Unwelcome sexual behavior that impacts personal and professional lives constitutes sexual harassment. The definition includes sexual advances as well as verbal and physical misconduct and inappropriate behaviors that create obstacles for workers to perform their duties safely and comfortably.
California offers robust protection against sexual harassment because the law acknowledges the destructive effects it has on workplace culture and individual dignity. According to the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employees should work in discrimination-free environments.
At Empower Sexual Harassment Attorneys, we dedicate ourselves to helping harassment victims fight back through the legal accountability of their offenders. If you or someone you know has faced sexual harassment in San Diego, contact our sexual harassment attorneys for help.
Understanding Sexual Harassment
Workplace sexual harassment under California law consists of unwanted sexual conduct that creates hostile conditions, intimidating situations, or offensive workplace environments. The definition of workplace sexual harassment includes explicit sexual advances, together with various behaviors that create discriminatory conditions and uncomfortable work environments.
Sexual harassment has two distinct categories, which include quid pro quo harassment and hostile work environment harassment. The prohibited actions in the workplace reach further than sexual behavior alone. Offensive comments or treatment because of gender, pregnancy status, or sexual orientation fall under the category of sexual harassment.
California allows sexual harassment claims to be established through a single severe, unwelcome incident that creates a hostile work environment. The law requires employees to take action against harassment without requiring multiple incidents to occur.
Federal and State Laws on Sexual Harassment
- Federal Law
The primary federal legislation protecting workers from sexual harassment in their workplace is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-2). The law prohibits sex-based discrimination affecting all workplace aspects, from hiring to firing to promotion decisions and wage distribution. Employers with at least 15 employees must follow Title VII, which defines sexual harassment as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that:
- Affects employment conditions
- Unreasonably interferes with work performance
- Creates a hostile, intimidating, or offensive work environment
Title VII establishes a standard for workplace conduct across the US while offering legal protection to those who face sexual harassment at work.
Federal Law Against Retaliation
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-3(a)) under federal law makes it unlawful for employers to retaliate against employees who oppose discriminatory sex-based employment practices, file discrimination complaints, or participate in equal employment opportunity investigations.
Employers must protect staff members even when their initial complaint proves unfounded, provided they made it in good faith according to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-3(a)).
Employees need an anti-retaliation provision to ensure safety in reporting discrimination because it protects them from job loss and other negative workplace consequences.
- California Law
The Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) (Gov. Code 12940) under California law provides stronger employee protections than the federal law. FEHA protects employees from harassment, discrimination, and retaliation that occur because of their:
- Sex and gender identity
- Gender expression
- Sexual orientation
- Other protected characteristics
FEHA has distinct provisions that distinguish it from federal employment law in multiple aspects. The harassment claims provision of this law extends its protections to every employer in the state, regardless of their organizational size.
Gender-based harassment falls within the scope of FEHA protection regardless of whether the motive behind the harassment is sexual.
The law requires employers to accept full responsibility for supervisor harassment. Also, it makes them responsible for a coworker, client, or vendor’s misconduct when they should have known about the behavior and did not take appropriate action.
The state law provides victims of sexual harassment with extra time beyond federal regulations to pursue their claims for justice. The state demonstrates its dedication to workplace harassment prevention through these provisions, which protect employees and establish safe, inclusive business environments.
California Law Against Retaliation
FEHA protection against retaliation stands robust under Government Code 12940(h) provisions. Employers and labor organizations, together with their agencies, cannot legally dismiss or exclude workers because they report illegal practices or support FEHA procedures.
Protection under this law safeguards both current employees and those who are both future and former employees of the organization. The protection applies to employees who base their beliefs on reasonable grounds and with good faith that the employer violated FEHA.
Any employment-related act substantially impacting work environment conditions qualifies as an adverse employment action. Under California’s strict anti-retaliation laws, people can exercise their rights while remaining protected from employer backlash.
