San Jose Sexual Harassment Lawyers

Everyone who works in San Jose has the right to feel safe while they’re doing their jobs. Employers have a duty to ensure that they, their managers, their clients, and their contractors honor each worker’s dignity by ensuring that promotions, job performance, and job applications are never based on anything sexual. Anything sexual includes being pressured to perform sexual acts, to do anything sexual without consent, or to be made uncomfortable at work  – such as by listening to constant sexual jokes or comments at work.

At Miracle Law Group, our San Jose sexual harassment laws understand the federal and state laws that protect workers from sexual harassment. We file sexual harassment before administrative agencies and before judges and juries. Our lawyers demand that employers be held accountable – by being ordered to pay damages for your physical harm, emotional harm, and every way the intolerable conduct affects your ability to do your job comfortably and professionally.

• What are the main sexual harassment laws that benefit employees in San Jose?
• How Is sexual harassment defined in San Jose?
• Whose conduct must employers monitor in San Jose sexual harassment cases?
• What damages do your San Jose sexual harassment lawyers seek?
• What steps should I take if I’ve been sexually harassed at my San Jose job?

Federal and state laws understand how traumatic sexual harassment is. Employees work hard to obtain a good education and the skill they need to do their jobs. They should be able to take pride in a job well done. Sexual harassment is intolerable. It’s outrageous. Our San Jose sexual harassment lawyers file claims for damages based on the following laws:

The US Civil Rights Act – Title VII. Federal law provides that “harassment on the basis of sex is a violation of section 703 of title VII of the US Civil Rights Act. Sexual harassment includes:

Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when:

• Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment.
• Submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual.
• Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.”

Sexual harassment does not have to be of a sexual nature. It can include offensive remarks about a person’s sex. For example, it is illegal to harass a woman by making offensive comments about women in general. “Both victim and the harasser can be either a woman or a man, and the victim and harasser can be the same sex.”

The Civil Rights Act is enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) also protects employees from sexual harassment. Generally, the Civil Rights Act applies to employers with 15 or more employees while the number of employees generally isn’t limited under the California law. California also protects men and women.

If you or someone you care for is being sexually harassed at work, call our San Jose sexual harassment attorneys. We’ll fight for your rights.

Generally, sexual harassment is categorized as follows:

• Quid pro quo (Latin for “something for something”) sexual harassment. This type of work harassment involves:
  • An employer or supervisor who offers an employee a work benefit (such as a promotion or a pay raise) if the employee submits to a sexual favor
  • An employer or supervisor threatens some adverse consequence (such as a demotion or being fired) if the employee doesn’t submit to a sexual request.

Quid pro quo harassment can be express or implied. Generally, just one quid pro quo sexual harassment conduct is enough to file a complaint.

• Hostile work environment sexual harassment. This type of workplace harassment is continuing conduct that affects an employee’s comfort level at work and/or ability to do their job. Sexual conduct and other types of behaviors (such as racial discrimination) can be categorized as a hostile work environment. Generally, the conduct must be frequent, severe, or both. The conduct must personally offend the employee by affecting the employees’ emotional peace, ability to do their job, or affecting the employee’s personal comfort and safety concerns. 

Examples of conduct that may create a hostile work environment include sexual jokes, unwanted advances, derogatory comments, and posting suggestive online content. Other examples of conduct that may create a hostile work environment include displaying sexual content, interfering with your ability to move, and obscene messages.

Generally, employers can be held liable for sexual harassment if they fail to have protocols in place, prevent, or fail to respond to sexual harassment by the employer, managers, supervisors, agents of the company, clients, contractors, vendors, co-workers, non-employees who access the workplace, and others. 

The federal and state sexual harassment laws protect men and women. Sexual harassment does not require financial harm.

At Miracle Mile Law Group, our San Jose sexual harassment attorneys demand all the compensation you deserve including:

• Job reinstatement if you lost your job, income, or benefits due to a firing, demotion, or other adverse employment actions
• Your physical pain and emotional suffering
• Any damage to your reputation
• Statutory damages
• Punitive damages

We also demand that employers train their management and employers about sexual harassment. Employers should also establish protocols for investigating sexual harassment complaints and disciplining wrongdoers. FEHA already requires that San Jose companies with 50 or more employees must provide two hours of sexual harassment training to supervisory employees every two years. 

At Miracle Mile Law Group, our seasoned employment lawyers will guide you through each phase of the claims process such as helping you receive professional counseling for your trauma. Some of the steps that sexual harassment victims should take, depending on the severity of the harassment include:

• Tell the harasser to stop – if possible. If you feel comfortable, then you should tell your harasser to step. If you are worried about your safety or afraid of a confrontation, then we’ll review what other steps you should take.
• Review your employer’s sexual harassment policy. Your San Jose employer may have a written policy in place. If there is a written policy, then you need to follow the policy. If there is no policy, then contact your supervisor – unless your supervisor is the harasser.
• Gather all the relevant evidence. This can include text messages, emails, web postings, your performance records, and other documentation that support your version of events.
• Create a work journal. Keep a journal where you write down who harasses you when, and how – for each occurrence. Note if there are any witnesses. This helps refresh your memory when filing a claim.

Don’t delay. You have the right to stop sexual harassment now. You have the right to hold employers accountable if they failed to properly protect you. Speak with our San Jose sexual harassment attorneys at Miracle Mile Law Group to discuss your rights. You do not pay a single penny unless we are able to obtain compensation on your behalf. You can phone us at (888) 244-0706 or contact us for a FREE case evaluation.