What Is Sexual Harassment?

Sexual harassment refers to any unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, threats relating to sexual favors, verbal harassment of a sexual nature, physical harassment, and non-sexual conduct relating to an employee’s sex. The law in California does not prohibit trivial annoyances, teasing, offhand comments, or non-serious isolated incidents. It does, however, make it unlawful to harass someone so frequently or severely that it creates an offensive or hostile work environment, or that it results in adverse employment actions against the victim.

Does Sexual Harassment Have to Be Sexual in Nature?

No. Sexual harassment can refer to any offensive remarks, jokes, or conduct regarding an employee’s sex. For example, a coworker constantly making jokes about women workers can qualify as sexual harassment if it creates a hostile work environment for female employees. Any offensive comments or actions about someone’s sex can be harassment.

Do the Victim and Perpetrator Have to Be Opposite Sexes?

No. Although the majority of sexual harassment claims stem from employer-employee relationships of the opposite sex, there are cases in which both parties are the same sex. The sexes of the perpetrator and the victim do not matter in your claim. What matters is the conduct of the perpetrator and the consequences for you as the victim.

Can My Employer Fire Me If I Complain About Sexual Harassment?

Legally, no. It is against the law to terminate an employee for making a complaint about harassment or discrimination in the workplace, as well as to report safety code violations or other broken laws. If you lost your job shortly after complaining about sexual harassment at work, you might be the victim of wrongful termination. The same is true if you suffered any adverse employment action, including a demotion or pay cut.

Do I Need to Retain a Los Angeles Sexual Harassment Attorney?

If you have any doubts about your rights as an employee, questions about what to do, or concerns about how to get your job back or recover damages after sexual harassment, contacting a knowledgeable employment attorney can help.

Los Angeles Gender Discrimination Lawyer

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Los Angeles Gender Discrimination Attorney

Facing discrimination in the workplace can be a stressful experience. Gender discrimination can create a work environment that is hostile and can affect a person’s ability to complete their work to their greatest ability. Regardless, in the workplace, everyone should be treated fairly. If you have been discriminated against due to your gender, a Los Angeles gender discrimination lawyer can help you.

Best Los Angeles Gender Discrimination Lawyer

Gender Discrimination

Gender discrimination in Los Angeles occurs when someone is unfairly treated based on their gender. This can include:

Unequal pay. This involves receiving less pay for similar jobs than your colleagues. An example of this would be paying all women less than men for the exact same position.
Being rejected for promotions or hiring. This can include either rejecting a more qualified applicant in favor of a less qualified applicant because of a preferred gender. This also includes doing the same for promotions.
Harassment. This includes unwelcome or offensive behavior based solely on a person’s gender. Harassment can involve inappropriate comments, jokes, insults, slurs, stereotyping, cyberbullying, or unwelcome touches.
Retaliation. Retaliation involves taking unlawful action against a person due to them reporting unfair behaviors. Retaliation can look like demotions, termination, or disciplinary actions.

Employees are protected from certain mistreatments in the workplace that employers must abide by when performing certain aspects of employment. This includes protection from gender discrimination in the following areas:

Hiring/onboarding
Wages and benefits
Job title and duties
Promotions
Transfers
Layoffs
Training
Vacation time or other time off
Recruiting
Advertising

Laws That Protect Against Gender Discrimination

There are a few laws that protect against gender discrimination. The main law that protects against this is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which protects employees from discrimination based on numerous characteristics, including gender. This law protects against a number of instances, including hiring, terminations, and recruitment.

Men and women must be paid equally for doing equal work in the same establishment, according to the Equal Pay Act of 1963. While they may not be exact replicas, the jobs need to be almost the same. Pay disparities are only permitted if they are based on seniority, merit, the volume or caliber of work produced, or other criteria unrelated to sex.

Title VII was amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) to explicitly state that discrimination against a woman because of her pregnancy, delivery, or medical circumstances is a form of gender discrimination.

What To Do If You Experience Workplace Discrimination

If you are discriminated against based on your gender, it’s important to take steps right away. In order to protect yourself and aim to diminish further discrimination, you can do the following, and an attorney can help you:

Document everything. Keep a record of all incidents and the details surrounding them, such as the time, place, and people involved.
Know your employer’s policy. The policies are likely outlined in the employee handbook, and they may have a process for reporting discrimination.
Speak with the offender. If you feel safe enough to do so, you can have a conversation to discreetly address the issue in case they are unaware of the damage of their actions.
File a report. Report the incident(s) to your employer if having a direct conversation was ineffective or if you did not feel comfortable doing so. Provide them with the appropriate evidence.
File a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. They can investigate your complaint and recommend the next steps, such as mediation or filing a legal claim.
File a legal claim. If every other option has proven ineffective, you may file a discrimination legal claim.

Gender Discrimination Damages

If an employer is found accountable for gender discrimination, they may be required to make amends by paying damages to the affected party. Among the penalties are:

Front pay (wages from the day of judgment onward if reinstatement is not possible)
Back pay for income lost because of discrimination, such as in wrongful termination or promotion denial
Out-of-pocket expenses, such as having to pay for new glasses that, would have been covered by insurance had they not been fired.
Promotion to a position that you were previously denied
Reinstatement of your position with appropriate wages paid
Court costs associated with your claim
Attorney fees for representing you in your claim
Pain and suffering

A Los Angeles workplace discrimination attorney can help you receive the damages you deserve that are most appropriate for your situation.

FAQs

Can You Sue Someone for Gender Discrimination?

You have the right to file a claim against someone for gender discrimination if you feel that you have been subjected to discriminatory treatment because of your gender in violation of federal or state laws prohibiting such discrimination. Before initiating a claim, it usually entails filing a complaint with the EEOC or a comparable state body.

Is Gender Expression a Protected Class in California?

Gender expression is a protected class in California. This means that people are shielded from prejudice or mistreatment because of their gender identification, regardless of how they choose to show it through their behavior, appearance, or other traits. If a person is discriminated against based on their gender expression, they may have grounds to file a claim against their employer.

What Is the Violation of Gender Discrimination?

When someone is treated unfairly or less favorably due to their gender in the workplace, in the classroom, in housing, or in other spheres of public life, this is known as gender discrimination. Disparate treatment, such as unequal compensation, rejection for promotions, harassment, or other unfavorable actions due to bias or gender stereotypes, can fall under this category.

Does Gender Discrimination Only Protect Women?

Gender discrimination does not only protect women. While historically, these laws have been put in place to protect women from unfair treatment and unequal pay, men, transgender people, and non-binary individuals are also affected by gender discrimination. Discrimination may include unequal pay, crude jokes, stereotyping, harassment, and other treatment based on gender that contributes to an unsafe or hostile work environment.