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Know Your Workplace Rights

A few years ago the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission began an outreach program aimed at educating teen workers about their right to work free of sexual harassment and other abuses. One of the agency’s biggest surprises after meeting with youth groups was to learn that teens didn’t know what actions constituted sexual harassment. Many of them had endured uncomfortable behavior on the job without knowing they had experienced sexual harassment.

Knowledge truly is power when it comes to your workplace rights. Knowing your rights means that you know that your company has to ensure that its workplace is safe and free of discrimination and harassment.

You don’t have to put up with illegal behavior. When colleagues send you inappropriate messages, send them an e-mail apprising them of your rights and their potential liability to the company. The more you know about your rights, the better you can state your case. You have no reason to suffer abuse in silence or in ignorance.