Although workplace sexual harassment in Arizona is not as widespread as it once was, there still are incidents of sexual harassment that are reported, and even more that are unreported. The intimidation and sometimes embarrassment involved with sexual harassment often pressures employees not to come forward. Or, if the individual in question is your supervisor, you may be worried about losing your job. Additionally, you may be concerned that sexual harassment cases are difficult or impossible to prove, that no one will believe you, or that at the end of it all, your work situation will only become worse. While these are all legitimate concerns, Arizona law is very specific when it comes to protecting victims of sexual harassment, and if you come forward and make a complaint, every effort will be made to make sure that justice is served.

Inappropriate comments, unwanted touching or advances, or even explicit e-mails can all constitute sexual harassment. Arizona law states that in order for advances to be considered sexual harassment, there must be evidence that the advances were unwanted. This means that if someone is acting inappropriately around you at work, it is your responsibility either to let him or her know or to inform your supervisor that the behavior is unwanted and needs to stop. This, of course, can become tricky if your supervisor is the offender in question. In these cases, your best recourse may be to seek legal aid from an attorney who specializes in sexual harassment cases.

In Arizona, you have two options for filing a sexual harassment complaint:  you can either file at the state level or at the federal level. While the federally operated Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is equipped to handle sexual discrimination cases in any state, it can only handle cases that involve employers who have at least 15 employees. Therefore, if you work for a company that is smaller than this, you will have to file your claim with the Arizona Civil Rights Division. However, even if you work a larger company, your lawyer may still advise you to file at the state level, either for the sake of efficiency, or because your case is more appropriate for state statutes.

As tempting as it may be to play a game of wait-and-see with sexual harassment cases, if you're serious about filing a complaint, it is not advisable to wait. Both the CRD and the EEOC operate within a 180-day statute of limitations for sexual discrimination claims, which is how sexual harassment is classified. Moreover, depending on the particulars of your case, you may be up against other legal deadlines. Therefore, it is important for you to file the claim as soon as you have decided to do so. 

After you have filed a formal complaint, the relevant agency will launch an investigation into your claims. Many sexual harassment cases are settled out of court through mediation, so you won't necessarily have to deal with a long and expensive court case. If mediation fails, however, the investigation will progress, and your case will either be dismissed, or you will be given the right to sue your employer.