Under California Law, people are protected from workplace sexual harassment under both federal and the state laws. These establish a comprehensive definition of sexual harassment, recognizing it as a form of sex-based discrimination.
If you are asking what constitutes sexual harassment, consulting with a Los Angeles sexual harassment lawyer from Sparrow LLP can help answer your questions and determine your legal options.
Types of Sexual Harassment
At its most basic level, sexual harassment is unwelcome conduct based on an employee’s sex. Under California law, this includes harassment based upon an employee’s actual or perceived sex or gender identity, actual or perceived sexual orientation, and harassment related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related conditions.
This broad protection emphasizes that sexual harassment does not need to be motivated by desire, and even covers gender-based harassment between people of the same sex. The legal definition of sexual harassment falls into the two main categories of quid pro quo and hostile work environment under state law.
Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment
This Latin phrase is translated as this for that. In the legal discussion of sexual harassment, this refers to situations where job benefits or conditions are made contingent upon submitting to unwanted sexual advances or conduct.
Typically, this misuse of power occurs between an individual in an authority role and a subordinate employee. Examples of quid pro quo harassment can include a manager threatening an employee with a bad performance review if they refuse to go out on a date or a supervisor offering a raise or promotion if the subordinate complies with a sexual request.
In a quid pro quo case, a single instance of this behavior could be enough to constitute actionable harassment under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).
Hostile Work Environment
A more subtle, but equally damaging category of sexual harassment is a hostile work environment. This occurs when unwelcome, consistent conduct creates an environment that affects the employee’s ability to perform their job duties. A hostile work environment does not require the loss of a job benefit or a sexually explicit request.
For a workplace to be considered hostile, the harassment must either be a single severe action or a pervasive pattern of behavior. Recurring flirting, suggestive comments, derogatory comments, gender-based teasing, displaying explicit material, attempted or actual sexual assault, and consistent bumping into or brushing against could all fall under this category.
How to Take Action
If you believe you have been the victim of sexual harassment, knowing how to report it is essential. Under FEHA, both individuals and the company as a whole may be held personally liable for sexual harassment.
Begin by documenting everything and keeping these records outside of your place of employment. You do not want your harasser finding evidence of their conduct and attempting to dispose of it. If your company has a harassment policy, follow it and file a formal, written complaint to contribute to this evidence as well.
You can then file a complaint with the state agency, the California Civil Rights Department (CRD), or the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Filing with one agency automatically cross-files the complaint with the other. At any point in this process, you may reach out to a workplace harassment lawyer to discuss your legal options and get your questions answered.