Sexual harassment or discrimination in an academic setting can negatively impact the life and well-being of educators. Luckily, California and federal statutes protect teachers/professors. To pursue a sexual harassment claim, you should understand the definition, ways of lodging a claim, the role of evidence in a claim, and the filing process. At Empower Sexual Harassment Attorneys, we have explained what you need to know as a plaintiff to lodge a successful claim against your harasser in San Diego, CA.

Sexual Harassment Legal Definition

Sexual harassment is defined under both California and federal legal frameworks. The definition in each framework dictates actionable behavior and the laws under which you can lodge your claim.

Title IX

Enacted in 1972, Title IX is federal legislation intended to ban sexual discrimination in learning facilities or academic environments that receive funding from the national government. The law protects learners, educators, and non-teaching employees from sexual harassment, domestic and dating violence, and any other kind of sexual misconduct.

When you work in a California State University facility, Title IX safeguards you from sexual harassment and requires the institutions to have offices that ensure adherence, enforcement, and policies to help resolve issues relating to Title IX.

In an academic environment, federal law defines sexual harassment as any sexually motivated and unwanted behavior that limits or denies learners, educators, or other staff the benefits of engaging in school activities or programs. The conduct prohibited under the law is:

  • Unwanted sexual advances
  • Physical or verbal behavior that generates a hostile environment
  • Asking for sexual favors

Learning facilities have a responsibility to students, teachers, and professors. Educators are prohibited from making education decisions based on a student’s submission to their sexual advances.

These facilities’ policies protect all parties—teachers, professors, and non-teaching staff- against the assumption that the policies protect learners only. Therefore, as an educator, you can lodge a claim to seek reimbursement for sexual harassment, as Title IX protects you.

California Fair Employment and Housing Act

California has statutes like FEHA and the Education Code (EDC) that protect against sexual harassment in academic settings. FEHA makes it unlawful to discriminate or harass an individual, like an intern, job applicant, or colleague, in an employment setting because of:

  • Gender identity
  • Sex
  • Sexual orientation
  • Gender expression

FEHA defines sexual harassment as unwanted requests for sexual favors, sexual advances, or any behavior, verbal or bodily, that makes the intended recipient uncomfortable, leading to an intimidating, offensive, or hostile work setting. Additionally, the unwanted behavior should prevent the recipient from performing official duties. Besides, the conduct does not have to be sexual. It only needs to be perceived as so.

Another California statute that defines sexual harassment in an educational context is EDC § 212.5. Per the statute, sexual harassment in these settings happens as follows:

  • Agreeing to sexual advances or conduct is a condition for employment, promotion, or academic status
  • Agreeing to or declining sexual propositions or conduct is used as grounds for making academic or employment decisions.
  • The harassment or unwanted conduct adversely affects work or academic performance or creates a hostile setting.
  • The behavior is used as grounds for decisions on the victim’s benefits, activities, honors, or programs available in the academic institution.

EDC § 66262.5 further prohibits sexual harassment in the form of sexual violence, sexual battery, or sexual exploitation.

California Civil Code § 51.9

Persons who experience harassment due to professional relationships are entitled to lodge claims or lawsuits for injuries sustained, losses, and other adverse effects from the hostile work environment. Some claims do not fall under the employment bracket, making the civil code necessary to protect those who could be left out, as it encompasses broad professional relationships.

California Sexual Harassment Types

California courts classify most sexual harassment cases into either a hostile work environment or quid pro quo.

  1. Quid Pro Quo Harassment

Quid pro quo is the Latin word for “this for that.” This kind of harassment happens when educational or employment decisions like pay raises, promotions, or job security hinge on the victim’s submission to unwelcome sexual advances. Therefore, if you are a teacher or professor and your supervisor, head of school, or any other person with authority over you states, implicitly or explicitly, that an employment decision hinges on your submission to sexual conduct, then their conduct qualifies as quid pro quo. The harasser in this type of harassment must be an individual with authority. For instance, when a supervisor states that you must engage in sexual intercourse or go for a romantic date with them to increase chances of promotion or training, you can sue them for quid pro quo.

