Carson Sexual Harassment Attorneys

Some may see harassing acts as harmless, lighthearted, or humorous. Victims of sexual harassment, especially, will tell you it’s nothing of the sort. If you’ve experienced workplace harassment of any sort or are unsure, reach out to Carson sexual harassment attorneys at California Employment Counsel, APC, who will provide you with nonjudgemental advice and legal guidance. You do not have to take any transgression against you in stride; letting these violations go will not stop the behavior.

Harassment can lead an employee to dread spending time in their job environment– feeling unsafe, wary, unfocused, or generally distressed. The persecution from work can even result in troubling effects when outside the job environment, such as difficulty sleeping, depression, anxiety, PTSD, and other detrimental consequences.

Some harassments are not always considered illegal under the employment laws of a city or state. Occurrences such as non-hostile annoyances, isolated incidents, and petty slights are not against the law and are viewed only as negative behavior, according to the country’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

This committee considers harassing actions to be those that establish the workplace as an environment a rational, levelheaded person would recognize as hostile, offensive, or intimidating.

Additionally, the harassment that leads to a negative, disrespectful, or threatening job environment must violate the Civil Rights Act (Title VII of 1964), age discrimination statutes (in the Employment Act of 1967), or the disabilities act (1990) for the employee to have a viable harassment claim.

All this means is that the persecuting actions must have infringed upon a person’s class(es) or characteristics that are protected under discrimination laws. These include harassing, whether directly and/or indirectly, the employee based on their race, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, and any disabilities or other genetic features. Harassment can be perpetrated by an employee’s peers, superiors, or clients.

Some examples of direct harassment are instances in which a coworker calls another employee belittling nicknames or slurs, makes mocking or offensive jokes at their expense, or threatens them physically or through intimidation. Harassment doesn’t need to include just any firsthand attacks. Indirect harassment is equally damaging and usually exists in tandem with direct insults.

A few examples of indirect harassment are someone the employee works with, spreading rumors about them, making disparaging jokes behind their back, and sending them offensive messages or other content.

Sexual harassment is also encompassed under harassment that is considered illegal under statutes regarding discrimination. This includes harassing a worker due to their gender identity or their pregnancy.

Sexual harassment is when a worker’s colleague or supervisor makes or implies unwanted sexual advances as well as conducts themself inappropriately. Their behavior and actions may be verbal remarks, unwelcome physical contact, visual innuendos, or sending explicit texts/emails or images.

This includes incidents of sexual assault, groping/touching, rubbing against you, kissing, salacious language or remarks about your body, ogling, stalking, or persistent pressuring for dates. Additionally included are any actions done by one or several employees that result in the job environment becoming a sexually charged or distressing workplace for others– particularly because of their gender.

Indirect sexual harassment could be an employee making sexually suggestive comments, jokes, or conversations in a shared space at work, causing anybody present to feel uncomfortable, self-conscious, or targeted. The display of offensive or inappropriate materials in common areas within the workplace or witnessing the harassment of others can also contribute to a hostile environment.

Displays of affection or signs of personal attachment between work couples are excluded, given it doesn’t interfere with their coworkers’ positive emotional state or ability to conduct their work. Sexual harassment may be interactions between same-gender coworkers, men harassing women, and women harassing men.

Sexual misconduct involves a supervisor with authoritative power offering an employee in exchange for sexual or romantic favors, promotion, or other job advancements, gifts, money, or not facing termination. This type of harassment is referred to as quid pro quo sexual harassment and also applies if the superior merely implied the request/demand. It is also harassment if the supervisor professionally retaliates against a non-compliant employee they have persecuted.

Additionally, favoritism in the workplace that develops a hostile/abusive environment or is based on unlawful reasons can also be discrimination and sexual harassment. However, this may not prohibit favoritism occurring within a consenting relationship.

An applicable example is if some workers receive access to desirable clients/assignments or better pay as a result of submitting to a supervisor’s advances, demands, or offers. Those who do not comply may have a legal claim, even if such proposals were never offered to them. As long as those favors are the only method in which someone could get ahead or benefit, you can file a widespread sexual favoritism claim.

You could feel reluctant to come forward to make your harassment known due to fear of it being used against you or because of feelings of shame or embarrassment. These are normal reactions despite companies’ expectations for their employees to use the provided complaint and anti-harassment procedures and policies put in place. It is a crime for an employer to retaliate against you through professional matters for reporting the harassment.

Unfortunately, if you don’t promptly report an incident of sexual harassment at work, the employer can argue you failed to use the company’s available processes, which may have stopped further harassment, known as an “avoidable consequences defense.” This may absolve the employer of any liability. This defense would not work if the employee did file a complaint but was dismissed or received no resolution through the applicable internal procedures.

