| Employment & Labor Law |
| Discrimination |
| Rights: Americans Disabilities Act |
| Employment Contracts |
| Family & Medical Leave |
| Human Resources |
| OSHA |
| Sexual Harassment |
| Wage and Hour Law |
| Wrongful Termination |
Sexual Harassment
While Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 guaranteed certain rights against discrimination for all workers, it is only in recent years when sexual harassment has been recognized as a legal claim. Majority of the states now have existing laws that prohibit workplace sexual harassment.
There are two types of sexual harassment: economic harassment (or quid pro quo), and environmental harassment (or hostile work environment). Quid pro quo harassment involves a demand that an employee, usually female, must submit to unwanted sexual advances in exchange for a work benefit such as promotion, pay raise, or avoiding demotion or termination. Harassment through a hostile work environment occurs when the employer creates, condones, encourages, or permits a work environment hostile, intimidating or offensive to an employee as a result of unwanted sexual conduct in the workplace.
If you are a victim of quid pro quo harassment, you must be able to establish evidence showing that you were subjected to unwelcome sexual advances or harassment. It must also be proved that such harassment was made based upon your gender, and that the reaction of your employer to your refusal to succumb to the harassment materially and tangibly affected the compensation, terms, conditions and/or other privileges of your employment. Once you have properly established these elements, your employer will have the burden of providing a legitimate and nondiscriminatory reason for the action that affected your employment.
Economic or quid pro quo harassment can be committed only by someone who has an authority to change your work status. In hostile work environments, however, employers, supervisors, coworkers, or customers can commit the act of harassment. Behaviors such as repeated requests for sexual favors, offensive language, and demeaning sexual vulgarities and inquiries are some of the acts that constitute hostile work environment sexual harassment. You may seek a court injunction with the help of your attorney against these abusive conditions, or you can leave your job and charge your employer with constructive discharge.