True Legal Group is a law firm dedicated in providing strong advocacy for workers who are victims of workplace sexual harassment.
Wherever your work in Orange County, you have the right to be treated with dignity. Your job performance should be based on your skills and accomplishments, not on unconscionable demands by your employer or by the creation of a hostile work environment. When employers condition your hiring, job opportunities, or firing based on consent to sexual contact, the employers should be held accountable. When employers allow sexual comments to spread through the workplace, the employers should be held accountable.
At True Legal Group, our Orange County sexual harassment lawyers understand the federal and California laws that protect you from sexual harassment by anyone in the workplace including your employer, managers, supervisors, coworkers, clients, contractors, and other work professionals. We move quickly to put the employer on notice that sexual harassment must stop immediately. We work aggressively to hold your employer liable for failing to prevent sexual harassment, allowing the harassment to continue, and not taking steps to prevent the sexual harassment of others. We demand compensation for all your financial and personal damages.
How can our Orange County sexual harassment lawyers help?
- Are there laws to protect me from sexual harassment in an Orange County workplace?
- What are the elements of a sexual harassment lawsuit in Orange County?
- What should an Orange County employer do to protect workers from workplace sexual harassment?
- What should I do if I’ve been sexually harassed at my Orange County job?
- What damages am I entitled to if an Orange County employer is liable for sexual harassment?
Are there laws to protect me from sexual harassment in a Orange County workplace?
There are federal and state laws to protect workers from sexual harassment. At True Legal Group, we file claims before agencies and in court when employers violate these laws:
- The US Civil Rights Act – Title VII. This law provides for protection from sexual harassment that involves employers with 15 or more employees – including federal, state, and local governments, employment agencies, and labor organizations. The Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC), the federal agency that investigates and enforces the Civil Rights law, protects workers from:
- “Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature,”
- “When this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual’s employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.
Sexual harassment involves the following:
- “The victim as well as the harasser may be a woman or a man. The victim does not have to be of the opposite sex.
- The harasser can be the victim’s supervisor, an agent of the employer, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or a non-employee.
- The victim does not have to be the person harassed but could be anyone affected by the offensive conduct.
- Unlawful sexual harassment may occur without economic injury to or discharge of the victim.
- The harasser’s conduct must be unwelcome.”
When possible and safe, you should inform the harasser directly that the harassment must stop and is not welcome. You should also follow through with any method the employer has for complaining about employee wrongs.
- California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (CFEHA). This state statute protects you from sexual harassment too. The law requires that employers take proactive steps to stop sexual harassment before it begins – for example, by having written sexual harassment policies in place and requiring the training of supervisors. Employers may be liable for sexual harassment of non-employees, applicants, and others who do work for or with the employer if the employer knew of the harassment and did not take immediate steps to stop it.
The California Department of Employment and Housing will investigate your claim. All employers, no matter the number of employees, are subject to this law.
If you believe your employer is sexually harassing your, contact our Orange County sexual harassment attorneys now – so we can help protect you and any other workers who may be subject to sexual harassment.
What are the elements of a sexual harassment lawsuit in Orange County?
The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) recognizes two types of sexual harassment:
- “Quid pro quo:” (Latin for “this for that”) sexual harassment. DFEH defines this harassment as:
- “When someone conditions a job, promotion, or other work benefit on your submission to sexual advances or other conduct based on sex.” This type of harassment applies if you receive the job, promotion, or benefit if you consent – or if you are denied the job, promotion, or benefit if you refuse to consent. Just one improper quid pro quo action justifies a sexual harassment complaint.
- “’Hostile work environment.” DFEH defines this harassment as:
- “When unwelcome comments or conduct based on sex unreasonably interferes with your work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. You may experience sexual harassment even if the offensive conduct was not aimed directly at you.” This type of sexual harassment normally involves multiple comments or acts of misconduct.
Examples of sexual harassment include sexual assaults (such as rape) and sexual acts that are not wanted and the offer of employment benefits in return for the sexual favors. Sexual harassment also includes:
- “Leering; gestures; or displaying sexually suggestive objects, pictures, cartoons, or posters
- Derogatory comments, epithets, slurs, or jokes
- Graphic comments, sexually degrading words, or suggestive or obscene messages or invitations
- Physical touching or assault, as well as impeding or blocking movement.”
What should an Orange County employer do to protect workers from workplace sexual harassment?
Employers cannot just wait for sexual harassment to occur before they address this unconscionable behavior. In Orange County, employers need to inform management and workers – what acts constitute sexual harassment, that sexual harassment will not be tolerated, how the victim can file a complaint, and how the victim can receive help or counseling.
An Orange County employer must investigate complaints of sexual harassment and take appropriate actions to hold the harasser accountable and ensure the harassment does not occur again.
What should I do if I’ve been sexually harassed at my Orange County job?
If you can, you should tell the harasser to stop. You should use your employer’s grievance systems. You should also contact our Orange County sexual harassment lawyers. We’ll help you receive the medical care you need and the emotional help necessary to help you express your anger and begin to cope.
We’ll file your claim with the state or federal agency (DFEH or EEOC) that should hear your claim. We’ll help you file complaints with the police if you were raped or sexually assaulted. When the DFEH or EEOC cannot resolve your claim, we file your claim with the closest state or federal court. Our lawyer works aggressively to obtain the evidence you need including your personnel records, the written employer policies, records of prior notice to the employer that sexual harassment was occurring in their workplace, and other relevant evidence.
Don’t suffer on your own. Sexual harassment is WRONG. You have the right to hold the wrongdoers accountable. We’ll calmly and clearly guide you through each step of your sexual harassment claim.
What damages am I entitled to if an Orange County employer is liable for sexual harassment?
You deserve full compensation for the attack on your dignity. At True Legal Group, our Orange County sexual harassment attorneys understand your pain. We demand compensation for the following damages – current and future including:
- Returning your job, benefits, pay, and job opportunities to the level they were before the sexual harassment took place
- Compensation for your emotional trauma
- All financial damages
- Statutory damages
We’ll also seek an order that the employer complies with all required federal and state sexual harassment laws and requirements.
If you or a loved one has been experiencing sexual harassment in the workplace, call True Legal Group’s Sexual Harassment attorneys now for a free confidential consultation.
Orange County employers who permit or engage in sexual harassment should be held liable for failing to respect your dignity and your honor. At True Legal Group, our Orange County sexual harassment lawyers have the experience and resources to hold employers liable for failing to properly stop or respond to sexual harassment in the workplace. To schedule a free consultation, please call the True Legal Group today at (424) 286-1811 or email us by visiting our contact page.