Sexual harassment done by a supervisor is automatically viewed as being solely the employer’s responsibility. However, if an employee is harassed by a coworker, then the harassment attorney would need to prove the employer either was aware of or should have noticed the harassment. Their knowledge of it may come from the blatant or widespread nature of the harassment or from a report of said harassment. Filing a claim may serve as important evidence of negligence.

A sexual harassment complaint also solidifies that the advancements or behavior was unwelcome, offensive, upsetting and that you were an unwilling participant if the offender was to claim otherwise. The harasser has, therefore, committed a criminal violation, and it’s crucial that you report an incident of harassment as proof of an offense against you and to protect yourself legally.

If you hesitate to make a formal claim of harassment, many aspects of your life and work could suffer. Your well-being may decline, or your job performance may be affected, which can give the employer or supervisor an excuse to fire you. The employer could also tarnish your credibility if you only report the harassment after you’ve been terminated in an attempt at self-preservation.

It is important to contact a sexual harassment lawyer early after the harassment has happened, typically prior to officially filing a complaint. They can guide you through your specific industry or company’s procedures according to the details of your exact situation and how to proceed in doing so.

If you have suffered from an aggravated sexual assault, be sure to first make contact with your local police or a crisis hotline, followed up by reporting the incident to the authorities. If applicable, it would also be wise to approach a healthcare provider or emergency services to receive proper medical attention. Additionally, you can take precautionary measures by seeking a restraining order against your offender.

Before you prepare to file a harassment report with your employer, contact a lawyer who deals with cases of workplace sexual harassment. They have knowledge and experience that can assist you in knowing what to include in your report and other methods of effective action.

Your employee handbook or other database should offer at least one way to begin documentation of your harassment. This may include applicable forms to fill out and send in or contact information for designated and relevant staff. In California, employers are obligated to respond to all complaints equally and earnestly– whether informal or formal, verbal or written.

What ultimately matters is that you made an intentional effort to report the claim. Written complaints are not required, but it’s advisable to have one and keep copies of it. This is a cautionary measure in the event the employer accuses an employee of never making a harassment claim known or receivable.

If the employer retaliates or fails to respond to the claim either by not investigating it or taking any relevant action, then the harassed employee will have a strong legal argument that the company’s policies are insufficient. This is why it’s essential to still file a report, even if the employer’s procedures for handling such grievances seem to be ineffective or insignificant.

As far as what to include and how to compose the complaint itself, it is advantageous to be direct/blunt and not overly colloquial in your expression of resistance and opposition to the harassment. Employers may have excusable reasons in court for not following up on your report or insist on their ignorance if the complaint did not contain legal terminology or the appropriate vernacular when denouncing the sexual harassment or discrimination as such.

The harassed employee’s formal accusation must effectively convey to the employer that their concerns are reasonable and that the offender has exhibited or continues to act in an unlawful way. Filing a claim promptly to the employer is also more useful than alternative, subtler methods in combating any assertions from the employer that your claim lacked clarity or immediacy to constitute responsive action.

In addition to filing a sufficient report within your company’s provided processes, you also elect to file a complaint with the EEOC or the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). This approach is more formal, so the help of a harassment attorney would be prudent.

Q: What Is Unlawful Harassment in California?

A: Unlawful harassment in one’s place of employment is any instance where typical harassment (discriminatory remarks and conduct) has escalated or reached a point where the employee’s ability to perform their job effectively and/or sense of safety or comfort is infringed upon.

The harassment could leave the worker feeling intimidated, humiliated, abused, offended, or otherwise negatively affected in a hostile workplace environment. The offending party can be owners, supervisors, independent contractors, their peers, or any others present at the establishment.

Q: What Is Quid Pro Quo Harassment in California?

A: This type of sexual harassment refers to when someone in a position of authority offers or implies a proposition to an employee to perform sexual favors in exchange for something.

These culprits could be managers, executives, owners, or any other superior at your place of employment. What they offer in exchange may be gifts, promotions, or other workplace perks, or even to keep your job, threatening termination. Even if you have already accepted some gratuities, you may still be able to take legal action.

Q: Can You Sue for Harassment in California?

A: Yes, you are well within your rights to sue for harassment against you. In Carson, California, the person responsible for the harassment, as well as the employer themself, can both be found liable for the damages resulting from the sexual harassment. You may be able to get compensation for the inflicted damages, such as wages lost and emotional suffering.

Q: What Is Indirect Harassment?

A: This kind of harassment involves the offender not directly persecuting any individual employee but instead, whose actions affect the workplace’s overall healthy environment. Instances of indirect harassment could include making inappropriate jokes or spreading rumors about an employee behind their back, forwarding/sending sexual or offensive content and messages to coworkers, whether accidentally or intentionally, and witnessing the direct harassment of another.

Get in contact with an attorney from California Employment Counsel, APC, who knows the technicalities and specific laws pertaining to appropriate workplace conduct and sexual harassment and who can protect and guide you, whether it’s at your job or in a court setting.