Sexual Harassment Lawyer

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Although the term sex is in the phrase sexual harassment, sexual harassment is not always about sex. It is often about power. For these reasons the California legislature recently changed the law on sexual harassment to make sexual harassment unlawful even if it is not done for sexual gratification.

There are many categories of sexual harassment. These categories include:

• Hostile Work Environment Sexual Harassment – involves severe and pervasive sexual harassment of a verbal or physical nature. The harassment is unwanted so it is hostile.
• Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment – meaning this for that, I will give you a job benefit if you allow me to engage in sexual harassment. Generally quid pro quo sexual harassment is done by a supervisor, to a subordinate.
• Retaliation for Sexual Harassment – when the sexual harassment victim is retaliated against because they will not tolerate the sexual harassment, complain about it, or simply do not go along with it the law has been broken. Retaliation includes the loss of a job, job benefits, and undesirable job assignments. Retaliation is a claim brought against employers. Retaliation can be found if the sexual harasser is the cause of the retaliation, or somebody else in the company is.
• Failure to Stop Sexual Harassment – Employers have an obligation to take measures to stop sexual harassment. These measures include appropriate discipline including firing the harasser. Transferring the sexual harassment victim opposed to the harasser may be discriminatory treatment or adverse treatment due to the complaint of sexual harassment. Remedial measures are considered inadequate if the employer’s method of dealing with the sexual harassment does not stop it, is unfair, leads to discrimination or retaliation.

TYPES OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT

Male on Female Sexual Harassment –The most common form of sexual harassment. In these cases men bother female employees. The harassment may involve leering, gestures, comments about the female=s body, physically touching the female=s body, or going out of their way to engage in personal conversations with the female in order to flirt.

Female Supervisors Sexually Harassing Male Subordinates – We have experienced a growing number of female on male sexual harassment cases. These cases generally involve female supervisor sexually harassing male subordinates. In one case the female supervisor adjusted the male=s schedule so he was always around her. She sent him pictures of herself in a bikini, and revealing outfits. She told the subordinate a certain song was their song.

Male on Male Sexual Harassment – Involves men sexually harassing other men. The man being harassed does not have to be gay, nor does the harasser. Touching another man’s buttocks or penis is sexual harassment regardless of whether a straight man does it to a straight man, or a gay man does it to a straight man. Male on male sexual harassment cases often involve sexual harassers who have perverse ideas that touching other men in a sexual fashion, or stating they want to perform oral sex on them is ok behavior.

Supervisory Sexual Harassment – Supervisors may include team leads and those employees who direct the flow of operations and work assignments. Bosses and managers are also in the group of supervisory sexual harassment. It is not necessary that the supervisor be the supervisor of the sexual harassment victim. Corporations are also liable for sexual harassment committed by owners, directors, officers, and high ranking managerial employees. Firm head, Karl Gerber is adept at cross-examining sophisticated, intelligent, high level sexual harassers and getting damaging testimony from them.

Sexual Assault – Happens when the victim fears they are about to be touched on their sexual organs. Sexual organs include breasts, genitals, and buttocks. Sexual assault in the workplace is an intentional tort which means the sexual assailant must have intended to cause the victim to believe they were capable of and about to touch their sexual organs. Sexual assault might also involve the sexual assailant grabbing their own genitals, or moving their own breasts towards the victim.

Sexual Battery – Occurs when the sexual batterer actually makes physical contact with the victim’s sexual organs, breasts, genitals, or breasts. The sexual batterer may also use their own sexual organs to touch a non-sexual part of the victim’s body such as their hand. Sexual battery is a serious form of sexual abuse at work. Sexual battery cases involve allegations so severe it is often possible to obtain greater monetary recovery on a sexual battery case than one that does not involve sexual battery.

Unwanted Physical Touching – Involves sexual battery, but it also encompasses any touching. Shoulder massages, hand caresses, hair touching, skin feeling, and arms placed on shoulders may all constitute physical touching. If the victim of unwanted physical touching has let the harasser know the touching is not welcome, it is unwanted and constitutes sexual harassment. Affirmatively telling the sexual harasser the touching is unwelcome is one way to express a lack of consent for the touching. Other ways to express a lack of consent include: pulling away from the unwanted physical touching, facial expressions, or a variety of comments that should indicate a lack of consent.

Verbal Sexual Harassment – The list of verbal physical harassment is endless. Jokes, comments about one’s body, requests for dates, suggestions the harasser should take the victim of sexual harassment out all constitute verbal harassment.

Sexually Harassing Text Messages,
E-Mails, or Letters – In the olden days evidence in sexual harassment cases sometimes involved unsolicited love notes the harasser left on the victim’s windshield or elsewhere. In recent years our firm has handled many sexual harassment cases involving text messages. Sexually harassing text messages are powerful evidence that tell the story of unwanted sexual harassment. Sometimes the text messages are frequent; the harasser keeps attempting to get an answer until the victim finally answers. Due to the existence of the text messages, it may be difficult for the harasser to completely deny their interest in the sexual harassment victim, or their sexual harassment.

Sexual harassment comes in all shapes, sizes, ages, ethnicities, and sexual orientations. Firm head, Karl Gerber has handled hundreds of sexual harassment cases. We have settled sexual harassment cases for more than $800,000 in present cash value. In 2014 we settled a Panorama City sexual harassment case for $225,000, A Van Nuys sexual harassment case for $200,000, and a Camarillo sexual harassment case for more than $160,000. We have also tried in court and arbitrated sexual harassment cases.