Federal and State Enforcement Agencies
- Federal Enforcement: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is the primary enforcement agency for federal anti-discrimination laws and Title VII. The U.S. EEOC investigates workplace harassment complaints through:
- Mediation and conciliation attempts to achieve voluntary settlements
- Legal action against employers that break federal anti-discrimination laws
The EEOC allows victims of sexual harassment to start an investigation of their harassment claims by filing a formal charge. The entity enforces federal protections and offers legal avenues to victims who experience harassment at work.
- California Enforcement: California Civil Rights Department (CRD)
The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) operates as the lead enforcement agency for FEHA, which previously functioned under the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). The CRD:
- Investigate complaints of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation
- Provides mediation services to assist with handling claims between parties
- Files court actions against employers at state courts after confirming unlawful harassment evidence
Through outreach initiatives, the CRD teaches the public about civil rights laws. Under a work-sharing agreement between the EEOC and CRD, both agencies receive complaints filed with any of them through an automatic cross-filing process. Victims have improved access to dual federal and state legal avenues to pursue their claims.
The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, through its CRD division, enforces robust anti-discrimination laws to provide residents with legal protection and assistance against workplace sexual harassment.
Types of Sexual Harassment
The laws of California recognize different types of sexual harassment, which display specific, unique characteristics. The three distinct forms of sexual harassment include verbal harassment, unwanted advances, and physical harassment.
Verbal Harassment, Government Code 12940(j)
Verbal harassment incidents involve employees receiving unwanted sexual words or comments, resulting in a hostile work environment. The behavior of sexual harassment takes various forms, including:
- Offensive sexual jokes
- Derogatory gender-based comments
- Sexual innuendos
- Verbal slurs
- Insults
- Name-calling
- Mocking statements
For example, repetitive, inappropriate remarks about employee clothing that carry sexual undertones can generate an unprofessional environment, which makes workers feel uncomfortable. A hostile work environment can be established through verbal harassment when it contains unlawful reasons such as sex or gender discrimination and when it reaches an extreme level of severity or pervasiveness.
Unwelcome Advances
Unwelcome advances consist of romantic or sexual gestures that persist after someone rejects them, together with date requests and propositions. Workplace unwelcome advances include multiple date requests together with explicit sexual propositions and following colleagues to their residences.
A supervisor who persistently asks an employee out and hints at promotions may create an instance of unwelcome advances. When employers demand employees accept these advances as a condition for job benefits, they create circumstances that can develop into quid pro quo harassment.
California work laws safeguard employees against workplace romance and sexual advances because persistent or extremely unwanted sexual contact can create hostile conditions that become unlawful sexual harassment.
Physical Harassment/ Penal Code 243.4 – Sexual Battery
Physical harassment in California constitutes unwanted physical acts and sexual conduct that lack consent, such as:
- Touching
- Groping
- Grabbing
- Kissing
- Rubbing
- Pinching
Physical harassment violates both personal space and the right to bodily autonomy of individuals. The act of repeatedly trying to give a shoulder massage to a coworker can qualify as physical harassment when it constitutes unwanted touching, according to California laws. The category includes physical harassment that extends to severe actions that involve grabbing intimate body parts without obtaining consent.
Sexual battery can be considered a violation under California PC 243.4 when physical harassment has sexual characteristics. A person who touches the intimate areas of another individual without their consent for purposes of sexual arousal, gratification, or abuse commits sexual battery, according to California Penal Code 243.4.
The sexual organs, together with the anus, groin, buttocks, and female breasts, are defined as intimate parts under the law. The law considers any unauthorized contact with these body regions to qualify as sexual harassment under FEHA and sexual battery under PC 243.4
Distinguishing Sexual Harassment from Other Offenses
Sexual harassment consists of unwanted sexual conduct but is different from related offenses, including sexual assault and sexual misconduct.
Sexual Assault, Penal Code 243.4, 261
Under the law, sexual assault encompasses all non-consensual sexual activities, including sexual battery and rape. California PC 243.4 defines sexual battery as the non-consensual touching of intimate body parts for purposes of sexual gratification or humiliation.
The act of unwanted touching through clothing and beneath clothing falls under the sexual assault categories. The legal classification of this offense depends on unlawful restraint or unconsciousness conditions, which determine misdemeanor or felony status.
