California Fair Employment & Housing Act (“FEHA”) prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace. Sexual harassment consists of any unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal and/or physical conduct of a sexual nature. California law also imposes an obligation on the employer to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment from occurring in the workplace.
Usually, sexual harassment claims arise in two forms: (1) “quid pro quo” harassment; and (2) “hostile work environment” harassment.
What is quid pro quo harassment?
“Quid pro quo” harassment conditions an employee’s continued enjoyment or job benefits on submission to some form of harassment. Examples for quid pro quo sexual harassment include:
A supervisor expressly or implicitly requesting sexual favors from a subordinate in exchange for a promotion.
A manager terminating an employee after she or he refused to go on dates with the manager.
What is hostile work environment harassment?
“Hostile work environment” harassment has the purpose or effect of either interfering with the work performance of an employee or creating an intimidating workplace. Examples of hostile work environment harassment include:
- An employer repeatedly permitting employees and/or supervisors to engage in lewd conversation or comments.
Employees and/or managers repeatedly making sexual comments about other employees or the physical appearance of customers. - My boss constantly makes sexual jokes and lewd comments, but he or she has never asked me out, do I still have sexual harassment claim?
Yes. You will have a claim under hostile work environment harassment. To prove a claim of hostile work environment harassment an employee must show that a reasonable person in the employee’s circumstances would have considered the work environment to be hostile, intimidating, offensive, oppressive, or abusive. For instance, if a supervisor, on a daily or weekly basis, makes sexual comments or jokes (even if not directed toward the employee), a reasonable employee would find this situation offensive.
Can my employer retaliate against me for reporting sexual harassment?
No. California law prohibits retaliation for reporting sexual harassment. This protection applies even if the employee reporting the sexual harassment was not subjected to sexual harassment.
When are employers required to provide sexual harassment training?
California law requires all employers of 5 or more employees to provide 1 hour of sexual harassment and abusive conduct prevention training to nonsupervisory employees and 2 hours of sexual harassment and abusive conduct prevention training to managers once every two years.
DISCLAIMER: This page is available for educational purposes only. The information provided in this page is to give you a general understanding of the law and not to provide specific legal advice. By using this page you understand there is no attorney-client relationship between you and Jimenez Loayza, APC. You should not substitute this blog for competent legal advice from a licensed San Diego sexual harassment attorney, as the fact of your case may vary significantly.