Resources department, your manager, or your supervisor, you should save it. You should also make and keep copies of evidence like social media posts, text messages and emails.

Getting Help With Your Harassment Complaint Letter

If you feel intimidated because you have to write a letter of complaint, a lawyer who has had experience with cases like yours may be able to help. Fill out the Free Case Evaluation above to get in touch with a lawyer that takes cases in your area today.