Sexual Harassment Stories and Experiences

I was too nervous to tell him how I felt

Smeeler, New York

I’m 39 and have worked as a restaurant server all my life. I worked at a Italian grill for about 6 months and my boss constantly made sexual gestures to me: sexual dancing in front of me, and rubbing his nipples then telling me “I know you want me,” poking me in the sides of my ribs from behind…

One night I was leaving work and he slapped me on the ass and said “goodnight.” He had been drinking a lot, but still he had no right doing that to me.

This happened during every shift I worked. And the sad part is that he did it in front of his girlfriend (who’s my other boss). Other people in the workplace seen it to and all I ever did was laugh it off. I was too nervous to confront and tell him how I felt.

There’s a lot more that happened there, but this is just a brief story of the basics.

I quit there a week ago and I am debating on whether to take action or not. Any suggestions?

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 21st, 2008 at 2:36 pm and is filed under Sexual Harassment in the Workplace. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

5 Responses to “I was too nervous to tell him how I felt”

Robin Says:
March 9th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
Stand up for yourself - stand up for all of us! Every time one of us speaks out, we make it a little easier for the next woman. You deserve to be heard.
Tahmy Says:
March 15th, 2008 at 10:47 am
hey, I say you should tell someone about it and like Robin said…when someone talks it makes it easier for others too …one always should the first step ..then others will follow them …so be strong and report him ..people like him should be punished
Miriam Says:
March 20th, 2008 at 3:03 am
If you do not take action, he will do this to someone else. Stop it before he does it to some else. He had no right at all to do that to you. Stand for yourself and for all of us.
Marie Says:
March 29th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
i agree with all of the others..quitting doesnt make it alright cause someone will replace you in that position and if i were u im not sure i would want someone else to be in my position….so id do all i can to protect all other girls not to go through what i did…

but its still up to u
Lisa Says:
April 7th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Quitting was the right thing to do. Now, if you are financially and emotionally able to, take action. It will be a long, hard, expensive, and emotionally taxing road, but in the end, if you stick to your guns, you will win and it will have been worth it. Take care of YOU first and then, take care of business!