Legal Question in Employment Law in California

My manager has been making alot of remarks to me in the past few weeks. But it started when i was reading a sign management posted about harrasment and my manager said to me "would you like me to talk dirty to you so you can call that number on me" Im not sure if he meant it to be funny but it made me uncomfortable. He has made several comments to me in the past week about "if you keep eating your gonna put all that weight back on" And then the next day stated that "your getting so big you cant even fit through the door" And on thanksgiving said "that it wouldnt hurt for you to bend down and work out" It is not only me he is making comments like this to There are a few other female waitress's he makes remarks to. We have also noticed that all the harrasment is put on the females he doesnt say anything to harrass the males. He is making this a very uncomfortable workplace. Please let me know if this is or isnt harrasment because my human resources is not returning my calls and i dont know what steps to take. thank you for your time.


Asked on 12/02/09, 7:50 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Terry A. Nelson Nelson & Lawless

It is certainly 'harassment', but whether it is 'illegal harassment' under the civil rights laws is another question. You would need to be able to show it was gender or sexual based. There is no protection from simple harassment, nor from comments about weight or appearance, unless they can be shown to be gender or sexual based. Directed at only females is sure a start on that. It doesn't sound like traditional 'dirty' talk or comments, but could be interpreted as such. Only your first allegation about the sign is somewhat clear. You must document your complaints, whether they return your calls or not. Put it in writing to corporate management, so you have proof of complaint and demand for remedy. If you think it is gender or sex based, then you can file a formal complaint with the Dept of Fair Employment and Housing on that basis. If you can prove it is, then your DFEH filing is the first step required in bringing a lawsuit. If serious about bringing suit, feel free to contact me; I've been doing these cases for over 20 years.

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Answered on 12/07/09, 8:21 pm


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