  1. Hostile Work Setting Harassment

A hostile work setting type of harassment occurs when an employer negligently tolerates or creates routine sexual harassment towards some workers. The unwanted sexual conduct must create an abusive and intimidating work setting that is deemed persistent and pervasive and adversely impacts the victim’s performance. Unlike quid pro quo, the harasser does not have to be someone in authority, and the sexual advances are not tied to a particular work environment. Instead, it involves any unwelcome behavior that creates an uncomfortable work environment, such as:

  • Sexist remarks or comments
  • Unwanted physical contact
  • Spreading sexual rumours
  • Unwelcome sexual propositions
  • Sharing unwelcome sexual photos

When proving this type of harassment, you must show there is a pattern in the harasser’s conduct and that it was not an isolated incident. However, an isolated incident can still qualify as a hostile work setting harassment if it is severe. Contact your sexual harassment attorney to evaluate your case and determine if your situation is severe enough to warrant a claim.

Acts that Amount to Teacher/Professor Sexual Harassment

Educators experience sexual harassment from their colleagues, volunteers, or supervisors. When, as a teacher or professor, you experience any of these behaviors at work, you must consult an experienced attorney to help you file a harassment claim:

Sexist Remarks

Sexual harassment does not have to be sexually motivated to be deemed illegal. However, per Title IX, any offensive conduct directed at an employee because of their sex that is considered pervasive or persistent enough to create a hostile work setting is illegal. An academic setting will be regarded as hostile if, for instance, supervisors are labeling female teachers or professors, omitting them from crucial meetings or decisions, or requiring them to dress in a certain way because of their gender.

Inappropriate Physical Contact

Any inappropriate touching by an individual that is sexual and unwelcome by those present, like kissing or hugging, is harassment. Fondling or improper touching of oneself that offends those present is sexual harassment. Severe criminal offenses like rape, sexual assault, or violence on the job also qualify as sexual harassment. However, before you can lodge a claim for these criminal acts, you should report the matter to law enforcement first.

Unwelcome Sexual Advances

When someone makes harassing calls or visits to your office demanding sexual favors or romantic dates, you should report them for sexual harassment.

Sexual Remarks or Comments

When your employer, manager, supervisor, or coworker makes dirty or sexual jokes about your physical appearance or spreads sexual rumors, or speaks about sexual activity in the presence of others, you can report their behavior as sexual harassment. So is displaying pornographic material. The remarks can be in person, via blogs, or online.

Sexual Harassment by Other Parties

Fellow teachers or head teachers commit the common harassment in an academic setting. Nevertheless, you can face harassment from volunteers, parents, or contractors. Title IX places the mandate to protect educators from outsiders. So, if your employer is aware or ought to know an outsider is harassing you and they fail to take any measures to stop the harassment, you can report them for sexual harassment.

The victim and the harasser can be of any gender. It does not have to be the male gender versus the female one. Even though most common cases involve male harassers and female victims, females can be harassers and men can be victims of the same.

Online or Remote Sexual Harassment

Plenty of learning nowadays in academic settings takes place online. Harassers have taken unlawful actions online, hiding behind their computers or laptops. The harassment typically entails sharing pornographic materials, making lascivious comments, and sexting.

Similarly, online harassment can happen through social media. The harassment can be indirect, where someone shares revenge porn with others or spreads false sexual rumors about you online.

California and federal statutes protect you from remote harassment in the same way they protect you from in-person harassment. Therefore, report the matter to the supervisor or employer when the behavior happens, and you can establish a pattern. If they do not take action, you can sue them for damages.