Under Penal Code 261, rape constitutes a serious sexual assault, which means any sexual intercourse without consent. The laws demand that consent be freely given by both parties, consciously and voluntarily. A person becomes a victim of rape when they cannot give consent because they are too intoxicated or unconscious or because someone else coerces them.
Sexual harassment remains a civil issue, but sexual assault subjects offenders to criminal prosecution, which may lead to imprisonment.
Sexual Misconduct
The term sexual misconduct refers to several non-legal inappropriate sexual activities, which encompass sexual harassment and assault. The definition covers violations of professional standards and policies that do not necessarily satisfy legal criteria. Sexual misconduct includes stalking together with verbal threats and harassment, as well as non-physical behaviors.
The definition of sexual misconduct includes domestic violence in addition to dating violence and sexual exploitation. The fundamental elements of sexual misconduct rest in the use of power alongside control and intimidation to conduct sexual harm against another person who lacks consent.
The term encompasses behaviors that may be considered harmful yet fail to satisfy legal criteria for harassment or assault, although they may qualify under certain legal definitions.
Common Forms of Workplace Sexual Harassment
The workplace displays two main types of sexual harassment that include the following:
Quid Pro Quo Harassment, Gov. Code 12940(j)(1)
Quid pro quo, a Latin phrase that means “this for that,” defines harassment, which happens when supervisors or employers use work advantages to pressure employees into sexual behavior. The abuser, in this case, holds a position of authority that they exploit to force sexual contact from subordinates.
The demand may take explicit form as a promise of promotion for sexual favors, or it can exist through indirect hints and suggestions. Supervisors present better career prospects to employees who comply with their sexual demands, while negative performance reviews become a threat to those who refuse.
Actual authority over the benefit from the harasser is essential for a case to qualify as quid pro quo harassment. The connection between employment benefits and unwanted sexual conduct makes this form of harassment one of the most flagrant and illegal workplace violations.
Hostile Work Environment
A work environment becomes hostile when workers experience repeated unwanted sexual behavior that creates both a hostile and offensive environment at work. A hostile work environment arises when employees experience sexual jokes along with derogatory gender-based remarks and unwanted touching of sexually suggestive images and lewd comments, in addition to inappropriate emails.
Harassment is unlawful when it occurs through severe isolated incidents or manifests as a pattern of repeated behavior. The legal criteria demand that offensive conduct offend a reasonable person and simultaneously inflict harm on the victim.
Harassment incidents may originate from supervisors, coworkers, clients, vendors, and customers. Employers must address and stop workplace hostility through proper prevention and correction when they become aware of improper conduct.
The Impact of Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment results in consequences that affect emotional health, career stability, and life quality.
Emotional Distress
Sexual harassment creates intense emotional trauma that results in patients developing anxiety plus depression,n and PTSD. Chronic stress, fear, and helplessness make victims develop depressive episodes while leading to low self-esteem. Many struggle with self-blame and negative self-worth.
The symptoms of insomnia and nightmares frequently develop in victims experiencing sleep disturbances. Physical health issues emerge from chronic stress because of harassment by causing high blood pressure alongside headaches and digestive problems.
Long-lasting emotional trauma requires professional help for victims to recover from psychological trauma.
Career Setbacks
Workplace sexual harassment creates severe adverse effects on both job advancement and occupational health. Stress and anxiety related to harassment typically cause employees to perform poorly at work and struggle with focus, which results in late submissions.
The absence from work combined with negative consequences for professional reputation leads many victims to face difficulties in career development. Workplace relationships typically deteriorate because victims experience increased isolation.
Victims who flee harassment from their workplace must often resign, which results in financial vulnerability. Workplace retaliation fears stop employees from reporting harassment issues and block their professional development. Workplace sexual harassment causes financial damage through lost income and unemployment, as well as enduring career difficulties.
Online Sexual Harassment
Online harassment incidents have become prevalent in modern digital society, so the law now handles these distinct legal matters.
Legal Considerations
Online sexual harassment receives legal recognition from California state authorities, who have passed legislation to fight this issue. Penal Code 653.2 establishes cyber harassment as a misdemeanor offense when electronic messages send the fear of danger to a person or their family.
