Work and work-related functions are rarely limited to an office environment. Many workers travel for business, and it is also common for Berkeley area companies to host employee events at off-site commercial properties. Unfortunately, events like these sometimes lead to incidents of sexual assault.
At the Law Office of Scott R. Herndon, we are passionate advocates for survivors who experience assault on commercial and event properties in Berkeley. If you are a workplace assault survivor, you may be experiencing fear and uncertainty about your job as well as your safety. We can help you understand your rights and legal options for seeking accountability from all at-fault parties, potentially including your employer.
If an employee is sexually assaulted in the workplace (whether by another employee or a client/customer), the employer could be considered legally liable. However, liability might also extend to assaults that occur off-site (such as at commercial or event properties in the Berkeley area) if the employee was there in a work-related capacity.
Examples include:
Employer liability is not automatic in these situations. Instead, it will often depend on factors such as how closely related the assault was to work or the company, whether employee attendance was mandatory/strongly encouraged or optional, and whether elements within the employer’s control might have contributed to or facilitated the assault.
For instance, an employer might be found liable if one of their employees was assaulted at a mandatory off-site teambuilding event where the employer also supplied alcohol to attendees.
When you contact our firm for help, we begin by listening. We want to know what happened and how it has impacted your health, finances, personal life, and career. Then, we work to identify all at-fault parties and build a case for accountability and compensation. In a lawsuit regarding a work-related assault on a Berkeley commercial property, available damages might include:
In addition to your employer, we may be able to help you seek damages in civil actions against other parties, including your abuser and the owner of the commercial property where the assault occurred. As a firm practicing both personal injury and employment law, we are ideally positioned to help you pursue all options for compensation.
At the Law Office of Scott R. Herndon, we are honored to advocate for people whose lives have been upended by sexual harassment and assault, including assault on commercial and event properties in Berkeley. Our in-depth legal knowledge and experience is matched by our compassion for and dedication to each client we serve.
If you’d like to learn more about your legal options, we invite you to contact our firm for a free and confidential consultation with an attorney. You can tell us your story, get answers to your difficult questions, familiarize yourself with the legal process, and discuss potential next steps to consider.
