Experiencing sexual harassment in the workplace can have a drastically negative effect on a person’s life, especially if they spend the majority of their time at work. However, they do not have to accept the harassment. There are California sexual harassment laws in place to prevent and penalize this behavior.

Sexual Harassment in California

According to California’s sexual harassment laws, sexual harassment is any sexual behavior or action that makes the workplace hostile, scary, or offensive because of an employee’s sex. This includes their gender, gender expression, or sexual orientation. No matter the person’s sexual preference or gender identity, sexual harassment can happen to someone of the same gender as the harasser.

The harassment doesn’t necessarily have to be sexual in nature. The claimed sexual harassment must not only be unwanted and offensive to the employee who is complaining; it must also be offensive to other people.

Reasonable Person Standard

When applying the reasonable person standard, you have to look at the whole situation. If the person who was sexually harassed had been sexually assaulted before and found the harassment at work more upsetting because of it, that history of assault would be taken into account when deciding if the behavior would be hurtful to a reasonable person.

For behavior to be against the law, it must also be unwanted. In California, “unwanted” and “nonconsensual” are not the same thing when it comes to sexual harassment. It doesn’t matter if the victim agrees with the harassment; it is still harassment if the victim does not want it. For instance, an employee may feel like they have to consent to a boss’s sexual requests to keep their job, even if they do not want to.

The Two Types of Sexual Harassment

There are two types of sexual harassment. One type of sexual harassment is “quid pro quo,” which means “this for that.” It happens when someone offers you a job, a raise, or some other benefit at work if you agree to sexual advances or other sexually-based behavior.

The second is a “hostile work environment.” For sexual harassment, this means that unwanted words or actions based on sex make it impossible for you to do your job effectively or make the workplace scary, hostile, or offensive. If someone does something upsetting to you and it’s not directed at you, it may still be sexual harassment.

It has to be serious or common for the harassment to be illegal. One act of abuse may not be enough to be against the law.

Examples of Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment can take on many forms. Some of these include:

• The promise of a job or other perks in exchange for sexual favors
• Slurs, insults, jokes, or statements that are hurtful to others
• Touches you don’t want, like back rubs, pats on the behind, fondles, or pinches
• Talks about sexual acts
• A threat to lay you off, cut your perks, or otherwise hurt your working conditions if you don’t agree to a sexual request
• Losing your job, perks, or other bad things happening after reporting harassment
• Crude language, sexually degrading comments, sexually suggestive or obscene texts or invitations

Employer Liability in Sexual Harassment

When managers or agents of an employer harass someone, the employer is responsible. People who harass others, including supervisors and employees, can be held directly responsible for harassment or for helping to make harassment happen. Employers are required by law to take sensible steps to stop harassment. If a boss doesn’t do these things, they could be held responsible for the harassment.

A business owner could also be responsible if a non-employee, like a client or a customer, harasses an employee, job applicant, or person working for the business. A company is only responsible for this kind of harassment if it knew about it or should have known about it and did nothing to stop it right away.

Employers are required to take reasonable steps to stop and quickly fix biased and harassing behavior. Employers also must ensure the harassment doesn’t happen at work.

FAQs

Q: What Qualifies as a Harassment Charge in California?

A: In California, someone is harassed when they are treated badly because of a protected trait, like their race, gender, age, disability, or sexual orientation. The behavior must be bad enough or common enough to make the workplace hostile. It includes things like making threats, insulting jokes, touching someone without permission, or showing inappropriate material. The abuse has to get in the way of the worker’s ability to do their job.

Q: What Evidence Is Needed to Prove a Case of Harassment?

A: Emails, texts, or other written communications that demonstrate offensive behavior, witness statements from coworkers or supervisors, thorough records of incidents, HR reports, and proof of negative effects on work performance can all be used to prove harassment. There must be proof that the abuse was based on a protected trait and was bad enough or common enough to make the workplace hostile.

Q: Can You File a Claim for Harassment in California?

A: Yes, you can file a claim against someone in California for harassing you. You have to file a report with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) before you can file a claim. If you get a “right to sue” letter or an investigation, you can go ahead with a case. The harassment must be based on a protected trait and be bad enough to affect your health or work setting.

Q: What Are the Protected Classes for Harassment in California?

A: People in San Diego, California are protected from being harassed because of their race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, genetic information, sexual orientation, or veteran status. Workers are protected from discrimination based on these characteristics.

Contact Jimenez Loayza, APC Today

Being sexually harassed at work is a stressful and emotional experience. You do not have to be subjected to it, and you do not have to fight it alone. We can help you fight for your rights. Contact Jimenez Loayza, APC, today to get started.