Table of Contents
If you work on Staten Island and are being sexually harassed, you’re not imagining it — and you’re not overreacting. Harassment happens in workplaces across the island, from classrooms and offices to restaurants, hospitals, and retail counters. A comment, a stare, or a “joke” that crosses the line can make it hard to focus or feel safe at work.
Those moments add up. When someone controls your hours, pay, or schedule — or makes you feel watched, cornered, or obligated to engage in a personal relationship — it can feel impossible to say no. You deserve to be treated with respect, without intimidation or fear of retaliation. When you’re ready, HarassmentHelp.org is here to help you take the next step safely.
Common Types of Sexual Harassment in Staten Island Workplaces
Sexual harassment can take many forms in Staten Island workplaces, from offices near St. George to schools, hospitals, and job sites across the island. Some behavior is loud and obvious. Other times, it’s quiet but constant. What matters isn’t how it looks to someone else — it’s how it makes you feel at work and whether you still feel safe doing your job.
Verbal Sexual Harassment
Verbal harassment often hides behind humor or “just joking around.” It can be someone commenting on your body, making explicit remarks, or asking personal questions you never invited. Sometimes it’s constant flirting that ignores your boundaries, or the coworker who won’t drop it after you’ve said no. It can also sound like everyday sexism or mocking someone for their gender or sexuality. Over time, these words change how you move — what hallway you take, how you dress, when you speak up, or when you stay quiet. That kind of control doesn’t belong at work.
Non-Verbal Harassment
You don’t need words to feel violated. Non-verbal harassment can look like staring, following, sexual gestures, or sending explicit images and messages. Sometimes it’s someone standing too close or watching in a way that makes your skin crawl. Even small acts build tension over time, leaving you on alert from the moment you clock in. You have every right to expect a workplace where your body isn’t under someone else’s gaze.
Physical Harassment
Physical harassment crosses the line from discomfort to danger. It can be an “accidental” brush, an unwanted touch, or someone blocking your way in a doorway or cornering you in a small space. If you find yourself changing your route, skipping the breakroom, or avoiding certain people, that’s not overreacting: that’s self-protection. No one should have to plan their day around staying out of harm’s reach.
Coerced Relationships and Quid Pro Quo Harassment
Some harassment disguises itself as attention or mentorship. Maybe it starts with private messages after hours or an invitation that feels hard to turn down. But when someone offers better shifts, raises, or career opportunities in exchange for a personal relationship or attention, that’s coercion. A relationship isn’t real when you fear losing your job or being punished for saying no. Power shouldn’t come with strings attached.
Off-Site Harassment
Harassment doesn’t stop when the workday ends. It can happen at holiday parties, off-site trainings, or during the commute home. A co-worker’s comment in a parking lot or a supervisor’s behavior at a bar still count if the connection to work is there. You deserve to feel safe wherever your job takes you, not just within office walls.
What Retaliation Can Look Like After Speaking Up
Retaliation is real, and it doesn’t always look like revenge. Sometimes it’s a quiet shift in how you’re treated after you speak up or set a boundary. Suddenly your hours disappear, your schedule changes, or your workload doubles. Maybe you’re reassigned to a new department, left off group texts, or excluded from meetings you used to run. The isolation can feel like punishment even when no one says it out loud.
Other times retaliation is more direct: write-ups for minor mistakes, sudden “performance issues,” or managers who stop looking you in the eye. You might hear you’re “not a good fit anymore” or get moved to a location that’s impossible to reach. These tactics are designed to make you give up or leave on your own.
Retaliation can be confusing because it makes you question whether you imagined things. You didn’t. Under federal and New York law, punishing someone for resisting harassment or reporting discrimination is illegal. Whether the retaliation comes from a supervisor, HR, or coworkers, it’s a violation of your rights — and you deserve and are entitled to protection.
Get the Information and Support You Need
Where Does Workplace Sexual Harassment Happen on Staten Island?
Harassment can happen anywhere people work: in offices, schools, hospitals, stores, or job sites across Staten Island. But some workplaces make it easier for boundary-crossing to go unchecked. Long shifts, close quarters, and power imbalances can all create pressure to stay quiet. These are a few of the island’s industries where workers often face higher risks.
Healthcare
At Staten Island hospitals and nursing homes, including Staten Island University Hospital and Richmond University Medical Center, long hours and rotating units can blur boundaries. Staff deal with patients, families, supervisors, and visitors — each with the power to make the environment feel unsafe. For home health aides and in-home caregivers, the risks can be even higher. When a patient, relative, or household member behaves inappropriately, it can be hard to speak up without fear of losing work.
Whether you’re in a hospital, clinic, or private home, harassment from anyone you interact with on the job is not part of your duties. When someone who controls your schedule, shift assignments, or evaluations crosses a line, that’s an abuse of power. You have every right to demand respect while doing your job.
Education
Teachers, aides, and support staff in Staten Island schools — from Technical High in New Dorp to smaller parochial and charter schools — often work in tight spaces where gossip and favoritism travel fast. When someone with authority ignores complaints or tells you to “let it go,” the message is clear: your comfort matters less than avoiding conflict. If you find yourself staying late to avoid someone or keeping quiet to protect your job, the environment has already become hostile.
Retail
Retail work on Staten Island means constant contact with the public — at the Staten Island Mall in New Springville, along Bay Street, or inside neighborhood shops where everyone knows each other. Customers, coworkers, and even managers sometimes cross lines under the excuse of “being friendly.” When you rely on tips or steady hours, it can feel risky to push back. But your safety should never depend on someone else’s mood or business goals.
