Sexual harassment is in the news every day, presenting a lot of questions for both employees and employers. 2018 SDCBA President Kristin Rizzo detailed some important tenets of sexual harassment claims in a recent op-ed in the San Diego Union-Tribune, explaining in part:
Sexual harassment can take one of two forms: “quid pro quo harassment” and “hostile environment harassment.” Quid pro quo means “something for something” in Latin. In the harassment context, quid pro quo means harassment happens when a boss or supervisor requires some form of unwelcome sexual favor from a subordinate as a condition of a job benefit, such as a promotion, or from a job candidate such as a precondition to their hiring, or in lieu of a job detriment, such as a demotion or termination. Hostile environment harassment happens when the person’s work environment is made so offensive or abusive by the unwelcome sexual conduct of another that it is sufficiently “severe” or “pervasive” to disrupt the work environment.
Examples of sexual harassment include: being sexually propositioned, commentary on the employee’s body, looks or dress, commentary about sexual activity, touching of the employee’s body in a sexual or offensive nature, touching or exposing of the harasser’s genitalia or body in a sexual or offensive nature, unwelcomed graphic discussion of sexual or lewd acts, impeding or blocking movement, leering looks, offensive sexual gestures, drawings or jokes, conduct affecting an employee’s ability to perform their job as usual, or otherwise interfering with their personal sense of well-being in a manner that is related to their gender.
California employers are required to maintain a harassment-free work environment which allows employees to work without the fear or pressure of being harassed. This requires companies to specifically do the following: 1) Provide employees with information (educational materials including posters and handouts) describing what constitutes sexual harassment, and other forms of unlawful practices, and how to make a complaint. 2) Provide sexual harassment training to all supervisors every two years (for companies employing 50 or more), including instruction on the prohibition against and the prevention and correction of sexual harassment and the remedies available to victims of sexual harassment in employment. 3) Provide prompt remediation of unlawful sexual harassment if it is indeed occurring, deter future unlawful conduct and ensure there are no negative consequences for any employee who brings a complaint of sexual harassment or participates in an investigation regarding sexual harassment.
To read Kristin’s full article in the San Diego Union-Tribune, click here. For more general information about issues that arise related to labor and employment law, visit the San Diego County Bar Association website.
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal counsel or serve as legal advice. If you have a legal matter, it is best to consult the advice of an attorney. You can get referred to an attorney for a free 30-minute consultation through the San Diego County Bar’s Lawyer Referral & Information Service at www.sdcba.org/ineedalawyer or by calling 1 (800) 464-1529.