Gardena is a city located in Los Angeles County in California. As of 2010, its population was 57,746. Major employers in Gardena include Sam's Club, Target, Nissin Foods, UPS, Hustler Casino and Memorial Hospital of Gardena. Wherever you live, sexual harassment can be humiliating, distressing, and have economic consequences. If you experience inappropriate conduct of this nature at work, an experienced Gardena sexual harassment attorney at the Calderone Law Firm may be able to help.
Gardena Sexual HarassmentOften sexual harassment is about power, rather than sex. Either sex can perpetrate sexual harassment in the workplace, and in some cases the sexual harassment involves a victim and perpetrator of the same sex. Sexual harassment can include sexually charged language, pranks, jokes, derogatory comments, groping, touching, or even rape. The conduct must be unwelcome. In Gardena, you may be able to sue for damages if sexual harassment falls into the category of hostile work environment harassment or quid pro quo harassment.
Hostile work environment sexual harassment happens if the conduct that constitutes harassment is so pervasive or severe the workplace is made hostile. The conduct that constitutes harassment must be of a nature that a reasonable person would find the environment had been made hostile. In addition, you must, subjectively, find the environment hostile as a result of the harassment. For example, if your supervisor routinely makes crass remarks about your genitalia or breasts, this is likely to create a hostile work environment. Coworkers, supervisors, managers, and customers can all create a hostile work environment. A knowledgeable sexual harassment lawyer in Gardena can help you assess whether the circumstances in your workplace may meet this standard.
In contrast, only managers and supervisors can perpetrate quid pro quo harassment. This kind of harassment occurs when a manager or supervisor offers, either explicitly or implicitly, to provide job benefits or advancement for sexual favors. For example, if your manager says he'll promote you if you sleep with him, this is quid pro quo harassment.
Federal LawThe federal law barring sex discrimination in the workplace is Title VII. Sexual harassment is one type of sex discrimination. Title VII only applies to employers that have at least 15 employees. It is enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). You must first file a sexual harassment charge with the EEOC before you sue under Title VII in court. If you are able to establish liability under Title VII, compensatory and punitive damages will have caps, and for that reason, FEHA may provide better remedies.
The Fair Employment and Housing ActIn most situations, California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) is more protective for employees than Title VII is. Workplace sexual harassment is found if somebody directs unwelcome or negative actions or speech towards a worker based on gender, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, or another sex-based reason. As with federal law, you must be able to show either quid pro quo or hostile work environment harassment. With the former, you'll need to establish that it was you refusing sexual overtures that caused you to suffer a negative employment action. A Gardena sexual harassment attorney can evaluate the series of events in your case in light of the applicable legal rules.
The amount of hostility needed to show a hostile workplace environment under FEHA depends on multiple factors, including the nature of the actions or speech, how often the offensive actions occurred, the number of days over which the offensive action or speech occurs, and the context in which the actions or speech took place. In most cases, unwelcome physical touching is more offensive than unwelcome speech, whether written or verbal. However, not all jokes and innuendo would count as illegal sexual harassment. Generally, a remark tinged with an offensive sexual connotation likely wouldn't be considered sufficient to be illegal sexual harassment.
Consult an Experienced Sexual Harassment Attorney in GardenaIf you were harmed by sexual harassment in a Gardena workplace, you may be able to sue to recover damages. There are time limits to filing sexual harassment claims so it is important to determine your legal options as soon as possible. An aggressive and skillful trial attorney at the Calderone Law Firm may be able to represent you in your pursuit of damages. Call us at (424) 348-8290 or contact us through our online form to learn more.