Articles Posted in Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is a prevailing problem among both genders. Most people think of it as an issue that happens at work but it can occur anywhere people are together. Sexual harassment is any type of unwanted sexual advance, obscene remark, or illicit carnal innuendo. It doesn’t matter if it happens in the workplace, another professional environment, or in a social context. Unwanted sexual content of any nature during a human encounter can be considered sexual harassment. We like to think our little slice of heaven here in Sacramento and our beautiful surrounding area is impenetrable by such evils of the world but, unfortunately, sexual harassment happens even here.

The 2012 case of Lisa Beauchamp, who sued her boss at the Teamsters Union for maintaining a sexually charged environment, is particularly interesting. She sued her boss, Tim Tobin, and the Teamsters Union 150 and won. The strange turn this case took was that she filed her lawsuit after the statute of limitations ran out. So, even though she won, she was not allowed to collect any money for her pain and suffering. The Teamsters representative made a statement to the effect that the judgment meant nothing and his client was exonerated although he had been found guilty of having party girls sit on his lap, massage him, and consistently make lascivious commentary. The verdict required no punishment simply because too much time had passed. There is no protection for future workers at the Teamsters Union 150.

Another most unusual local harassment case happened at the Yahoo headquarters where a female employee, Nan Shi, accused a female executive, Maria Zhang, of sexually harassing her in 2014. Her complaint explains how the female executive promised a bright and successful future in the company for her if she was to provide her with sexual favors both physically and virtually. The female employee complained to authorities but no investigation ever took place. She was given unpaid leave instead. The unpaid leave eventually turned into termination of her employment. She also noticed that her previous performance reviews were changed to show poor work performance. Yahoo vehemently denied any wrongdoing on the part of the executive.

In the States, more than 15,000 sexual harassment cases are registered with EEOC, which is short for Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on an annual basis. The laws formulated by EEOC relate to employment agencies, labor institutions and the federal government.

Sexual harassment, as a matter of fact, may include unwanted moves and favors between employees and officers in organizations. In the workplace, such actions can be taken to the EEOC in order for filing proper cases. If such actions cause an employee to lose concentration while working, then the law gives a right to that employee to file a lawsuit against that harasser. These types of incidents have many forms. As a matter of fact, it is important to note that the victims of sex harassment may include a girl as well as a boy.

In another case, the victim can belong to the same sex. This means a boy can also harass another boy, and a girl can also harass another girl. In the same way, a supervisor may harasser an employee and a manager can harasser her supervisor. In most cases, verbal expressions are clear indicator of sexual harassment. In such cases, one can turn to the help of an expert sexual harassment lawyer in Sacramento, CA.

Do you want to file a case against your colleague who tried to harass you sexually? If so, you should consult a good sexual harassment lawyer in California. But your first step should be to consult the human resource department of the company where you work. Your second move should be to find a good lawyer and share your situation with him. But this step should be taken only if the HRM department gives no response to you.

In California, there are two types of harassment namely hospital environment and quid-pro-quo. Quid-pro-quo involves the exchange of favors of sexual nature in exchange for a benefit. In such situations, you, being a victim, can choose to file a case against the defendant or harasser.

In a hostile environment, you will feel uncomfortable on account of the actions or words of another employee or co-worker. The environment is of sexual nature in most cases. A common example is comment or joke of sexual nature. For example, in a situation, if one employee is telling jokes to another employee, and you overhear them, then you can also file a case against them. In the same way, offensive actions or comments reflecting an employee’s sexual orientation, race, religion or gender also come under the banner of a hostile environment. This is not a good thing. And if you become a victim of sexual harassment, you have the right to file a case.

Many parents are confident that their children will be safe in schools. They should be because ideally there should be no imminent harm in schools for their children. Unfortunately aside from the incidents of bullying in many schools nowadays, 44% of school children are experiencing sexual harassment.

