If you experience harassment in the workplace, make sure to contact your human resources team and make a note of when the harassment occurred and the date of the incident. Keeping detailed and specific records of the harassment may help reinforce your claim.
You may be asked to demonstrate how this behavior created an unsafe or hostile working environment due to sexual harassment. This may involve providing evidence that the action or incident was not a single occurrence, but rather a pattern of harassment. For example, if a co-worker or supervisor makes repetitive sexual remarks to you, this can result in hostile working conditions. If this case ends up in court, having records of each incident will help you and your lawyer to prove that a reasonable person in the same circumstances would believe they are being subjected to a hostile work environment.
When harassment claims are not appropriately resolved within a company, filing a lawsuit may be necessary to protect your rights. A San Mateo sexual harassment lawyer, like the knowledgeable and experienced one at the Law Office of Jeannette A. Vaccaro, can assist you in filing a lawsuit with the California state courts against the perpetrator or any other liable parties.Â
If the lawsuit is successful, you may be able to recover compensatory damages against the defendant who sexually harassed you. These could include potential damages for pain and suffering, mental anguish, and loss of reputation.Â
First, it is essential to note that sexual advances must be unwanted. If a co-worker asks someone out on a date, and the person accepts the invitation, but the date does not go well and the coworkers have no other interaction regarding the date afterward, this will not likely rise to the level of sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is unwanted sexual or suggestive language, physical actions, or written notes that cause a victim to feel unsafe or uncomfortable.Â
The Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 are a set of legal regulations that California enforces against sexual harassment in employment and housing situations. According to the California Attorney General, sexual harassment is unwelcomed sexual advances or other visual, verbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature. It can also comprise actions that create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment based on an employee’s gender.Â
Under California law, improper conduct does not necessarily need to be motivated by sexual desire or malicious intentions. Still, it may be based on an employee’s actual or perceived sex or gender identity, sexual orientation, and/or pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions to a gender.
If you or a loved one has faced unwanted sexual harassment or commentary at work or by someone near your house, contact the San Mateo Law Office of Jeannette A. Vaccaro, who has years of experience and knowledge in handling sexual harassment claims. Call the Law Office of Jeanette A. Vaccaro today at (415) 444-5800 for a free case evaluation.
Jeannette is passionate about employee rights. She fights to shed light on injustices and to help her clients move beyond troubling times. Contact Jeannette today for a free case evaluation.
Settlement achieved on behalf of an employee who was discriminated against on account of his age.
Arbitration award in race harassment and discrimination suit.
Arbitration award obtained on behalf of employee terminated on account of his national origin.
Jury verdict obtained on behalf of long-term employee in suit for unpaid wages.
Settlement for employee that was retaliated against on account of reporting discrimination.
Settlement for employee discriminated against on account of her gender and age.
Pre-litigation settlement for victim of race & national origin discrimination.
Settlement negotiated in a gender discrimination case.