If you are being subjected to unwanted sexual advances or vulgar words or gestures, then you may have a serious legal matter on your hands. Sexual harassment in the workplace is illegal in California law. Under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, as well as federal law thanks to Title VII. In the San Francisco area, we take pride in our award-winning employee satisfaction, which means that mistreatment of employees, including sexual harassment, is not tolerated kindly.
You may not realize it, but your employer has a legal duty to protect his or her employees from sexual harassment, as well as a legal duty to act on sexual harassment allegations. Unfortunately, this does not help much if your employer is the one who is doing the harassing. Instances like these can be especially frightening because there is an understandable fear that victims of sexual harassment will be punished for making a complaint against their superiors.
Victims who are frightened or anxious about filing a sexual harassment complaint will be pleased to know that retaliation for such an act is also illegal under FEHA and Title VII. This means that you cannot be fired or punished for making a complaint about sexual harassment, and if you are fired for such an act, you could potentially bring a wrongful termination lawsuit against your former employer. For more information about sexual harassment, click here.
Sexual harassment in the workplace can be a frightening and humiliating experience, but you do not have to let your life be ruined by it. The law is on the side of sexual harassment victims, and strong legal assistance can help victims bring a lawsuit against their harassers. Successful claims can mean compensation for suffering sexual harassment, especially if the victim’s employer knew about the harassment and did not make adequate efforts to stop it.