Frequently Asked Questions

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Sexual harassment in the workplace can be many different things in Tennessee. This list includes some of the most common types of sexual harassment conduct:

1. Sexual comments directed at someone in the workplace. 
2. Sexual comments or jokes consistently said in the workplace - around others.
3. The touching of someone without their consent, usually in a sexual or intimate way (touching of breasts, buttocks, private area, rubbing of shoulders/arms etc.)
4. Texting or sending messages to someone that are sexual - about their looks, body or sexual requests.
5. Showing sexual pictures or videos at work.
6. Asking deeply personal and intimate details about someone's life.
7. Telling people about sexual conquests or sexual experiences.
8. Requesting sexual pictures from someone else.

There are many possible steps to a sexual harassment lawsuit. Some of the most common steps in the lawsuit are the following:

1) Talk to attorney about all details of sexual harassment/sexual assault lawsuit and send texts, messages and documents related to case to the attorney. 

2) Attorney drafts sexual harassment Complaint, which is the opening document in the lawsuit. It tells the story of what happened and outlines the claims brought by the Plaintiff (Plaintiff is the person bringing the lawsuit). 

3) Attorney drafts Interrogatories (written questions), Requests for Production (document requests) and potentially Requests for Admission (requests for Defendants to admit to certain facts) to Defendants to gather information and documents from the employer etc.

4) Client approves Complaint before lawsuit is filed by the attorney.

5) Lawsuit is filed in Court by the attorney.

6) After the lawsuit is filed, the Defendant has 30 days to file an Answer (a response to the allegations) to the Complaint. Often, an attorney will show up late in the process and ask for an extension of time to file an Answer. As a result, it can sometimes be 45 - 60 days before the Answer is filed.

7) Defendant responds to Interrogatories (written questions), Requests for Production (document requests), and Requests for Admission (requests for the Defendants to admit certain facts). This is when the Plaintiff will get more details about the position of the Defendants in the case.

8) Defendant sends Interrogatories, Requests for Production and Requests for Admission to the Plaintiff. Plaintiff and attorney work on these responses together.

9) The attorneys on both sides go back and forth to make sure they have the appropriate information that is responsive to their questions, along with all the documents that were requested. This usually takes time and sometimes requires the filing of a motion by one or both parties to obtain additional documents and information pertaining to the case. This is the written discovery phase of a case.

10) The parties usually have initial discussions on whether there is a path to resolve the case by settlement or mediation - prior to beginning depositions. If not, the parties proceed to depositions.

11) Depositions are taken of the parties and witnesses. The Plaintiff (party brining the lawsuit) usually provides their deposition first. The Defendant(s) (party that is sued) representatives and employees then provide depositions regarding their knowledge and information. Other important witnesses also provide their deposition. Depositions are where the attorney asks questions of the witness, sometimes for hours, about the case and the facts and circumstances of what is at issue in the case. The deposition is provided under oath with a court reporter transcribing all the testimony. 

12) Mediation. Usually after depositions, if mediation has not already happened, the parties mediate the case with a neutral third-party mediator. The mediation is designed to try to resolve the differences between the parties, if possible. The parties select and hire a mediator who is a trained professional who helps parties resolve cases.

13) If the case does not settle at mediation, the case is ready to be set for trial. A trial is usually somewhere between 2 - 3 years after the filing of the lawsuit. The individuals who decide the case are the jury, twelve people from your peers in the community where the case is filed. 

Attorney Jason Lee has significant experience handling Tennessee sexual harassment cases. Over the past several years, this has been the complete focus of his law practice. He has gone to trial in multiple sexual harassment cases across the State of Tennessee.

Attorney Jason Lee has handled hundreds of sexual harassment cases over the last 10 years. Most of these cases settle at some point, but some require going to trial and attorney Jason Lee has gone to trial with Tennessee jury's in several cases. In the past 9 years, attorney Jason Lee has recovered over $24,000,000.00 for clients in sexual harassment and sexual assault cases.

The answer is yes, as long as it complies with Tennessee law to support a claim for battery. Battery is the claim for an improper, unlawful touching of your body (often buttocks, breasts or private area - but other areas of your body also come within this claim). A battery claim is defined under Tennessee law as “an intentional act that causes an unpermitted, harmful or offensive bodily contact”. See Lacy v. Meharry Gen. Hosp., 2022 WL 2981508, at *6 (Tenn. Ct. App. July 28, 2022). Further, the bodily contact “is offensive if it offends a reasonable sense of personal dignity ordinarily respected in a civil society.” Doe v. Mama Taori's Premium Pizza, 2001 WL 327906, at *4 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2001). 

