Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a well known Silicon Valley venture capital firm, is being sued for gender discrimination and retaliation by partner Ellen Pao. We applaud the tenacity of women like Ellen Pao who have the courage to stand up and fight for their rights in the workplace. Pao claims that in 2006, a Read More …
A former Galveston County, Texas deputy named James Gist is suing his boss, a female constable named Pam Matranga. Gist has accused Matranga of several inappropriate and crude acts. On one instance, Gist claims Matranga pulled her blouse over his head and pressed his head against her breasts. Another graphic encounter allegedly consists of Matranga Read More …
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and the United States Federal law in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (Title VII) prohibit gender discrimination in the workplace and harassment based on the sex of an employee. Harassment is conduct that is not necessary for the performance of a supervisory job, but is Read More …
Victims of sexual harassment often add a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress to their complaints. To support a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress, a plaintiff must prove that the defendant’s conduct was so outrageous that it exceeded all bounds that are usually tolerated in a civilized community. Severe emotional distress means Read More …
In order for a hostile work environment lawsuit to be viable, the sexual harassment must be sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the victim’s employment and create an abusive and hostile work environment. There is no bright line rule for what conduct is sufficiently severe or pervasive sexual harassment to constitute a hostile work environment. Read More …
A successful hostile work environment sexual harassment claim must show that the harassment is sufficiently severe of pervasive to alter the victim’s environment into one what is hostile and abusive. The hostile work environment sexual harassment may be either severe or pervasive or both. With respect to the pervasiveness of sexual harassment, courts have held Read More …
Sexual favoritism can create a hostile work environment, even for those who are not sexually propositioned. California law provides that plaintiffs may establish the existence of a hostile work environment, even when they themselves have not been sexually propositioned. Widespread favoritism based upon consensual sexual affairs may imbue the workplace with an atmosphere that is Read More …
Attorney Timothy Broderick discusses the options one has in taking the first steps in responding to sexual harassment in the workplace.
It is illegal for an employer to retaliate against an employee who has made a discrimination or sexual harassment claim, or who has filed a charge with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or who has participated in a sexual harassment investigation as either a complainer or a witness, Read More …
“Hostile work environment” sexual harassment occurs when an employee is subject to unwelcome advances, sexual innuendos, or offensive gender-related language that is sufficiently severe or pervasive from the perspective of a reasonable person of the same gender as the offended employee. Hostile work environment harassment requires, under the law, a link between the hostility by Read More …
Sexual harassment can manifest itself in different forms, which makes it difficult for a sexual harassment victim to accurately assess the strength of their harassment claim and/or retaliation claim and what the next steps ought to be. Employment law attorneys and sexual harassment attorneys can help you navigate this complicated legal area. In California, the courts Read More …
An employer’s human resources department has the goal of protecting the employer. After a sexual harassment victim makes a complaint to management or the human resources department, it is important for sexual harassment victims to realize that they should not necessarily take management’s word in determining whether they have a viable legal claim. The information Read More …
It is illegal for an employer to retaliate against a sexual harassment or discrimination victim for filing a charge with the DFEH or EEOC, participating in a sexual harassment investigation, or opposing discriminatory practices. If, for example, an employee makes a claim of sexual harassment that does meet the legal criteria of being sufficiently severe Read More …
It is important for victims to know their rights. Using tools such as literature on sexual harassment and the advice of an attorney to understand what conduct constitutes sexual harassment is a powerful step in confirming a victim’s rights and can build confidence and assist in moving forward with the next steps in stopping the Read More …
After an employee makes a complaint to his or her employer regarding sexual harassment, the employer is required to take action. The California FEHA states that employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent unlawful harassment. California and federal law requires that an employer must take remedial action in response to a report of sexual Read More …
Under California law, there is an affirmative defense to limit damages in harassment actions called the avoidable consequences defense, which an employer may raise when a sexual harassment victim delays reporting the harassment to the employer. California courts have recognized that a defending employer has the ability to plead an affirmative defense in sexual harassment Read More …
As the harassment occurs, it can be helpful in later litigation to have a written account of each incident of harassment that took place. As part of documenting the harassment, make sure to save any memos, letters or emails that are related to the harassment, but be careful not to violate the employer’s confidentiality and Read More …
In order to prove a cause of action for sexual harassment, the plaintiff must show that the harasser’s behavior was unwanted. In order to be sure that the harasser knows that his or her conduct is unwanted, a victim should tell the harasser to stop. A victim of sexual harassment should clearly tell the harasser Read More …
Unsure if you have the time, energy and resources to file a sexual harassment claim? This book provides answers to your difficult questions.