Responsibilities of Employers in Stopping Educator Sexual Harassment

Employers, including educational facilities, are responsible for stopping and preventing sexual harassment. Government Code § 12940k requires employers with at least five workers and learning institutions to have a written anti-harassment policy outlining steps for preventing sexual harassment and measures to resolve the issue. Additionally, the law requires employers to train workers on sexual harassment prevention. Supervisors must undergo two hours of training, while non-supervisory workers must take one hour of training, at least six months before employment or promotion.

Additionally, when an employer learns about a sexual harassment incident, they must take necessary measures provided under their policy, including investigating the matter, resolving it, and taking measures to prevent it.

FEHA holds employers strictly liable for negligence committed by their supervisors, despite being unaware of the incident or having preventive policies in place. The employer has authority over a supervisor and therefore must take responsibility for the supervisor’s actions.

When fellow professors or teachers commit sexual harassment, the employer can only be sued if they were aware or ought to have known of the harassment and did not take any measures to address the complaint.

Understanding the employer’s liability is critical because it underscores the need to report the harassment incident internally before using outside pathways.

Documentation and Reporting

You can protect yourself from sexual harassment by documenting all the incidents, including dates, locations, and times. That way, you will have a strong case when reporting the matter or lodging a claim. Describe the harasser’s behavior and names, and preserve the communication used for the harassment. Keep the documentation and evidence outside work for easy access.

Once you have documented all the details, you can clarify how you feel with the harasser and inform them that their behavior makes you uncomfortable. Directly communicating your feelings to the harasser helps them know their behavior is unwelcome. So, when they persist with their conduct, it will be easy to demonstrate that the behavior was unwanted, as you communicated.

If that does not work, you must report the issue internally to the supervisor or directly to the head of the institution if the supervisor is involved. Many universities in California have Title IX offices, so you should report the issue there. If the office is unavailable, report to the human resources person. The report should be handwritten, and you should retain a copy. If the harasser is a person of authority, there might be a power imbalance, so documenting evidence is crucial. You will not make mere allegations, as you will have proof to back them.

Internal Complaint Process

Academic institutions receiving funding from the federal government must have mechanisms to address sexual harassment, including a Title IX coordinator who ensures the school complies with federal law requirements.

Also, the school must have clear pathways for submitting grievances, investigations, and disciplinary measures.

The law establishes responsible employees, including faculty managers and supervisors, who must report the incidents reported to them or those they notice in person to the coordinators.

The institution must maintain confidentiality by keeping the victim’s name confidential. Besides, they cannot force the victim to name the harasser.

Investigations into the case must be prompt and effective. Once concluded, punishment should be imposed in a manner that deters recurrence. Usually, when senior professors are involved, they are offered the chance to voluntarily resign instead of facing disciplinary action.

Universities are inclined to protect faculty as they are concerned about their stability, which can be a considerable obstacle to the plaintiff. Therefore, although you must pursue the internal reporting avenue, the outcome might not be satisfying, so you manage your expectations and pursue external interventions.

External Reporting

After you exhaust the internal reporting avenues and the unsatisfactory outcome, you should turn to the administrative agencies with the legal mandate to address these issues. These agencies are:

  1. Civil Rights Department (CRD)

CRD is the agency mandated to enforce California workplace harassment and discrimination statutes. The agency will pursue a claim on the plaintiff’s behalf. When using CRD, you should hire a competent sexual harassment attorney to evaluate your case and guide you accordingly.

If the evidence you have is insufficient, you should gather more evidence and organize it to submit a solid complaint.

Your attorney should help you fill out the intake form, where you outline all the information regarding the harassment. Once the form is completed correctly, you can submit it to the agency.

Once the form is received, CRD schedules an interview. Here, you meet with an agency’s representative to answer their questions on the allegations and provide any additional information. Ensure you have legal guidance for the interview to ensure you share accurate and relevant details.

After the interview, CRD will commence investigations. They will request all the documentation and evidence you have. The investigators will find witnesses and record their statements to confirm whether your accusation can be substantiated.