This question is not able to be answered with an exact specific answer. Sometimes there are exceptions to the rule (for instance if someone is a minor, or incapacitated etc.). However, as a general rule, a sexual harassment case filed under the Tennessee Human Rights Act for sexually hostile work environment, needs to be filed within 1 year of the last event of sexual harassment. Additionally, usually, tort claims that may be brought with the sexual harassment case usually need to be filed within 1 year of the event (like battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence etc.).

Attorney Jason Lee handles sexual harassment cases on a contingency fee basis. He is paid a percentage of any settlement or recovery. He is not paid by the hour and there are no upfront payments for attorney fees. 

Attorney Jason Lee's law firm fronts all of the costs and expenses of the case as it proceeds. This is only paid back to his firm if there is a recovery. If the case is not successful (no recovery), then no money is owed to his firm.

Attorney Jason Lee has handled many sexual harassment and sexual assault cases involving a minor in Tennessee. There is caselaw that discusses that in an employment sexual harassment context, the standard is even higher for employers when dealing with a minor employee. The employer must do more to protect them from sexual harassment.

There is a Federal Middle District of Tennessee case dealing with sexual harassment of a minor that discusses this higher standard. In  E.E.O.C. v. Finish Line, Inc., 915 F. Supp. 2d 904, 922 (M.D. Tenn. 2013) the court stated specifically that " “this conduct may not be objectively severe or pervasive enough to create an actionable claim under Title VII for an adult female”, but “given Fulton's conduct toward the juveniles Roberts and Watson, and Hopmayer's status as a juvenile for a period of her employment, the Court concludes that a jury could find Fulton's conduct sufficiently severe.” This shows that the requirement for the conduct to be "severe" has a lower standard when dealing with a minor employee in Tennessee for a sexual harassment case. There are additional cases that find this same way. 

When a plaintiff is a minor, the parent or guardian of the minor must bring the case if they are not yet 18 years of age. Once they become 18 years of age, then the case transitions to the minor (now an adult) for complete handling. Once they are an adult, the parent has no role in the case.

Under Tennessee Law, a sexual harassment “quid pro quo” claim is established using the following elements to support the cause of action:

1. that the employee was a member of a protected class (usually female);
2. that the employee was subjected to unwelcome sexual harassment in the form of sexual advances or requests for sexual favors;
3. that the harassment complained of was based on sex;
4. that the employee’s submission to the unwelcome advances was an express or implied condition for receiving job benefits or that the employee’s refusal to submit to the supervisor’s demands resulted in a tangible job detriment; and
5. the existence of respondeat superior liability.

Sanders v. Lanier, 968 S.W.2d 787, 789 (Tenn. 1998). This type of claim mainly focuses on unwanted sexual advances or requests for sexual favors. 

There is no set formula that allows us to answer this question. Every case has a unique value based on the facts of what happened, the severity of the sexual harassment, the length of the sexual harassment and the bad actions of the employer. 

In Tennessee these claims are brought under several different legal theories. The Tennessee Human Rights Act is the statute that provides a specific sexual harassment claim. However, there are caps on damages under the Tennessee statute for sexual harassment. These caps are on non-economic damages (for emotional distress etc.) and the caps are the following:

Less than 15 employees: $25,000.00

15-100 employees: $50,000.00

101-200 employees: $100,000.00

201 - 500 employees: $200,000.00

Greater than 500 employees: $300,000.00

Keep in mind that these maximum amounts do not include economic damages (like wage loss). They also do not include the various other potential damages that you can have in a sexual harassment/sexual assault case. There are other legal theories that potentially allow you to recover additional damages for your case. These do not apply to every case, but depending on the facts, those tort claims can bring a significant additional potential recovery. As a result, some cases certainly have a higher value then the caps set forth above.

You can call 615-252-5591 to talk to us so we can gather information on whether you have a case where we could help you. Sometimes we need documents, messages and other pieces of evidence to get the entire picture of the case. 

After the initial call, we will let you know if we can help you or not and the next step will be to talk to sexual harassment attorney Jason Lee about your case and all of the facts of what happened. You can also email Jason Lee directly at jlee@burrowlee.com