Kathleen Cahill Law
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© Kathleen Cahill Law. 2026 | All rights reserved.
(410) 321-6171
Sexual harassment at work can be unwelcome conduct that builds slowly — comments and requests that escalate over weeks or months — or it can be a single incident severe enough to change how safe you feel at work. Baltimore’s workforce spans hospital systems, universities, the port, hospitality, financial services, city government, and more. I have represented employees across all sectors and industries in harassment and hostile work environment claims. As a sexual harassment attorney whom Baltimore employees have turned to for decades, I handle sexual harassment matters with the urgency they warrant. I quickly respond to unpack what happened, assess the available claims, build the strongest version of the record, and help you chart the best path for your individual needs – whether that is to demand an internal investigation, seek an immediate resolution, file an administrative agency charge, or file a lawsuit.
Sexual harassment in the workplace covers a wide range of conduct, from a single extreme incident to a sustained pattern of unwelcome conduct, and Maryland law treats these situations differently depending on severity, frequency, and context. Some conduct violates a company’s internal policy without necessarily amounting to a violation of the law; other conduct is serious enough, standing alone, to support a claim the very first time it happens.
Baltimore employees have an additional option that isn’t available everywhere in the state: the city’s Office of Civil Rights and Community Relations Commission accepts and investigates workplace harassment and discrimination complaints arising from conduct within Baltimore. In contrast to the EEOC or Maryland Commission on Civil Rights, that local option can entail a more protracted process than going straight to the state or federal agency.
Whichever path fits your situation, understanding your full range of options early — before you’ve said or signed anything that limits them — puts you in the strongest position to chart the best path for your individual needs and circumstances.
Sexual harassment is treated under the law as a form of sex discrimination, and it reaches offensive conduct tied to your sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity. The line between what’s merely unprofessional or a violation of policy and what’s actually illegal depends on the type of conduct involved, considering all the circumstances. So understanding where your experience fits is often the first step toward figuring out whether a legal line was crossed and what you can do about it.
Sexual misconduct covers unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that may or may not independently amount to illegal harassment — comments with a sexual edge or innuendo, unwanted touching short of a sexual assault, explicit jokes or images, or persistent requests for a date after being told no. Whether a specific incident is legally actionable often comes down to how severe it was and whether it was part of a larger pattern. Even conduct that doesn’t clearly cross a legal line can still violate your employer’s own policy, and reporting it internally can be helpful and warranted — it can stop the behavior and build a record if things escalate later. In some instances, an experienced sexual harassment lawyer can help you get meaningful relief even when the conduct does not clearly cross the legal line.
Workplace sexual assault means unwanted sexual contact or touching, and it can support both a criminal case and a civil claim against your employer and the person responsible. Unlike many harassment claims, which typically depend on a pattern developing over time, a single act of sexual assault can support a claim entirely on its own. If this has happened to you, it is worth examining both the civil claims options, including compensation from an employer that failed to prevent or address the conduct, and whether a criminal complaint against the person who assaulted you is available and warranted given your individual needs and circumstances.
Quid pro quo harassment happens when someone with authority over your job — a supervisor, a manager, anyone who can affect the terms of your employment — conditions a job benefit like a raise, a promotion, or even continued employment on your submission to unwelcome sexual advances, or threatens to take away a job benefit if you refuse. In such circumstances, a single incident is enough to support a claim, because the harm comes from the coercive link between the demand and your livelihood, not from repetition. These cases can come down to a credibility battle, so documenting and reporting as soon as possible is helpful.
A hostile work environment claim usually involves a pattern — offensive comments, sexual “jokes,” displayed material, or repeated unwanted contact — severe or frequent enough to change the conditions of your job. It doesn’t have to come from your boss: coworkers, clients, contractors, or vendors can all create an unlawful environment. When the harasser isn’t a supervisor, you’ll generally need to show that your employer knew or should have known about the conduct but failed to act. Courts weigh the full picture — how often it happened, how severe it was, whether it felt physically threatening or offensive to your sensibilities, and whether it affected your ability to do your job — which is why a documented pattern over time is often the heart of a hostile environment sexual harassment case.