It cannot be denied that sexual harassment nowadays pervade in many unexpected places – even in schools. Even with the wide discussion of this topic in mainstream media, the issue still persists almost in every corner of this society. Its widespread occurrence in schools can result to many problems simply because of the fact that schools are supposed to be their avenue for learning and development. Unfortunately, these processes of development and learning are impeded by experiencing sexual harassment.

These 87% of these kids who are experiencing sexual harassment are suffering from disturbing effects like stomachaches (could be due to stress), absenteeism, fatigue, and poor sleep. The effects can be seen through the change of social behavior and their attitude towards school. The 37% of girls being harassed are begging their parents not to go to school. The male population of children being harassed in schools seems to be more tolerant with only 25% saying they don’t want to go to school after the harassment.

Over time, sexual harassment cases are going up on the Internet. Perpetrators, nowadays, are making use of their computers in order to harass others. They are using the Internet for this purpose, because the use of Internet on mobile phones is on the rise. Almost every online worker makes use of mobile phones in order to stay connected with his or her employers, colleagues, friends and family members. So, they have to keep mobile communication or they will lose touch with their employers, which may result in job loss.

It is a misconception that sexual harassment incidents happen with those workers only who work in a physical office or workplace. The fact is that one out of every three jobholders now work through the Internet. They are connected to the offices of the company located in different parts of the world. So, in order to prevent harassment, it is the duty of the employers to include training lessons in the training material describing the harms of sexual harassment in the workplace.

Sexual harassers make use of a wide variety of means in order to harass their victims. One of the most commonly used medium is the email service. In this case, the victim receives emails containing sexual texts, pictures or other stuff in their inbox. Usually, these emails are sent by their fellow workers or employers. Due to these emails, the work environment gets effected and the victim fails to work properly, leading to reduced productivity. As a result, the harassment causes a considerable harm to the reputation of the company as well. If you have been a victim of online sexual harassment in California, then you should choose to file a case against the sender of the email. To make things a bit easier, you can hire the services of an experienced lawyer in California.

As an employee, you may have been given information about your organization’s policies against sexual harassment. However, if you have to deal with such a situation, you will find yourself alone. You will not be able to have an idea of what you should do. You will not even be sure about whether you really have a sexual harassment case. At this point, it is best for you to get in touch with a good lawyer.

You are most likely having a case if you are being harassment by another employee in the same organization. In order to file a case, you should contact a lawyer. However, there is no standard definition to know if you can file a claim or not. The court decides whether your claim is right or wrong. Other places where these types of incidents take place include schools, colleges, and stores and so on.

Actions that are included in harassment include improper touching, sexual advances, and sexual requests. At times, a manager can force an employee for sexual relationship in exchange of a pay raise or promotion. Aside from this, sexual photos, sexual jokes and repeated request of sexual nature are all come under the same category.

Sexual harassment is a serious offense, especially in a workplace. No one should be allowed to harass another employee freely in an organization. At times, it is difficult to decide what is acceptable and what is not. If you are a manager in an organization and you feel that the employees are not familiar with the company’s policies against sexual harassment, then you should consider training them. With training, you can clarify the policy and the expectations of the company towards this sensitive issue.

The purpose of this training is to prevent sexual harassment and inform employees of the harmful situations that can take place due to sexual harassment. How can you know if preventive training can help prevent sexual harassment in a workplace? Following are some examples of situations where you need to consider training your employees.

Training is necessary when you notice that employees are making inappropriate comments of sexual nature. This means training is necessary when the employees try to cross the workplace boundaries. The purpose of the training should be to teach dos and dont’s of working in an business environment. This will ensure the employees have a peaceful and comfortable environment to work.

Sexual harassment incidents may cause a lot of legal and financial problems to an organization. It affects the harassed party as well as the environment where it takes place. Sexual harassment can ruin the victim’s peace of mind. It can have terrific affect on the victim’s emotions and performance. Therefore, an employer should understand its bad effects and try to reach out to the effected employee in order to boost the process of recovery.

