Types of Sexual Harassment at Work in Los Angeles
A staggering number of employers are not doing enough to protect their employees from sexual harassment.
From 2018 to 2021, workers submitted 27,291 sexual harassment complaints to the U.S.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). If you are one of the many victims of sexual harassment in the workplace, you deserve protection, compensation, and a good advocate.
Starpoint’s employment Lawyers can help you seek justice against many types of sexual harassment at work. We give our clients special, one-on-one attention to address all their employment law needs in distressing times.
What are the Two Category Types of Sexual Harassment at Work?
Sexual harassment is unwelcome conduct based on sex or gender. This workplace misconduct is illegal under state and federal law, and employees have a right to sue or complain if they have had to endure sexual harassment.
The law recognizes two general category types of sexual harassment at work:
- There can be quid pro quo harassment, meaning an employer requires an employee to accept unwanted sexual advances or requests in exchange for employment benefits.
- There can be hostile work environment harassment, meaning someone in a workplace has engaged in unwanted sex-based conduct that is so serious or pervasive that a reasonable person would call that workplace hostile.Â
Within these categories, there are several types of sexual harassment that occur in the workplace. We will go over examples of sexual harassment below.
Examples of Sexual Harassment at Work
Unfortunately, harassers find many ways to harm their victims in the workplace. Sexual harassment can be verbal, physical, covert, or overt. If you suspect mistreatment at work because of sex or gender, speak to an attorney right away.
Sexual harassment at work can involve the following:
- Insults or name-calling based on sex or gender;
- Non-consensual touching;
- Generalizing remarks about sex or gender;
- Offensive, sex-based physical gestures;
- Displays of offensive, sex-based images at work;
- Jokes about sex or gender;
- Invasions of others’ personal space;
- Excluding others at the workplace because of their sex or gender;
- Requests for sexual favors;
- Comments about physical appearance or body parts;
- Sexually explicit conversations or questions; and
- Exposures of intimate body parts in the workplace.
These types of sexual harassment at work do not have to be motivated by a harasser’s sexual desire. Harassment is unlawful if it is merely based on sex or gender in any way. You can also have a right to complain about harassment even if you are not the target of sex-based misconduct.
Filing a Lawsuit or Complaint
Victims of harassment can file discrimination charges with the EEOC or discrimination complaints with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD). In a complaint, you can win:
- Back pay,
- Payment for financial losses,
- Compensation for emotional distress,
- Policy changes at work,
- Reinstatement of work benefits,
- Punitive damages, and
- Attorney fees.
Your employer must have at least 15 employees if you want to file a complaint with the EEOC, but there is no minimum workforce size requirement to file a sexual complaint with the CRD.
Speak to an Employment Attorney Today
Our Los Angeles Starpoint employment Lawyers are gifted and effective litigators who have helped hundreds of clients.
We give our clients the personal attention necessary to address their unique needs in workplace disputes, and we have an impeccable record as advocates. Please call us at 310-362-5268 if you need help.
Aidin Ghavimi
Aidin is a partner at Starpoint LC, Attorneys at Law, and focuses on personal injury and employment law cases in and around Southern California. He earned his Juris Doctorate from the Loyola School of Law and his Bachelor’s from USC. Aidin’s primary goal is to bring justice to his clients and to ensure they are able to move on with their lives after a serious injury.
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