Do Your Employer’s Harassment Policies REALLY Protect You?

It’s a fact that 98% of workplaces in the United States have a sexual harassment policy in place. This begs the question: then why so many women across the country continue to be sexually harassed in the workplace?

Why does the number of women coming forward to report sexual harassment at work continue to increase at an exponential rate in the wake of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements?

Does it mean that sexual harassment policies, which have been around in Riverside, Los Angeles, and all across California for decades, failed to prevent sexual misconduct in the workplace and protect employees from unwanted sexual advances from employers and co-workers?

“It appears so,” our Riverside sexual harassment attorney at JML Law argues.

Are you a working woman Here’s a warning for you

If you’re a woman who is currently employed in Riverside, be warned that about one if every three women in our country have been victims of sexual harassment at work at some point of their career.

However, that doesn’t mean that you should quit your job out of fear of being harassed or discriminated against in the workplace. There are certain steps you can take to ensure that your employer’s sexual harassment policies protect you.

Before we review what kind of sexual harassment policies U.S. employers are legally required to adopt, let’s define what is sexual harassment.

What is sexual harassment

There are two types of sexual harassment at work. The first type is harassment – when, typically, the employer is male and the employee is female – involves an employer asking an employee or job applicant to perform a sex act or other sexual favors in return for a promotion or other employment benefits.

The second type of sexual harassment is any form of sexual misconduct or inappropriate behavior in the workplace that causes a “hostile work environment,” when an employee – who is victim, and in most cases is a woman – is unable to do her job.

Our best sexual harassment attorneys in Riverside explain that this type of harassment in the workplace typically involves an employer, co-worker, supervisor, or any other person of the opposite sex making unsolicited sexual advances, inappropriately touching, or sexually harassing a female employee physically, verbally or in a written form.

What types of sexual harassment policies must be adopted

An employer in Riverside or elsewhere in California is required to adopt the following policies to prevent and handle sexual harassment in the workplace:

1. sexual harassment policy
2. general harassment policy
3. policies explaining how sexual harassment claims are being investigated in the company; and
4. a policy that prohibits supervisors, managers or chiefs from engaging in a romantic or sexual relationship with reporting employees.

Signs of sexual harassment at work

In order to spot sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior in the workplace, our Riverside sexual harassment attorney at JML Law has outlined the most common examples of this type of harassment in the U.S.:

1. suggestive touching and any form of physical contact (slapping the backside, grabbing by the waist, kissing, hugging, interfering with an employee’s ability to move, or other inappropriate gestures)
2. verbal harassment or propositions (unwanted jokes, derogatory comments, offensive words and slurs, unwanted flirting)
3. written harassment (suggestive or derogatory letters, notes or emails containing commentaries about an employee’s body or otherwise being of a sexual nature)
4. repeated requests to go on a date despite being turned down multiple times
5. showing derogatory or sexually suggestive photographs, cartoons, drawings, videos
6. displaying sexually suggestive objects or posters.

This is just a non-exhaustive list of forms of sexual harassment in the workplace. If you have noticed any of the above-mentioned signs of sexual harassment at your work, contact our attorneys at JML Law immediately.

We can help you take legal action against the harasser, groper, abuser, or predator and get compensated for your emotional distress damages.

Consult our Riverside sexual harassment lawyers by calling at 818-610-8800 or send us an email to get a free consultation.