Three female employees of a well-known New York city area doctor have accused him of sexual harassment and gender discrimination. The allegations against the doctor included claims that he inappropriately touched several of his female employees and sent sexually explicit text messages. Contributing to the hostile work environment that was created, was the claim that the doctor would regularly expose himself to the three women.
The laws protecting women in the workplace from sexual harassment in New York clearly prohibit the type of conduct that is alleged to have occurred over a two year period. The three women initially were afraid to complain because they did not want to lose their jobs, which is not an uncommon fear in cases of sexual harassment. What employees need to be aware of, however, is that there are strong laws that prohibit retaliation against an employee who makes a complaint of discrimination or harassment.
When the women finally protested the doctor's sexually harassing conduct, they were terminated allegedly in retaliation for their protests.