3 Types of Sexual Harassment at The Workplace

Do you know visual harassment is a form of sexual harassment in the workplace?

California’s Constitution protects employees from being harassed within the workplace.  Employees and employers should be familiar with the Fair Employment and Housing Act and the California Government Code § 12940(j)(1), which makes it illegal to harass an employee. Harassment isn’t always physical or directed at a particular employee, but it may still offend that employee. Employees may be targets of harassment based on their gender, gender identity, how they express their gender, or based on an employee’s pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions (Cal Gov Code § 12940(j)(4)(C)). However, sexual harassment remains the most prevalent in the workplace, above all other forms of harassment.

Sexual harassment can come from physical, verbal, or visual acts.

• Physical Sexual Harassment
• Verbal Sexual Harassment
• Visual Sexual Harassment

What is expected of the employer and or organization?

It is not always an employer who is sexually harassing the employee; sometimes, it can even be other employees sexually harassing an individual. However, this does not absolve the employer from being responsible for the occurrence of the harassment (Gov. C. § 12940(k)). Under FEHA regulations, employers are held accountable for not taking reasonable steps to prevent harassment from taking place. Employers took reasonable steps to ensure a safe and sexual harassment-free work environment, including providing prevention training. Employers are also expected to provide all employees with a copy of the California Fair Employment and Housing fact sheet upon being hired.

If an employee feels unsafe in their workplace, it is important to discuss their potential claim with a Sexual Harassment Lawyer.

1- Physical Sexual Harassment

Physical sexual harassment is the most obvious and well-known form of sexual harassment. It is exercised through unwelcome touching, such as rubbing up against a person, physically interfering with another’s movements, or preventing another from completing their work. Examples of unwanted touching would be if Employee A placed his arms around Employee B and Employee B felt uncomfortable with this and asked Employee A to stop. Another example would be if Employee A would block Employee B with his body from leaving the copy room, preventing Employee B from leaving that area without touching Employee A. An employee who has been subjected to physical harassment should discuss the matter with a Sexual Harassment Lawyer.

2- Verbal Sexual Harassment

Remarks or comments that are disrespectful insults or slurs may also be considered verbal harassment towards an individual. Under FEHA regulations, employees may identify their experience with verbal comments as “harassment” even through nicknames, labeling, or titles.  Examples of this would be employee A nicknaming employee B “Hot Stuff” or “Big Butt Belinda.” These kinds of nicknames or titles are offensive and comment on an individual’s anatomy, and also have a sexual connotation.

Although the workplace is a space for professionals employed by an organization, some employees today are subjected to feeling uncomfortable and endure unwelcome interactions while at their place of employment.  This can be distracting for a victim of this behavior, leaving him or her afraid to go to work.  The Fair Employment and Housing Act regulations recognize verbal harassment as a form of harassment and specify “romantic overtures” as a type of verbal harassment. But what exactly does that even mean? Put simply, this means romantic or flirtatious gestures from person A to person B to attempt to progress a platonic or formal relationship to a romantic level. These attempts, as in plural, are continuous and consistent.

To give rise to a claim, romantic or flirtatious remarks are still considered harassment whether the remarks are subtle or obvious. Subtle verbal overtures may be an invitation to go on a lunch or dinner date.  In this scenario, although an invitation to lunch or dinner may be a way in which friends interact with one another, depending on the particular circumstances this may be construed as harassment.  An obvious verbal overture may be a comment such as “We would make beautiful babies together” or “I wonder what it would be like if we dated”. These comments are obvious in an attempt to escalate a relationship into a romantic and or sexual realm.

An individual with this issue at work would need to contact a Sexual Harassment Lawyer to see if they have a claim against their employer.

3- Visual Sexual Harassment

The Fair Employment and Housing Act recognizes that sexual harassment may come in the form of visual harassment (2. Cal Gov. Regs. § 11019(b)(1)). At first glance, “visual harassment” may seem obvious because one individual is exposing themselves to another who does not appreciate the exposure. However, visual harassment comes in other forms that are not as blatant as perhaps a fellow employee exposing. Visual harassment can be demonstrated through cartoons or drawings considered offensive and/ or insulting to the victim. For example, a male employee may draw the character of a fellow female colleague in which her breast size is exaggerated. In that scenario, the female employee is being sexually harassed based on the visual of herself, which could be construed as sexual while also making her feel uncomfortable.

More commonly, in an age of technology, one employee showing a video or picture to another employee in the workplace in which that individual finds the visual offensive or insulting may be considered visual harassment even though it does not involve that particular employee being offended. For example, a female or male employee may show or attempt to show another coworker a video of herself or himself having sexual intercourse with his or her partner. In this scenario, although the video does not have anything to do with the employee shown in the video, this act is still considered visual harassment because it is sexual, offensive, and unwelcome.

