Before taking any steps to complain about a workplace harassment situation, you need to know that retaliation is illegal. Here is the Office of State Personnel policy definition:

Retaliation is adverse treatment which occurs because of opposition to unlawful workplace harassment.

So, if you decide to talk to your supervisor or file a complaint about sexual or other workplace harassment, management cannot legally "punish" or "get even" with you because of your claim.

Here are some examples of how your boss might take some actions that could be considered illegal retaliation: changing your performance evaluation results to a lower rating not including you in meetings changing your job assignment to a less desirable one notifying others that you reported harassment creating a different approval process or set of standards just for you

Read about one case of retaliation:

Supreme Court Retaliation Case Underscores Need for Manager Skill Development Use your browser's "Back" button to return here after visiting the site.

So watch out for retaliation, and as you'll learn in the next section, take specific notes about any actions that you think might be considered retaliation if you file a complaint.

Next, we'll talk about options and steps to take. Click on the forward arrow to continue.