(412) 212-6465

Monroeville Workplace Sexual Assault Lawyer

If something happened to you at work in Monroeville, Penn Hills, Plum, or elsewhere in eastern Allegheny County, there’s no clock running on when you have to decide what to do next.

Healthcare, home health, and the retail and hospitality businesses along Route 22 make up a lot of this area’s workforce, and each can leave you feeling isolated with very little oversight nearby.

Kennedy Law is here to help you figure out what comes next. Whatever happened, and whenever it happened, you get to set the pace from here.

Call today: (412) 212-6465

Workplace Sexual Assault in Monroeville and Eastern Allegheny County

Assault can happen anywhere, but the structure and environment of some jobs create more opportunities for misconduct to occur and go unaddressed.

In home health, a caregiver can be alone in a client’s home for hours, with no coworker, supervisor, or manager nearby. To prevent an employer from taking accountability, they may attempt to make a claim that a private residence isn’t really a “workplace.” It is.

In healthcare settings, it is much more common to experience understaffed shifts and close physical contact with patients, both are circumstances which can create a similar risk for employees.

In the retail, food service, and hospitality businesses around Monroeville Mall and the Route 22 corridor, closing shifts, stockrooms, and after hours events can leave younger or part-time workers alone with a coworker or manager.

Where it happened, whether a client’s home, a hospital floor, or a stockroom near the mall, doesn’t change whether it’s worth reporting.

How Workplace Sexual Assault Claims Differ From Harassment Claims

Sexual assault at work is treated differently from harassment in a few important ways.

A civil case against your employer can move forward whether or not criminal charges are ever filed, and whether or not those charges actually lead to a conviction. These two processes are separate, and one doesn’t depend on the other.

You may also find that you have a claim against more than one party: the person who assaulted you and your employer. Especially if the employer knew, or should have known about a risk, such as prior complaints about the same person, and failed to act accordingly.

Pennsylvania doesn’t have one single law written specifically for workplace sexual assault, as these types of cases typically draw on a combination of discrimination law, employer negligence principles, and other legal claims against the individual involved.

Our team at Kennedy Law can walk you through exactly which of those apply to you and your situation.

Reporting Options: A Civil Claim, a Criminal Report, or Both

Monroeville Workplace Sexual Assault Lawyer

You’re not required to choose one path today, or ever, if you’d rather not.

A civil claim against your employer is handled separately from a criminal report to police, on its own timeline, whether the person who assaulted you was a coworker, a patient, or someone in a client’s home.

Some people pursue both routes. Others focus on one. And many take time before deciding on either.

There’s no wrong order of operations here, and skipping a police report doesn’t immediately close off a civil claim down the road, if that’s how you choose to proceed.

Where Eastern Allegheny County Cases Are Filed

A civil claim connected to your case is typically filed in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, at the Allegheny County Courthouse, located at 436 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. This is the same court that handles claims from all across the county. If there is also a discrimination law aspect to your case, that claim will go through one of the following: the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Pittsburgh Area Office at the William S. Moorhead Federal Building, which sits at 1000 Liberty Avenue, Suite 1112, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, or the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission’s Pittsburgh Regional Office, which is located at 301 Fifth Avenue, Suite 390, Piatt Place, Pittsburgh, PA 15222.

If you choose to make a separate criminal report, that is handled independently by the local police and the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office, which is located at the same Grant Street location listed above.

Support Resources Right Now

A lawyer isn’t always the first call, and that’s okay.

The two resources above are free, confidential, and always available whether or not you ever choose to begin a legal claim.

Retaliation After Reporting

Retaliation for reporting an assault, however you reported it, whether it was internally, to police, or to a lawyer, is against the law.

Retaliation can look like a sudden schedule change, a write-up that appears out of nowhere, or being pushed out after you come forward.

Your job shouldn’t depend on staying quiet.

What to Do Now

There’s no single right way to respond to this, but doing a few proactive things can help you and protect your options going forward:

  1. If you need medical care, get it, whether or not you’ve decided about reporting the incident.
  2. Reach out to a support resource, like PAAR or the National Sexual Assault Hotline, if you want to talk to somone before making a decision on anything else.
  3. When you’re ready, write down everything that you remember: dates, where it happened, and anyone nearby who might have witnessed something.
  4. Think through your reporting options at your own pace. As mentioned, a police report and a civil claim don’t have to happen together at the same time, or right away.
  5. Hold off on signing anything that your employer hands you, especially if it’s a severance agreement, until you’ve had time to talk to a lawyer.
  6. Try not to wait too long to get the ball rolling. Several different deadlines can apply, depending on the specifics of your case, and some are more strict than people assume.

You don’t have to have all of this figured out before you call. We can help you sort out what matters and what doesn’t.

Why Eastern Allegheny County Survivors Choose Kennedy Law

You’ll speak directly with our intake specialist, when you’re ready to discuss the incident, not a constantly rotating team, or generic call center.

Kennedy Law practices out of Pittsburgh and, our founder, Attorney Nick Kennedy, belongs to the Western Pennsylvania Employment Lawyers Association (WPELA), who focus on employee rights and advocate for equality and justice in the workplace.

Kennedy Law also works with employees across Western Pennsylvania, including Allegheny, Westmoreland, Washington, Butler, Beaver, and Erie counties, and takes assault cases seriously, on whatever timeline feels right to you.

Frequently Asked Questions

No. A civil claim doesn’t depend on a police report or criminal charges being filed. The two paths run independently of each other.

Possibly. Your employer is still responsible for your safety even when your workplace is a client’s home, especially if there were warning signs the employer knew about and didn’t act on.

Not automatically. Deadlines depend on the type of claim, and some may still be available even after time has passed. A conversation can tell you where things actually stand.

Yes. Reaching out doesn’t commit you to anything. A lot of people start with a conversation just to understand where they stand.

We Are Here When You're Ready

If something happened to you at work in Monroeville, Penn Hills, Plum, or anywhere in eastern Allegheny County, you don’t have to figure out what to do next by yourself.

Mr. Kennedy, and the Kennedy Law team, will listen, on your timeline, not anyone else’s.

Call (412) 212-6465 for a free, confidential consultation.