Irvine Sexual Harassment Lawyer

Irvine Sexual Harassment Attorney

Sexual harassment at work constitutes a serious problem which strips employees of their dignity and security. Residents of Irvine, California who experience workplace misconduct can obtain legal help from an Irvine sexual harassment lawyer to defend their rights and ensure their safety. Both employees and employers need to understand the subtleties of sexual harassment and prevention methods to ensure a safe workplace. If you’re facing harassment at work, an expert employment lawyer in Irvine can help you understand your rights and take action to protect yourself.

Why Choose Us?

The Law Offices of Corbett H. Williams combines extensive legal knowledge with strong commitment to defending employee rights throughout California. Corbett H. Williams, a seasoned attorney who practiced at Jones Day, leads our firm in delivering professional legal strategies built from extensive corporate representation experience.

Our firm’s clients benefit from our established practice of open and transparent communication, which keeps them fully informed and actively engaged during the legal process. Everything we do revolves around delivering the greatest possible results for our clients.

What Is Sexual Harassment?

Sexual harassment involves unwanted and unsolicited sexual advances and sexual favor requests along with verbal or physical behavior of a sexual nature that disrupts someone’s job performance and creates an unfriendly workplace. It is categorized into two main types:

• Quid pro quo harassment. This happens when a person’s job direction is contingent upon their acceptance or refusal of sexual-related favors, such as giving an employee a promotion only if they go out on a date with the manager. Only those with authority are able to be offenders of quid pro quo harassment because they have the power to influence an employee’s job direction.
• Hostile work environment. A hostile work environment occurs when someone harasses another so much that it negatively influences their ability to complete their job successfully, creating an offensive environment. Anyone can create a hostile work environment, including managers, coworkers, and even third parties.

Sexual harassment can manifest in a number of ways including unwelcome comments about a person’s appearance, making inappropriate jokes that make a person or group of people uncomfortable, unwanted physical conduct (such as touching, hugging, or groping), displaying or sharing sexually explicit images, or making sexual gestures.

California Protections

California offers several workplace protections against sexual harassment. The Fair Employment and Housing Act is a state law that forbids harassment based on a person’s sex, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation. This law mandates that employers implement reasonable measures to stop and address discriminatory and harassing behavior immediately.

Employers are liable for supervisor harassment and responsible for non-supervisory employee harassment when they knew or should have known about the harassment but did not act swiftly and correctly. In California, employers must provide regular sexual harassment prevention training to every employee to ensure that both managers and workers understand what harassment involves and how to stop it when it happens.

Steps to Reporting Harassment

You should immediately take action when you encounter workplace harassment. By reporting harassment, you safeguard your rights while ensuring that the harasser faces consequences. The following steps outline how to report harassment effectively:

• Document the harassment. Keep an accurate log of each harassment event that includes its date, time, location, and details about what happened. Record all witness names and their accounts. Proper documentation of harassment incidents is crucial for your case.
• Report the harassment internally. The first step is to bring the issue to your employer through your supervisor, someone from human resources, or another designated company official.
• File a formal complaint. You have the option to submit a formal complaint to external agencies such as the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) if the internal report fails to address your concern. They will conduct an investigation into the harassment allegations.
• Hire an attorney. You need to seek advice from an experienced employment lawyer if harassment persists or you have concerns about retaliation. Legal representation from a lawyer provides you with guidance through legal procedures, clarifies your rights and represents you in legal matters.
• Understand your rights. When you make a harassment complaint, you should know that any retaliatory actions against you as a result are against the law. You may pursue a retaliation claim if your employer responds to your complaint by firing you, demoting you, or changing your job responsibilities.

FAQs About Irvine,CA Sexual Harassment Law

How To Beat Harassment Charges?

To successfully defend against harassment allegations, you need to show that the claims are either untrue or misrepresented. Your defense against harassment charges may involve proving there is insufficient evidence or that the conduct was welcomed while demonstrating the environment remained professional. Effective defense against harassment charges requires strong documentation and witness testimony along with support from legal counsel.

How Do I Prove Harassment in California?

California law requires proof that unwelcome conduct created a hostile work environment through severity or pervasiveness and targeted a protected characteristic like sex or race. Employees need to document incidents and maintain communication records while obtaining witness testimonies and submitting timely complaints to employers or government bodies to establish harassment claims.

How Do I File a Claim for Sexual Harassment in California?

Before filing a sexual harassment claim in California, you need to report the harassment to your employer or supervisor. When internal resolution fails, you have the option to report it to the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Consider consulting an attorney who can help you navigate the process and protect your rights.

When Should You File a Claim for Harassment?

Legal action for harassment may be necessary if your employer fails to stop the harassment after you file internal complaints and the harassment either continues or escalates. Legal action becomes necessary when your employer fails to address harassment properly or when you face retaliation for reporting it. The statute of limitations sets a deadline for filing claims, and this period varies based on the type of claim.

Contact the Law Offices of Corbett H. Williams

If you have been the victim of sexual harassment, you do not have to handle the aftermath alone. Contact the Law Offices of Corbett H. Williams to get started holding the responsible parties accountable and receive justice.