You, as a manger, can easily identify if an employee is being harassed. For example, sexual harassment can affect the performance of the employee in the short term. In addition, if no steps are taken to fix the problem, the employee’s performance may deteriorate to a very low level. The victim may miss work over and over again and avoid situations in which the harassment can take place. Moreover, the employee will lose interest in the work due to extreme stress and worries. These are some of the more common signs that can help you figure out if an employee is being sexually harassed.

An employee may also suffer from this sort of stress even after they had made a sexual harassment claim. The victim may be afraid of working with the person who is trying to harass them. This fair may penetrate the thoughts and behavior of the victim. In order to stop the things from getting worse, you should separate both the harasser and the victim right away. They should not be allowed to work in the same place. Apart from this, you might warn the perpetrator about the legal actions and consequences if the matter is taken to the court of law. You should explain the retaliation policy of the company to both the parties.

The following blog entry is written to illustrate an example of a sexual harassment case. Reviewing this kind of lawsuit should help potential plaintiffs and clients better understand how parties in personal injury cases present such issues to the court.

(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this sexual harassment case and its proceedings.)

FACTS/CONTENTIONS

According to court records: In early November 2007, during math class at XYZ Middle School, a part of defendant ABC Unified School District (ABC-USD), with defendant teacher Dan Barrett, minor plaintiff was walking back to her chair and was approached from behind by defendant Barrett. Defendant Barrett reportedly lifted plaintiff XYZide down and completely off the ground, holding plaintiff on or about her buttocks and positioning her head directly in his groin area, and shook her up and down several times in front of the class.

After the incident, plaintiff sat down and put her head down until class was over. She spoke with classmates who told her to report the incident. She said Cindy Williams, an administrator or assistant, said she would call plaintiff’s mother and notify school personnel. Williams instructed plaintiff to return to class.

Plaintiff said that in March 2008, she was waiting for her mother to pick her up from school, and while she was standing on school grounds, defendant Barrett approached her with a crossing sign in his hand. Plaintiff said he spoke to her about seeing her in class and then struck plaintiff on the buttocks with the sign and laughed as he walked away.

Plaintiff said that during a School Attendance Review Board meeting, she reported the incidents, but an administrator told her it was not the time or place to discuss such things.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

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The following blog entry is written to illustrate an example of a sexual harassment case. Reviewing this kind of lawsuit should help potential plaintiffs and clients better understand how parties in personal injury cases present such issues to the court.

(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this sexual harassment case and its proceedings.)

CASE INFORMATION
FACTS/CONTENTIONS

According to Plaintiff: On April 7, 2006, plaintiff was a patient at defendant ABC Regional Medical Center. She was sexually assaulted (vaginal penetration) by a male certified nursing assistant (“CNA”). She reported the incident to the LAPD the following day. The subsequent LAPD investigation determined that there were about 10 other victims who stepped forward following a televised plea by the LAPD and plaintiff. Five prior victims testified at trial that they were also sexually assaulted and that they had reported the assaults to hospital personnel. The CNA was arrested and arraigned before jumping bail set at $250,000 in 2006. He is still at large.

Plaintiff alleged that defendants ABC Medical Center and XYZ Healthcare Corporation were negligent in retaining the CNA after past complaints, that defendants ratified the sexual battery committed by the CNA, that defendants ratified the sexual harassment (Civil Code section 51.9) of the CNA, and that defendants acted in conscious disregard of the safety of its patients.

The hospital acknowledged receiving only one report, which it thoroughly investigated. Defendants contended that the one prior report was properly investigated by defendants and the State Department of Health and no wrongdoing was established. Defendants further contended that the CNA’s conduct was not ratified. After plaintiff’s report to the LAPD, the CNA never worked another hour in the hospital. Defendants additionally contended that plaintiff’s symptoms could not be attributed solely to this incident, in which the digital penetration lasted only a matter of seconds. Plaintiff had pre-existing psychological problems and exaggerated her problems.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

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