Sexual Harassment Lawyer

Sexual Harassment is unwelcome verbal, visual or physical conduct of a sexual nature that is severe or pervasive and affects working conditions or creates a hostile work environment.

According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when:

• This conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual’s employment or
• Unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.

What our Sexual Harassment Lawyers Can Help You With:

1. Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment

When some term of employment is conditioned upon the employee accepting or submitting to the harasser’s sexual advances or sexual favors. “Quid pro quo” essentially means “this for that”. This type of harassment could either be in the form of an offer or a threat.

NOTE: A single act from the harasser is sufficient to be considered quid pro quo sexual harassment.

Examples of Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment

• Request for sexual favors such as an employer or supervisor offering an employee a raise in exchange for sex.
• A supervisor telling an employee to have sex with him or face termination.
• A supervisor telling an employee to have sex with him or face demotion.
• A job applicant being asked to engage in sexual acts in order to obtain a position.

2. Hostile Work Environment Sexual Harassment

Here, we are dealing with a situation when conduct is so severe or pervasive that it creates a hostile work environment. Due to the sexual harassment, the employee’s work environment is made hostile, offensive, oppressive, intimidating, or abusive.

For hostile work environment sexual harassment, courts look at several factors including the nature of the conduct, frequency, number of days, and context of the conduct.

NOTE: The conduct must be severe OR pervasive. Generally, hostile work environment involves multiple acts or a pattern of harassment over time that becomes pervasive. Sometimes a single act that is so severe creates a hostile work environment (e.g., sexual assault).

Examples of Hostile Work Environment Situations our Sexual Harassment Lawyers Work with:

• Unwelcome sexual advances
• Sexual comments, slurs or taunts
• Groping, kissing or unwanted touching
• Sending sexually explicit emails, texts or pictures
• Pervasive displays of materials with sexually explicit images or language

Laws That Protect Against Sexual Harassment

Both state and federal laws protect employees against sexual harassment.

FEDERAL LAW
Title VII of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 makes discrimination on the basis of sex unlawful. Under Title VII, sexual harassment is actually one form of sex discrimination.

STATE LAW
In California, the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) explicitly makes sexual harassment unlawful. The FEHA generally provides more protection and damages for employees.