Stockton Sexual Harassment Employment Attorneys

Every worker in Stockton has the right to dignity at work. Every employee has the right to expect that they will be able to do their job based on their skills and talents. When an employer, manager, coworker, or client sexually harasses or abuses you, you have the right to inform your employer. You have the right to expect your employer will respond by investigating your complaint and actively working to stop the sexual misconduct.

If anyone in a supervisory position conditions your job or a promotion based on sexual conduct, contact us today. If you feel surprised, embarrassed, anxious, or uncomfortable because of sexual comments, online posts, or other sexual references, contact us today.

At Miracle Law Group, our Stockton sexual harassment lawyers protect your right to dignity and peace of mind at work by asserting your legal rights before federal and state agencies and in the courts. We demand justice when employers commit or permit sexual harassment to occur at your job.

The justice we demand is based on federal and state statutes including:

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigates violations of this law. If your complaint cannot be resolved, our Stockton sexual harassment lawyers file a lawsuit to protect your rights and pursue your damage claim.
• The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (CFEHA). The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing(DFEH) is the state agency that protects your rights after sexual harassment occurs including pursuing damages. Like the EEOC, If your complaint cannot be resolved by DFEH, our Stockton sexual harassment lawyers file a lawsuit to protect your rights and pursue your damage claim in court.

The laws provide similar exceptions except that Title VII requires that the Stockton employers have 15 or more employees while California generally doesn’t have a limit on the number of employees – in order to file your claim.

The Civil Rights Act defines sexual harassment as “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature.” Sexual harassment can include offensive remarks about your sex. Generally, any offensive comment about women is likely illegal. The offender and the victim can be either a female or a male. Sexual harassment can include an offender and victim of the same sex.

Harassment is generally illegal:

“When it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted). The harasser can be the victim’s supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or someone who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client or customer.”

According to California’s Attorney General:

“Sexual harassment refers to both unwelcome sexual advances, or other visual, verbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature and actions that create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment based on an employee’s sex.”

“Under California law, the offensive conduct need not be motivated by sexual desire, but may be based upon an employee’s actual or perceived sex or gender-identity, actual or perceived sexual orientation, and/or pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. This definition includes many forms of offensive behavior and includes gender-based harassment of a person of the same sex as the harasser, and actions that subject co-workers to a hostile work environment.”

You may be a victim of sexual harassment – even if you’re not the target of the harassment. Just observing the sexual harassment may justify a legal claim. Generally, you don’t need to prove financial harm to file a sexual harassment claim. Sexual harassment must be unwelcome.

Employers in Stockton need to be aware that anyone they work with may commit sexual harassment including:

• The employer
• A supervisor or a manager
• Another worker
• A non-employee
• Vendors
• Clients

In both federal and California sexual harassment cases, our attorney’s demand:

• That you be reinstated and compensated for any wage or benefit losses – if you were fired or forced to leave the company due to sexual harassment
• Compensation for your pain and suffering
• Compensation for damage to your reputation
• Any damages identified in the federal or state laws
• Punitive damages

Employers also need to take affirmative steps to stop further acts of sexual harassment from occurring and to protect the rights of any worker who complains (through a grievance process) about sexual harassment in the workplace. The employer must let everyone in the company know that – sexual harassment is not acceptable.

California also requires that employers with 50 or more employers provide sexual harassment training to supervisory employees every two years and that they take other proactive steps to stop sexual harassment from occurring

The California FEHA defines sexual harassment in two ways:

• Quid Pro Quo Harassment. This type of sexual harassment when a person in a position of authority over your career requests you comply with sexual advances or suffer an adverse employment action. Examples of adverse consequences include being fired, denied a promotion, and poor performance reviews. The person who sexually harasses you must make clear that you understand your status will improve if you comply and/or will worsen if you don’t comply.

• Hostile Work Environment Harassment. This type of sexual harassment doesn’t require a promise of a positive or negative job action. It generally applies if the sexual discussions and actions at work affect your ability to do your job.

Examples of sexual harassment in the workplace include:

• Conditioning your job on sexual actions
• Sexual discussions, comments, slurs, and jokes
• Posting or showing sexual images, videos, or material
• Interfering with your movements
• Leaving obscene messages
• Other types of improper sexual conduct

First, we explain which laws apply (sometimes both the federal and state sexual harassment laws) and what the requirements of each law are.

On your behalf, our sexual harassment Stockton employment attorneys work to show that:

• The offensive conduct is based on your gender or sexual identity – whether you’re the target or not.

• The sexual conduct is unwelcome. Unwelcome does not mean non-consensual. Employees may consent because of the fear they may lose their job or employee rights.

• A reasonable person would agree that the sexual harassment was offensive. We work to show that a reasonable person would have been as upset and offended as you are.

• The conduct is “severe” or “pervasive” enough to create a hostile work environment. An offhand comment is not enough to create a hostile work environment. Normally, sexual harassment that creates a hostile environment requires multiple actions.

There’s no excuse or justification for sexual harassment at your Stockton workplace. When it occurs, you have the right to make the harassment stop and to hold your employer accountable for improper conduct. The filing of a complaint helps to protect and compensate you. The filing also helps other employees at your workplace. To talk with a respected Stockton sexual harassment lawyer, call the Miracle Mile Law Group today. You can reach us at (888) 244-0706 or contact us online for a FREE case evaluation.