Workplace sexual harassment can be incredibly embarrassing, humiliating, and traumatizing for any employee. That reality is only magnified when the victim of that harassment is someone of an especially young age. Here in New York, victims who need to pursue civil legal action have tools at their disposal to protect their privacy, including proceeding anonymously under a pseudonym (such as “Jane Doe”) if you have experienced sexual harassment at work and are worried about unwanted exposure that a lawsuit could bring, talk to an experienced New York sexual harassment lawyer, who can go over the options available to you for proceeding anonymously.
A recent sexual harassment case from Staten Island is a good example of the factors courts will consider and how a victim’s youth may help persuade a court to permit anonymity.
The employee was a woman who began working for her employer at 16 years old. For more than three years on the job, Doe allegedly endured “a sustained course of verbal, physical, and electronic harassment” carried out by coworkers and supervisors alike. Specifically, Doe’s lawsuit asserted that one coworker, A.R., engaged in “repeated sexualized battery, verbal harassment, and unwanted contact, while A.M., who was a supervisor, did not merely allow the conduct but actually condoned it.
Doe, according to the lawsuit, made “repeated complaints” to her supervisor and an assistant manager, but the harassment continued until the end of her employment in late 2024. Based on these complaints and others, Doe asserted that the business’s owners, P.B. and P.F., knew, or reasonably should have known, of the harassment but did nothing to stop it.
The lawsuit proceeded under the New York City Human Rights Law and various forms of negligence (negligent hiring, negligent retention, negligent supervision, and negligent training).
Because of the nature of the sexual harassment the woman alleged that she endured, she asked the court to proceed in the case under the pseudonym “Jane Doe” because the details of the harassment were “intensely personal, sensitive, and stigmatizing.”
While noting that the “presumption of openness in judicial proceedings is a foundational principle” ensuring transparency, the court agreed with the plaintiff and allowed her to proceed under a pseudonym.
‘Stigma, Harassment, or Harm’
The court explained that New York law has a specific standard to guide courts when they are called upon to decide potential pseudonym matters. That analysis focuses upon “whether disclosure would subject the party to stigma, harassment, or harm of such magnitude as to warrant judicial protection.”
The court in Doe’s case concluded that the details of her alleged harassment were of sufficient magnitude. The woman’s allegations asserted a pattern of abuse that included “repeated sexualized battery and harassment” that began when she was a minor (age 16) and continued until her employment ended approximately three and one-half years later. Given Doe’s age and the intimate nature of the harassment, the court was “persuaded that the allegations, including repeated sexualized battery and harassment endured from adolescence into adulthood, present circumstances where the plaintiff’s privacy interests are substantial.”
Additionally, the court concluded that allowing the woman to proceed under a pseudonym would not harm the defendants’ pursuit of their case, a factor that further weighed in favor of allowing her to proceed under a pseudonym. The court highlighted that defense counsel knew the woman’s true identity, meaning they were fully capable of investigating the case and building a complete and robust defense presentation. As the court explained in support of allowing the use of the pseudonym, “when identity is known to adversaries, pseudonymity merely guards against unnecessary public dissemination.”
Sexual harassment matters can present many delicate questions, including how to proceed anonymously, how to proceed against an employer that is also your current employer, and more. For these challenging questions, look to the New York City sexual harassment attorneys at Phillips & Associates PLLC for help. Our team is highly experienced in fighting for justice for the victims of sexual harassment, so we know how to proceed aggressively while also maintaining your privacy and dignity. To find out more, contact us online or at (866) 229-9441 to set up a free and confidential consultation today.