A workplace-harassment record should preserve what happened, who observed it, how the employer was notified, what response followed, and any later employment action without editing the original communications.

This page provides general information and does not decide whether particular conduct violates employment law. Coverage, legal standard, employer size, worker status, location, timing, reporting path, and available remedies can differ. Obtain employment-law guidance promptly when a filing or response period may apply.

Record each event separately

  • Date, time, place, work setting, people present, job roles, reporting relationships, exact words or conduct, response, and immediate effect
  • Original email, text, chat, image, recording if lawfully created, calendar entry, schedule, assignment, performance document, pay record, complaint, witness note, and physical evidence
  • Whether the conduct involved a request, condition, threat, employment decision, repeated comment, physical contact, image, message, customer, coworker, supervisor, manager, vendor, or another person
  • Earlier similar event, later event, stated objection, request to stop, report, witness, management knowledge, investigation step, corrective action, and follow-up
  • Keep personal notes factual and dated; distinguish what was personally observed from what another person reported

Use the current federal standard, not a label alone

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission explains on its sexual-harassment page that prohibited harassment can include unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, and offensive remarks about a person’s sex. The Commission also distinguishes ordinary isolated conduct from conduct that is sufficiently frequent or severe or results in an adverse employment decision.

The identity of the alleged harasser matters to the analysis. Record whether that person was a supervisor, coworker, customer, client, contractor, or another person and what authority the person had over hiring, firing, pay, schedule, assignments, discipline, evaluation, or working conditions. Do not assume the same employer rule applies to every role or response.

Preserve the employer-reporting path

The EEOC’s workplace-harassment guidance directs workers to review an employer’s policy and reporting options and explains that reporting, participating in an investigation, or opposing prohibited conduct can be protected from retaliation. Preserve the policy version in effect, handbook receipt, reporting channel, complaint, delivery proof, investigation communications, findings, and response.

  • Person or channel notified, date, method, exact information supplied, requested action, acknowledgement, investigator, interview, evidence request, interim measure, and stated conclusion
  • Schedule, hours, location, duties, access, pay, benefits, evaluation, discipline, leave, promotion, transfer, termination, reference, or other change before and after the report
  • Reason the employer gave for each action and the contemporaneous record supporting or disputing that reason
  • Continued conduct, new conduct, contact restrictions, confidentiality instructions, witness treatment, and whether promised follow-up occurred

Keep filing routes and time limits separate

Title VII contains federal coverage, charge, notice, and enforcement provisions. EEOC public pages identify general charge-filing periods, but the applicable period and process can depend on jurisdiction, claim, employer, worker, prior agency route, and federal-employment status. A workplace complaint is not necessarily an EEOC charge, and an EEOC inquiry is not necessarily a filed charge.

North Carolina G.S. 143-422.2 states the State’s public policy concerning employment opportunity without discrimination on listed grounds by employers regularly employing 15 or more employees. The declaration should not be used as a substitute for identifying the actual claim, enforcement route, defendant, and deadline.

  • Identify private, state, local, federal, military, contractor, union, student, intern, volunteer, or other work status before selecting a process
  • Record the date of each alleged act, employer report, agency contact, intake, charge, amendment, notice, response, mediation, determination, and right-to-sue document
  • Preserve envelope, email header, portal timestamp, case number, assigned office, instructions, and proof of submission
  • Do not wait for an internal process to finish without confirming whether an external filing period continues to run

Sources