Construction
Construction work on Staten Island happens everywhere, from residential builds in Tottenville to infrastructure projects along the West Shore. The job often means long hours, rough language, and tight crews where power flows through seniority and who controls the schedule. When someone uses that power to intimidate, corner, or touch you, it’s not “part of the culture.”
Many workers stay quiet to protect their spot on the team or to avoid being labeled a problem. But harassment on a construction site is still workplace harassment, no matter how informal the setting. Whether it’s your foreman, a coworker, or a subcontractor, you have the same right to safety and respect as anyone in an office.
Manufacturing and Industrial Work
In Staten Island’s warehouses, shipping centers, and fabrication plants — especially along the West Shore Industrial Corridor — workers often spend long shifts in close quarters. Production deadlines and noisy environments can make it easy for harassment to get overlooked or brushed off as “banter.”
For many, the pressure to keep the job outweighs the urge to speak up, particularly when supervisors control overtime, task assignments, or access to equipment. But you don’t have to tolerate being touched, stared at, or targeted just to stay employed. Everyone deserves a workplace where hard work is respected and personal boundaries are honored.
Understanding Your Rights as a Staten Island Employee
You have the right to a workplace that is free from harassment and retaliation — full stop. Those rights don’t disappear because of where you work or how much power the other person has.
Federal, state, and city laws all protect Staten Island workers from sexual harassment. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces federal laws that ban sexual harassment and retaliation nationwide. These laws apply to most workplaces with 15 or more employees and cover harassment by supervisors, coworkers, or even customers.
The New York State Human Rights Law goes a step further. It recognizes that harassment doesn’t have to be “severe or pervasive” to be illegal. That means smaller, repeated incidents — like comments, texts, or gestures — can still count as harassment if they create a hostile environment.
The New York City Human Rights Law adds even stronger protection. It covers all five boroughs, including Staten Island, and applies to employees, interns, contractors, and many freelancers. The city law makes it clear that gender-based harassment is never acceptable and that employers have a duty to stop it once they know it’s happening.
These overlapping laws exist to make sure you’re protected from every angle. If someone at work, no matter their title, is crossing the line, you have legal options to make it stop. You don’t have to face it alone, and you don’t have to lose your job to be treated with respect
Who We Are – HarassmentHelp.org
HarassmentHelp.org is a project of Phillips & Associates PLLC, a law firm focused on workplace sexual harassment and employee rights. Created by award-winning sexual harassment lawyers, we offer confidential support and practical guidance to help employees understand their rights, navigate workplace retaliation, and make informed decisions to protect their careers.
The HarassmentHelp.org RGA Approach
We guide you through RGA — Rights, Guidance, and Action, a safe and supportive process designed to help you protect yourself, preserve your career, and stop harassment.
- Rights – Understand Your Protections
We help you understand what’s acceptable in the workplace, what crosses the line, and how the law protects you from harassment and retaliation. - Guidance – Build Your Case Safely
We offer confidential, nonjudgmental support before any formal action, helping you evaluate the safest and most effective steps for your situation. - Action – Take Steps With Full Support
You never have to face harassment on your own. We can help you create a plan that feels safe and manageable, and connect you with trusted sexual harassment attorneys who can draft complaints, handle communication for you, or work toward a private resolution.
What to Do If You Are Experiencing Sexual Harassment at Work on Staten Island
If you’re experiencing harassment, here’s how the RGA approach works in real life:
Document What Happened
Write down the incident details as soon as possible—date, time, location, who was involved, and exactly what was said or done. Note any witnesses and save relevant messages, emails, or voicemails. The more detail you record, the stronger your case becomes.
Decide Whether to Confront the Harasser
You are not required to confront the person harassing you. Only consider it if you feel completely safe and supported. In some cases, telling them their behavior is inappropriate and unwelcome may stop it. If you’re unsure, uncomfortable, or fear retaliation, we’ll help you evaluate safer alternatives.
Report the Behavior—Safely and Strategically
Reporting harassment without preparation can be risky. We may be able to help you:
- Prepare a complaint or other communication with clear legal language that documents your rights.
- File a formal complaint with your employer or HR in a way that creates a legal record.
Even if your workplace doesn’t have an HR department, a written complaint to a manager, owner, or supervisor still matters. If harassment comes from a customer or client, your employer is still responsible for addressing it.
Explore a Quiet Resolution Before Filing a Formal Complaint
Sometimes you may want to resolve the situation without going public. Our attorneys can:
- Prepare a confidential summary of events.
- Outline the harm done and your legal protections.
- Communicate directly with your employer respectfully but firmly.
This approach can result in an immediate end to harassment, schedule or department changes, removal of the harasser, or a mediated agreement—without public exposure.
How HarassmentHelp.org Supports You Every Step of the Way
Here’s what working with us looks like from start to finish:
- Confidential Conversation – Share your story in a safe space — no pressure to act right away.
- Evidence Building – We help you keep detailed records of incidents, messages, and witnesses.
- Strategy – Connect you with top sexual harassment attorneys who can help with preparing complaints, filing complaints on your behalf, or pursuing private resolutions.
- Retaliation Guidance – Understand your rights and what steps to take if your employer pushes back.
If You’re Experiencing Harassment, Confidential Help Is Available
If you’re dealing with workplace harassment in Staten Island, it’s normal to feel torn between wanting the conduct to stop but also being worried about losing your job, schedule, or reputation. You don’t have to decide everything today, but connecting with our team at HarassmentHelp.org can help you understand your options, your protections against retaliation, and what moving forward might look like. When you’re ready to talk, we’re here to listen and help you take the next step that feels right for you.
