Sexual harassment is a serious form of sex discrimination which is in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII is a far reaching federal law that applies to all employers with 15 or more employees and also applies to state, local and federal governments, labor organizations, and employment agencies.
While sexual harassment can be difficult to objectively identify, it always encompasses requests or demands for sexual favors, unwanted sexual advances, and many forms of physical or verbal behaviors that are of a sexual nature. This type of conduct has the potential to adversely affect a person’s employment or unreasonably interfere with his or her work performance. It can also create a hostile or offensive work environment.
What Laws Protect Me From Sexual Harassment?
Can I Be Retaliated Against For Complaining About Sexual Harassment?
What Can I Do If I Was The Victim Of Sexual Harassment?
There are federal and California laws in place to protect you from sexual harassment, whether the perpetrator is a supervisor, a co-worker, or a customer or client you may be doing business with. Furthermore, sexual harassment laws apply to men and women and they explicitly prohibit all forms of sexual harassment, regardless of whether the offending behavior is directed at someone of the same or opposite sex.
In California, the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) exists to prohibit all forms of sexual harassment in the workplace. FEHA protections will apply to:
The primary federal law that prohibits all forms of sexual harassment in the workplace is Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Much like FEHA, Title VII applies to most public and private employers, employment agencies, labor organizations, and also includes employer-union apprenticeship programs that have 15 or more employees.
Absolutely not. Sexual harassment is against the law and retaliating against an employee who complains about or who participates in a sexual harassment investigation is also unlawful.
Let’s consider some examples. Say that an aggrieved employee complains about sexual harassment in the workplace and he or she is then fired while the harasser is allowed to keep their job. Or maybe this same employee is reassigned to a position that pays much less after he or she filed a formal sexual harassment complaint letter. Both examples are potential forms of unlawful retaliation against an employee who was simply acting within their rights.
If you have made up your mind to take action, it is important to work with an attorney that specializes in cases like yours. The sexual harassment lawyers at West Coast Employment Lawyers have extensive experience handling sexual harassment cases. We will work tirelessly to gather the facts, find and interview eyewitnesses, hire experts, and fight for your rights.
We work on a contingency basis, which means we only get attorney’s fees if we are able to recover for you. Our legal team is available 24/7 and will take care of your case from start to finish. For a free no-obligation consultation with a sexual harassment attorney in California, contact our office at 1-800-247-9235.