Visual sexual harassment is also exercised through posters displayed within the workplace. Posters that would fall under this category of visual harassment, as mentioned above, would contain visuals that are offensive in their sexual nature and offend the particular individual.

Lewd gestures are also recognized under the Fair Employment and Housing Act as visual harassment. This could be interpreted to cover an array of acts being performed by one employee that offends another particular employee. For example, one employee may gyrate or perform pelvic thrusts toward another employee. Although the employee carrying out the act is not touching this particular employee, nor are they even conducting themselves in that way about that specific employee, it is still considered visual harassment.

An employee who is experiencing this type of visual harassment should call a Sexual Harassment Lawyer.

How to stop sexual harassment at work?

Do you know what is sexual harassment? And what to do to stop sexual harassment at work. Although harassment in the workplace is illegal in California, the issue remains a hot topic in the media and the courtroom. The Fair Employment and Housing Act requires employers and organizations to ensure a harassment-free workplace. However, this obligation only requires them to take “reasonable steps” to make this happen. Recent news stories have highlighted that more applicants and employees have spoken out to disclose the unlawful treatment they received at work. Unresolved is the question of what the best way to encourage change in the workplace is to stop sexual harassment. However, employees must know their rights and what constitutes a hostile workplace environment until this issue is resolved. An employee may feel that there is a problem at work and should contact a sexual harassment attorney to discuss their case.

A Harassment Attorney is available to explain harassment definition and assist in cases where sexual harassment has been a problem. In EEOC v. Prospect Airport Servs., 621 F. 3d 991, 2010 U.S. App. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission brought suit under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to terminate an employee. It claimed that the employee had been unlawfully placed in a hostile workplace. According to the former employee, he was subject to constant sexual advances by a female co-worker. The inappropriate behavior and sexual advances included the sending of love notes and photos to the employee. She also shared suggestive photos with the employee and sent romantic messages to other employees. He was also cat-called by a female coworker as he passed certain work areas. The employee continued this behavior for a long time, making numerous complaints to his supervisors and managers. While some complaints were ignored, others were not addressed.

In this case, the Court found that the employee had a hostile work environment claim due to three factors. First, the employee presented sufficient evidence to prove that it was a matter of fact whether he encouraged his coworker’s sexual acts even though he had repeatedly rejected her. He presented evidence to show that he did not encourage his female coworker. The co-worker was propositioned so often that the employee could reasonably consider her abusive and hostile behavior. The third factor was that the coworker was so pervasive, and the employer’s insufficient response was sufficient to make the matter go before a jury.

This case shows that an employee can bring a lawsuit against their employer or organization regarding co-workers’ actions. It strengthens the case if they do so more than once. Continuous behavior is more important when a plaintiff has to present their case against a coworker. However, it is not the exact same standard when making a claim against a supervisor. It may suffice to make a claim against an employer for creating a hostile working environment if the employee is subject to sexual assault by their supervisor. This was proven in Dee v. Vintage Petroleum, Inc, 2003 106 CA4th 30 and 35, 129CR2d 923, 927. Even though the case involved a racial insult, the Court found that the plaintiff was able to create a hostile work environment by merely mentioning it once.

What level of conduct is necessary for hostile work environments to be considered? 

The nature of the unacceptable behavior is important when deciding whether a workplace environment is hostile because of sexual harassment. A set of facts may consist of subtle comments or one comment, but a sexual assault allegation or horseplay that is sexually explicit can be as significant as a whole. Hocevar (8 ^th Circuit. 2000) 223F3d 721, 738 is an example of conduct that would not be considered severe enough to constitute a hostile work environment. The Court did not consider that the comments made by the employee were offensive, coupled with a slow dance at a company event, to be sufficient to constitute a hostile work environment. Even if a supervisor made the invitation, it may not be considered a hostile work environment if it is only on one or two occasions.

The bottom line is that employees who are well-informed about their rights will be more able to protect themselves in the workplace, even if the employer does not take reasonable steps to stop sexual harassment in the workplace. An employee might also be able to gather enough evidence to call a sexual harassment attorney in their locality to discuss possible remedies.

( Brennan Townsend & O’Leary Enterprises Inc. (2011) 199 CR3d 292, 325) The severity of inappropriate behavior must be measured to determine if there is a hostile environment in the workplace. ( Ellison v. Brady (9th C. 1991) 924 F2d 872, 878)

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