Employers in Baltimore have a legal obligation to prevent and address all forms of discriminatory workplace conduct, including sexual harassment. These obligations arise under federal Title VII, Maryland’s Fair Employment Practices Act, and in some cases Baltimore’s civil rights ordinance. Those laws generally require that employers maintain an effective policy, provide employees a meaningful way to report misconduct, and respond promptly and effectively once a report is made or the misconduct comes to light. An employer who ignores a complaint, fails to investigate, or lets a known harasser continue unchecked can be held liable in its own right, separate from the claims against the harasser individually.
How strictly an employer is held to that standard can depend on who did the harassing — the bar is generally higher for supervisor harassment than for harassment by coworkers or outsiders — but in either case, whether the employer provided a prompt and reasonable response matters to how a claim ultimately plays out. Under Maryland’s anti-discrimination laws, part of my job is figuring out exactly what your employer knew, when they knew it, and whether their response actually met their legal obligations.
Retaliation for reporting harassment is unfortunately common, even though it is illegal. Illegal retaliation can take the form of your employer punishing you for raising a complaint, participating in an investigation, or otherwise opposing conduct you reasonably believed was illegal — through demotion, marginalization, a sudden negative review, reduced hours, or termination. The law protects you against retaliation even if your underlying harassment complaint does not separately succeed, as long as you raised it honestly. Sexual harassment and retaliation often develop together in these cases, and sometimes the retaliation becomes the stronger claim once the harassment itself has stopped and is easier to prove given the timeline. If your work situation changed for the worse shortly after you reported what happened, that timing points to a potential claim, and it is worth having an attorney take a close look at whether it crosses into unlawful retaliation.
Filing a sexual harassment claim in Baltimore generally follows one of a few paths, and which one makes sense depends on your goals and circumstances:
Most sexual harassment claims under federal law start with a charge filed with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, commonly known as the EEOC. Baltimore employees also have the option of filing with the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights, or, for conduct that occurred within the city, with the Baltimore Office of Civil Rights. These agencies work under cooperative agreements with each other to share and distribute their heavy caseloads. Filing deadlines are strict across all of them, typically measured in months rather than years, so getting advice early matters even before you’ve decided whether to move forward.
Once a charge is filed, the agency investigates and may resolve the matter through mediation, a negotiated settlement, or a formal finding. If it isn’t resolved at the agency level, you’ll generally receive a notice allowing you to file suit. I help clients figure out which agency makes the most sense to file with, respond to agency requests along the way, and decide when and how to move a claim into litigation if that becomes the best and necessary course.
Strong evidence is usually what separates harassment claims that settle well from ones that struggle to be considered with the seriousness they deserve. That evidence can include messages or emails from the harasser, witness accounts from coworkers who saw or heard what happened, your own contemporaneous notes about dates and specific language used, performance reviews that suddenly turn negative after you complained, and any internal complaint along with how your employer responded to it. As I tell every client: start documenting as early as possible, even before you’ve decided whether to pursue a formal claim. Memories fade, witnesses move or move on, and messages disappear, but a record created close in time to the events and preserved can carry real weight later.
If you’re dealing with sexual harassment at work right now, implementing a few steps early on can meaningfully strengthen your position:
Sexual harassment is hard enough to live through without also having to figure out the legal side on your own. That is even more so if you are still working for the person or company responsible for it. I represent Baltimore employees in harassment claims involving misconduct, assault, quid pro quo harassment, hostile work environment, and retaliation, and I know the relevant agencies, employers, and courts. If your situation touches on broader employment law issues, my Baltimore employment law page covers the full range of matters I handle. For a Baltimore sexual harassment attorney ready to help you figure out the right path forward, and quickly, contact me today.
Kathleen Cahill Law
N/a