Legal Question in Employment Law in California
I am a bartender in Anaheim, Ca. For the past two months I have been, I would say stalked, by a man that used to be my friend. And, only my friend. He is a regular patron at the bar where I work. I told my boss what he was doing whe nhe started. So, she has been aware of it from the beginning & has also called him and told him to stop. But, now it seems he has fooled her with whatever lies he is telling because she will not let me "86" him on my shifts and she is now taking away my shifts, one by one. I think she is going to fire me because of this.
I believe it to be stalking because he was sending me 75+ per day text messages containing vulgar, obscene, threatening words. Until I finally had to block him from my number which is costing me $10/mo. In addition to this, I have received 12 letters from him via US Mail, leeft on my car, and trown at me at the bar. He has also said very abusive, vulgar, etc. statements on Facebook. And, when he is at the bar, he makes rude, obscene, vulgar statements to me and I in turn can't say anything because I need my job!! So, I then get to serve the *!!*#*! guy. And now I think she is going to fire me because of all this. Is this legal???
3 Answers from Attorneys
No, it is not legal. Employers have a legal obligation to provide a safe work environment and to also protect employees from being sexually harassed, not only by employees but by customers as well. One of the things you can do is to have an attorney send a letter to your employer, demanding that she take appropriate measures, which probably means barring him from patronage. If he has made threats against you, a restraining order may be necessary, as well.
California Government Code section 12940 specifically states that employers may be responsible for sexual harassment by nonemployees, which appears to be the situation, as well, so long as the employer knew of the harassment and had reasonable opportunity to prevent the harassment from occurring.
While you have already complained to your supervisor, it is better to put the complaint in writing, and to include that you feel your shifts are being cut because of your complaint of harassment.
If you want to discuss this further, please feel free to contact my office at (877) 877-2545, or you can go to our website, www.sarnofflaw.com, and complete our Confidential Online Case Evaluation Form.
You also have the option to file a stress claim under worker's compensation regarding your emotional stress. Feel free to call us at 213.388.7070 for a free consultation.
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