Santa Clara Sexual Harassment Lawyers

Be aware that everyone is at risk for sexual harassment

Sexual harassment is not just experienced by adult women. It can happen to anyone, and it does.

Women are who you typically think of whenever you hear the words “sexual harassment,” and there’s good reason. Since women have entered the work force and have struggled to be treated as equals, men have pushed back in order to maintain power and control. Even today, the gender pay gap, while starting to close, is still a sign that women are not fully accepted as equals. Women currently only earn 79 cents for every dollar their male counterparts earn, which provides men with an excuse to continue viewing women as subordinates who they can sexually harass to further add insult to injury.

Today, while most sexual harassment is perpetrated by men towards women, some women who have reached positions of power believe turnabout is fair play and sexually harass their male subordinates at work. However, according to the EEOC, in 2017 it was reported that 16.5% of their 10,000 work place sexual harassment claims were filed by men. The vast majority of those harassment charges filed by men, were against - other men. Just some of the behavior exhibited by the aggressors includes “use of feminine pronouns and sexual taunts, to simulated sex acts and threats of a sexually aggressive nature.”

Teenagers are increasingly at risk for being sexually harassed in today’s society where kids are growing up all too fast. Teenage girls are particularly vulnerable to sexual harassment in the workplace. Many teens who have no prior work experience, seek employment in the hospitality and retail industries, which is rife with incidents of sexual harassment and violence. Teenagers are inexperienced with adult situations, as they should be, and can become easy victims of harassment because they may not know that it’s wrong, or even how to report it. According to workplacesrespond.org, 66% of girls and 33% of boys have been sexually harassed at work mostly by co-workers, then supervisors, and finally customers.

There are several signs that your teenager may have been sexually harassed at work. He or she may exhibit a higher level of stress than usual. Your child may be skipping school and/or his or her grades might be slipping. You might notice depression setting in, or other signs of mental health distress. Coworkers of your son or daughter might notice a decrease in his or her productivity, or that he or she might even have quit his or her job. Any combination of these events can signal that your child has been sexually harassed in the workplace.

Bay Area employers have a responsibility to protect their employees

Sexual harassment in the workplace is also against state law under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, and federal law under Title VII. Under these laws, retaliation against an employee who has made a complaint about sexual harassment, or who is assisting with an investigation into a sexual harassment complaint, is illegal.

Employers are required by law to take reasonable steps to prevent and handle sexual harassment in their companies. One of these steps includes creating and distributing a company policy that prohibits sexual harassment and informs employees about the process for making an official complaint. Failure to make the policy known, uphold it, train management on how to handle complaints, and follow up with a proper investigation may be considered negligent behavior.