California Harassment Lawyers
At E&L, LLP, our dedicated harassment attorneys believe everyone deserves to work in a safe, hostility-free environment. Unfortunately, harassment is pervasive in nearly every industry, from offices and warehouses to retail and restaurants. All California employees have a right to be free from unwelcome sexual advances, no matter their gender or sexual identity. California law prohibits workplace harassment of employees because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender, or because the employee does not conform to gender stereotypes.
If your ability to do your job is interrupted by any type of sexual harassment in the workplace, our employment law attorneys want to help restore your confidence by holding the harassing person or party liable for their aggressive and intimidating behavior.
What is Sexual Harassment in California?
A hostile work environment can manifest in several ways and involves unwelcome, severe, or pervasive workplace conduct directed toward an employee based on their sex. This may include Quid pro quo harassment, where an employer places conditions or benefits on the employee’s participation in abusive, offensive, or unwanted sexual conduct. Common examples include threatening to fire an employee if he or they complains about the abusive conduct, or conversely, offers a promotion in exchange for a sexual relationship. There should be no confusion about what types of behavior are permitted in the workplace. While most employees know that sexual harassment is unwelcome or unwanted sexual conduct, most may not know that the harasser does not have to be a supervisor.
Sexual harassment can be committed by harassers who are:
- Company owners
- Employees
- Managers
- Vendors
- Customers
Sexual harassers can be male or female, and can include sexual conduct that is:
- Physical
- Verbal
- In writing or pictures
Sexual harassment interferes with an employee’s job performance and creates a hostile work environment that affects everyone. If you are being sexually harassed at work, no matter your gender or sexual identity, or who the person or people are harassing you, contact our experienced employment law attorneys today to discuss your case and get the help you need to put a stop to the abuse.
What is a Hostile Work Environment in California?
A hostile work environment includes intimidating, abusive, severe, or pervasive conduct that is based on the employee’s gender, gender identity, or sexual characteristics. Unwelcome comments, advances, or physical touching committed by a coworker, supervisor, or employer creates a hostile work environment for more than the person who is being harassed, but everyone who witnesses the behavior. A hostile work environment exists when an employee, no matter their position, is uncomfortable, threatened, or intimidated, negatively affecting their ability to do their job. This can include pervasive comments about an employee’s physical appearance or sexual identity or a single, severe action like physically accosting or inappropriately touching another person inside the workplace. Keep in mind, harassment that creates a hostile work environment does not have to be perpetrated by a supervisor to be illegal. It can include severe or pervasive conduct by another employee, vendor, or client.
If you are being subjected to a hostile work environment, contact our experienced sexual harassment attorneys in today to discuss your difficult circumstances with professionals who can provide the guidance you need to pursue real results.
When is a California Employer Responsible for Sexual Harassment?
There are several layers to holding an employer responsible for a hostile work environment. Each of which is based on their involvement or complicity in the actions that have led to our clients seeking legal help.
First, employers – in most cases – are responsible when someone who can hire, promote, direct, discipline, or fire an employee, like a CEO, supervisor, or officer of the company, is the one who is sexually harassing another. The employer may also be responsible for the harassment or hostile work environment if they knew — or should have known — about the behavior and failed to take corrective actions to protect the employee. Employers should have a harassment policy in place that allows employees to file a complaint when hostile behavior arises in the workplace, and a procedure to investigate those complaints, so they can take prompt action to protect their workforce from abuse.
If your employer has not communicated that such a policy exists in your workplace, and you are being subjected to sexual harassment with nowhere to turn, contact our dedicated employment law attorneys today to schedule a free consultation, so we can hear your story and create a real-time legal strategy to protect your rights.
How Can I Protect My Rights When I Am Being Sexually Harassed in California?
If you are being sexually harassed in the workplace, contact our employment law attorneys right away, so you can get the legal guidance you need to make informed decisions about the direction of your case.
We will first advise you to notify the employer – when an existing sexual harassment reporting policy is in place – or your human resources department about the behavior. If the complaint is not addressed quickly and effectively, you may have grounds to pursue a legal remedy.
When there is no harassment reporting policy, or when the person who is harassing you is a supervisor, officer, or CEO, and you feel as if there is nowhere to turn for help, we will provide the solutions you need to take back control of your workday and hold the abusive person or party accountable for the harm they have caused.
Contact Us Today
If you have been subjected to a hostile work environment, or are being sexually harassed in the workplace, contact our experienced employment law attorneys today at E&L, LLP, by calling (213) 213-0000 for a free case evaluation and consultation.
We won’t charge you until we win! That is our guarantee.