The act of posting damaging content through online platforms serves to trigger harassment incidents. Digital evidence, which includes emails and texts and social media posts and recordings, becomes essential proof for sexual harassment cases when brought to court.
The California Evidence Code Section 1108 enables the use of evidence about a defendant’s previous sexual crimes during trials against sexual misconduct charges. Also, California makes it illegal to share intimate photos or videos without consent, which amounts to cyber exploitation.
Examples of Online Harassment
Digital platforms facilitate online sexual harassment that develops hostile areas and inflicts harm on victims. The digital form of sexual harassment consists of both inappropriate messages containing sexual content and jokes and explicit requests directed toward colleagues.
When workers make sexual remarks during video calls, they are participating in harassment behavior. Social media harassment occurs through sending unwanted private communications and making defamatory remarks or disclosing personal details to provoke harassment.
The unauthorized electronic distribution of explicit content is known as cyber-flashing, but revenge porn describes the unauthorized sharing of private intimate images without consent. Offenders develop fake profiles or pretend to be other people when they want to harass victims. Digital spaces require constant attention due to these types of harmful online actions.
Taking Action Against Sexual Harassment
People who encounter sexual harassment in California have multiple options for resolving their issues and obtaining legal protection.
Internal Reporting
Workplace harassment resolution begins with making an internal report. Employers provide specific complaint processes that appear either in employee handbooks or sexual harassment policies.
The reporting process begins through Human Resources and a specified officer who receives complaints. Employers operating in California need written anti-harassment policies and supplemental reporting channels when supervisors become the alleged harassers.
All complaints must be written, and employees should retain a copy of their submission. Employers must perform thorough investigations about all complaints and then make suitable solutions.
Filing a Complaint with the EEOC
Sexual harassment victims have the right to file complaints with the EEOC. California employees have 300 days to file complaints because the state maintains a work-sharing agreement with the EEOC. Complaints can be submitted through an online platform, mail service, or in-person delivery. The EEOC requires all victims to file their complaints before initiating a federal court lawsuit based on Title VII.
Filing a Complaint with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD)
California residents who want to take action against sexual harassment should file their complaints with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD), which used to be known as DFEH. California law grants people three years, starting from the date of the final harassing incident, to submit employment discrimination complaints, including sexual harassment, to CRD.
The longer FEHA statute of limitations enables sexual harassment victims to assess their choices before taking state legal action. A person can file complaints through the California Civil Rights System (CCRS) either online, by postal service, or by contacting them by phone.
The CRD requires complaints before providing a “Right-to-Sue” notice, which becomes essential for filing civil lawsuits under FEHA in California state court. The CRD functions as an impartial investigation body that helps complainants and respondents settle disputes during the resolution.
Legal Assistance
Any person who has endured sexual harassment must consult with a California-based attorney who specializes in sexual harassment law. An attorney helps individuals by explaining their rights and how to report to the EEOC and CRD while evaluating potential civil lawsuit options against the harasser and employer.
Many attorneys specialising in sexual harassment cases provide complimentary first meetings to analyze the situation and establish possible legal choices. Multiple resources exist to help people identify California-based attorneys who practice sexual harassment law and possess the required experience and qualifications.
Working with a lawyer gives victims the knowledge to make sound decisions about their case path and substantially improves their opportunity to find fair solutions for their claims.
Find a Sexual Harassment Attorney Near Me
In California, sexual harassment attracts severe legal repercussions along with severe personal effects. The Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) provides broad protections that ensure employees maintain harassment-free workplaces that are also free of retaliation.
The enforcement of your rights depends on your ability to identify sexual harassment situations along with their different forms and available legal responses. Seeking professional legal advice immediately becomes essential for anyone who has suffered sexual harassment because it helps secure your protection and obtain justice.
At Empower Sexual Harassment Attorneys in San Diego, we assist victims in protecting their rights while pursuing justice against perpetrators. Contact our firm at 619-604-3027 for a private consultation about workplace harassment if you or someone you care about has faced such treatment. Contact us now to start your journey toward justice and create a safer workplace environment.
