Sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and any other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. Sexual harassment typically affects a person’s employment, interferes with work performance, or creates a hostile or intimidating work environment.
Sexual harassment at work can have a severe impact on its victims, from ill-health caused by psychological stress to loss of income caused by sick leave, resignation, or termination of employment. If you believe your employer was aware – or should have been aware – that you are or have been sexually harassed at work, and they failed to take immediate action to prevent it, contact us today to discuss your legal options.
What Is Sexual Harassment At Work
The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing defines sexual harassment in the workplace as “unwanted sexual advances, or visual, verbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature.” This includes such behavior towards a person of the same gender as the harasser. Any co-worker can be a sexual harasser – from business owners and managers to colleagues in subordinate positions. Men, as well as women, have been sexually harassed at work, and our sexual harassment attorneys have extensive experience in fighting for both our male and female clients.
There are two ways in which sexual harassment at work is carried out:
- A hostile work environment: Such as being subjected to sexual comments, sexual assault, groping, or intimidation.
- Abuse of power by a supervisor: A person in a supervisory or management position who demands sexual favors in return for you keeping your job, renewing your contract, or as a condition of promotion.
Although there isn’t a comprehensive list some common examples of sexual harassment include but are not limited to:
- A co-worker or supervisor constantly sends you sexual text messages.
- Your superior tells you that you will get a promotion or raise if you have sex with them.
- A previous partner, or ex, who is also a co-worker, keeps trying to restart a romantic relationship with you even after you have turned them down.
- A colleague makes constant offensive comments about your gender or sex.
We find it important to suggest that it doesn’t matter whether the harasser is the same or opposite gender as the victim. There is a lot more that can constitute sexual harassment.
The effects of sexual harassment can come in a lot of different forms, which is why it is best to contact an unwanted sexual advances attorney. It doesn’t matter what the particulars are. The impact can be long-lasting for the individual, company, and society as a whole.
Induvial impacts pertain directly to the person who falls victim to sexual harassment. This individual suffers the most. There can be emotional scarring that includes anger, embarrassment, guilt, and fear. At a certain point, sexual harassment can harm one’s self-esteem and create anxiety attacks.
Outside emotional effects, physical health can also suffer dramatically. This is because physical health is intimately connected to emotional behavior and health. These are the reactions to sexual harassment. Loss of appetite, nausea, weight loss or gain, headaches, migraines, and loss of sleep are the most common results. Victims are also susceptible to high blood pressure and abusing alcohol and/or other substances.
Both emotional and physical consequences can lead to financial losses. Anyone facing harassment may take unpaid leave, quit their jobs for other positions with lower pay, or even have a longer commute to avoid ongoing sexual harassment.
In terms of company consequences, you can start to notice the victim performing less effectively and efficiently due to the physical and emotional effects of harassment. When the harassers begin to target more victims, they are creating a culture in which a whole department or team can struggle and end with higher employee turnover. Productivity losses become prominent and inevitable.
If you think sexual harassment stops at the company level, think again. The economic effect of sexual harassment impacts productivity and the cost of healthcare, medical treatment, and psychiatric therapy. Overall, sexual harassment isn’t only confined to an individual problem; it is a society-wide issue that can and will affect all of us in some shape or form.
How Can Your Anaheim Lawyers Help Me
An Anaheim sexual harassment attorney from JML Law can hold your employer to account for failing to handle your sexual harassment complaint. We have many years of experience dealing with these cases, so if you believe you may be entitled to bring a sexual harassment lawsuit against your employer, contact us in confidence.
Our lawyers are ready to file a sexual harassment case on your behalf. While many settlements are reached out of court, we will litigate on your behalf in court if necessary. We are fully committed to obtaining a successful settlement or verdict for our clients. We have many years of experience in recovering compensation from employers who fail to deal with cases of sexual harassment at work properly. In the past, we have successfully won damages for our clients – both male and female – in cases such as:
- A supervisor offering a promotion in exchange for sexual favors.
- An employer ignored reports of a hostile work environment where an employee was subjected to numerous offensive sexual comments and gestures.
- A client who suffered long-term sexual harassment in the form of comments, the display of sexually explicit posters, and verbal comments about their body.
We also have a successful track record of winning economic damages for our clients who successfully settle or are awarded damages by a court. Damages can include lost earnings and attorney fees, as well as awards for emotional distress and punitive damages.
Schedule Your Free Initial Consultation With An Anaheim JML Law Sexual Harassment Lawyer Today
If you have been sexually harassed in the workplace, sure, the process of suing your employer can seem overwhelming and daunting. You need not worry because an Anaheim Sexual Harassment Attorney will stand by you and fight for you every step of the way.
To discuss the specifics of your sexual harassment case with our highly experienced lawyer, schedule your free initial consultation with our legal team by calling today at 818-610-8800.
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