They will close the case if there is no evidence supporting the accusations. However, if the allegations are factual, they will undergo mediation. If no settlement is reached, the agency will file a lawsuit for you in court. Even if CRD closes your file, you have the right to file a lawsuit in court to seek compensation.

  1. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

Title VII established the EEOC to enforce federal anti-discrimination statutes. The advantage of external intervention is that once you complain to one agency, it is cross-filed with the other. So, when you file a claim with CRD, you automatically initiate the same process with the EEOC. Once they receive your complaint, the agency will start its investigations and seek legal action when necessary.

Cross-filing with the two agencies gives you an advantage because you have several options to address the complaint.

Statute of Limitations

California statutes set the timeline for filing sexual harassment claims at 36 months from the time of the last incident. However, there are exceptions to the timeline. When you are a teacher or professor in a public academic institution, you must submit your claim within six months of the incident; otherwise, you will lose the right to sue. However, if a private school or university employs you, the timeline is 36 months.

Also, when you fail to realize that what you are experiencing is sexual harassment, the timeline for the claim can be extended because of the delayed discovery.

When the harassment has been ongoing, the clock starts to tick from the time of the last harassment and not the first.

Talk to your attorney about your incident to explain when you must lodge a claim. If the time has lapsed, the attorney will look for exceptions that can compel the court to extend the timeline.

Before the timeline extension, when pursuing external pathways like CRD, you needed the “right to sue letter” from the agency before proceeding with the matter in a civil court. After receiving the letter, you had twelve months to lodge a private lawsuit. However, the timeline was extended to 36 months, giving victims time to process traumas, collect evidence, and seek legal counsel.

Pursuing a Civil Suit

You cannot file a private lawsuit in court without approval from the CRD or the EEOC. Therefore, when you receive the letter to sue, you should partner with an attorney experienced in handling sexual harassment cases. The attorney will explain your rights and help you navigate the claims process.

Your attorney will then submit a lawsuit against your employer, an academic institution, in court. The lawsuit must detail the harassment, retaliation, or employer tolerating harassment. The attorney must prove that the employer was strictly liable for the harassment or negligently failed to take measures to resolve the matter.

Once your lawsuit is received, the case goes to the discovery stage, where your attorney and the employer’s legal counsel exchange information and evidence. Discovery helps parties know the type of evidence against them. After the case moves to mediation, the opposing parties attempt to settle. The employer will be willing to pay the case at this phase, as they do not want it to go to trial, where the issue becomes public, hurting their image.

If a settlement is not reached, the case proceeds to the trial stage, where the court hears the case and makes a ruling based on evidence and arguments.

An attorney and proper documentation are crucial in winning the trial. Therefore, prepare adequately to ensure you receive compensation.

 Recoverable Damages

A successful harassment claim or lawsuit compensates you for the harm suffered and losses stemming from the unlawful behavior. The common damages the court will award after a successful lawsuit include:

  • Compensatory damages for pain and suffering, dented reputation, and financial losses
  • Front pay if the hostile work environment led to your termination. Here, you can recover lost wages, promotions, employment benefits, and future lost wages if you do not wish to resume work.
  • Back pay if the employer terminated or denied you employment benefits based on sexual harassment.
  • Filing and attorney fees
  • Punitive damages if the employer’s conduct was egregious, oppressive, or fraudulent

Find an Experienced Sexual Harassment Attorney Near Me

If you are an educator in an academic institution, do not remain silent when you experience sexual harassment, as you enjoy protection from the California and federal laws. However, navigating the claim process can be challenging; hence, there is a need for a competent attorney. At Empower Sexual Harassment Attorneys, we will explain your rights, evaluate your complaint, collect more evidence, and submit a strong claim or lawsuit for maximum compensation. Call us at 619-604-3027 for a no-obligation consultation in San Diego, CA.