My wife has been sexually harassed at work but is scared to file a complaint. what can I do as her husband?

I suggest that you help your wife find medical, emotional and legal help, in that order. Suicidal thinking is dangerous. Get to a psychologist or psychiatrist who has experience in harassment and domestic violence. Emotionally, be there for her. She is going through a very hard time and can use your support.

For legal help, call employment lawyers from Indiana who are 1) listed on this site, or 2) are members of the National Employment Lawyers Association (check the attorney directory on NELA.org,). Look up those lawyers on AVVO.com and Lawyers.com to see how their clients and other lawyers rate them. Get as close to a 10 on AVVO as you can. An "AV" is the best rating on Lawyers.com. If they are Super Lawyers, that is a good sign too. Check their websites to make sure they represent individuals.

Attorneys who represent individuals should be interested in taking this company to task. If you were in Ohio, we would meet and map out goals and a strategy. The status quo is unacceptable, so something has to change. Your wife has some legal tools available for changing how the company treats her, like a complaint of unlawful harassment, and she will have legal rights against the company if it terminates her for making the complaint. Your wife also controls where she works, so if work is killing her, she should seriously consider not going there anymore. However, that has its own set of legal and financial consequences.

Finally, recognize that, as the husband, you have an emotional stake in what happened to her at work. Do your best to not let it interfere with her making the medical, emotional and work decisions that are best for her. Support her in whatever course she charts and things will get better.

posted by Neil Klingshirn  |  Sep 29, 2015 1:33 PM [EST]