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Sexual Harassment Litigation Attorneys in Temecula, California

The workplace can be stressful for myriad reasons. Your job may be physically or mentally demanding. Your employer may set aggressive work performance goals. You may lack the resources you need to make your job easier or more enjoyable.

However, facing sexual harassment in that workplace day after day is unacceptable. No one should be subjected to the kind of stress, fear, and humiliation that accompanies such harassment. If you believe you are being subjected to it, there is help.

At the Law Offices of Charles P. Boylston, our clients are our focus because we are committed to making California the best place in the world to work. Employees being subjected to sexual harassment builds nothing but toxic work environments. If you live in Temecula or anywhere in southern California, including San Diego, Riverside, Orange, or Los Angeles counties, let us help give you a place for your voice.

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What Constitutes Sexual Harassment?

Sexual harassment is a type of sex discrimination. Unwanted actions, including overt sexual advances as well as physical, verbal, or visual acts of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when they create a hostile and toxic work environment.

Some overt examples include a demand by someone in a position of authority for sexual favors in exchange for a raise or promotion. A coworker could harass another coworker by demanding sexual favors to remain quiet about an error or in exchange for helping complete a project.

A boss who routinely makes lewd comments on a woman’s cleavage or on a man’s buttocks are obvious examples of sexual harassment. What may be less obvious is that the victim of such harassment doesn’t have to be the person about whom the comments are made. That boss’s assistant may be the victim if hearing the boss make those comments repeatedly creates an uncomfortable work environment for the assistant.

Of course, physically touching someone in a sexual, unnecessary, and unwanted manner is sexual harassment. So are sexual or demeaning comments about a gender in general, including those about such subjects as weight, pregnancy, PMS, femininity or masculinity, and sexual orientation.

Finally, the victim does not need to be fired, demoted, or harmed economically for the acts to qualify as sexual harassment.

Who Can Be a Harasser?

Anyone you come into contact with via the workplace can be the harasser. This includes sexual harassment by a supervisor, a member of the board of directors, colleagues, or coworkers. It can also be an agent of the employer, such as a contractor, vendor, or the adjuster from the employer’s workers’ compensation plan. Non-employees, including customers and clients, can also be the perpetrators of sexual harassment.

The stereotype of the male boss demanding sex from a female employee is not the only dynamic of harassment. It can be perpetrated by anyone and to anyone.

How Do Laws Address Sexual Harassment?

Employment-related discrimination based on gender, pregnancy, race, religion, national origin, and color goes against your workers’ rights. Workplaces employing 15 or more people are subject to compliance with the Act. You must file charges of sexual harassment with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) within 180 days of the alleged act.

The EEOC will notify your employer within 10 days of processing the charge. You and your employer will attend mediation to resolve the issue. However, if you cannot, or if you don’t attend mediation, the EEOC will investigate the allegations. If the employer fails to comply with the investigation, the EEOC can subpoena records and testimony. If the EEOC does not conclude its investigation within 180 days or does not find conclusive evidence, it will advise you of your right to sue in federal court.

State sexual harassment laws, including the provisions under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act, require businesses with five or more employees to provide one hour of sexual harassment education for all nonsupervisory employees and two hours for all with supervisory authority.

You can file a complaint with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) which can pursue damages against the employer if violations are found. The EEOC and DFEH automatically cross-file charges between agencies.

What About Retaliation
If I Report Sexual Harassment?

Retaliation is prohibited for reporting sexual harassment. Even if your charges are never confirmed and no action is taken against the employer, the employer cannot retaliate against you so long as you filed the charges in good faith.

You are not required to have an attorney represent you when filing charges of sexual harassment with the EEOC or DFEH. However, substantiating evidence of your allegations, ensuring your charges are fully investigated, representing your best interests in mediation, and ensuring your employer does not attempt to retaliate against you are highly compelling reasons for wanting representation from an experienced employment law attorney.

Sexual Harassment Litigation Attorneys in Temecula, California

At the Law Offices of Charles P. Boylston in Temecula, California, or the surrounding southern California areas, including San Diego, Riverside, Orange, or Los Angeles counties, we provide knowledgeable and experienced advocacy for our clients who have been sexually harassed in the workplace. We approach this serious topic with sympathy and integrity. Contact our office now to schedule a case consultation.