Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Re: Sexual Harrassment Case

It seems that you have a decent sexual harrassment and retaliation case against your employer. We need more facts to evaluate your case. Please call us at 213.388.7070.

Re: Sexual Harrassment Case

It is sexual harassment and retaliation. You should speak with a lawyer who concentrates in plaintiffs' employment law to proceed. And, you should do so ASAP. Your employer should conduct an investigation of the incident. If they did not do so, that also could be actionable under the law.

Re: Sexual Harrassment Case

This certainly appears like a clear cut case of retaliation to me and sexual harassment. You should seek the advice of an attorney before moving forward.

Feel free to contact my office if you would like to pursue this matter.

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Re: Sexual Harrassment Case

Assuming the duty change to a maintenance worker is a lesser job than what you had, you would likely have a good case to claim retaliation. To qualify, you need to have engaged in a protected activity - which you did - reporting the sexual harassment. Then you need to show an adverse employment action. The reduction of duties sometimes,but not always, qualifies. If you can show that the reason he is giving you, i.e., being shorthanded, is bogus, then you would establish that his reassignment is a pretext for the real reason - to punish you for making him look bad. The fact that he pulled you into his office to chastize you for reporting him is another example of harassment as well. If this is all that he did (the butt grab and the chastizing) it probably would not qualify for sexual harassment because it must be either severe (which it is not) or pervasive (also which it is not since these 2 incidents are isolated). But if there has been an ongoing dialogue of a sexual nature or any other improper touchings, then it might be enough for a sexual harassment claim. It really does not matter though because you probably have enough for a retaliation claim. The consequences for sexual harassment and retaliation are the same. If you sue, you can recover the Grand Slam if damages: (1) economic losses; (2) emotional distress damages; (3) punitive damages (unless it is a governmental entity); and (4) attorney's fees.

They should have disciplined him, suspended him or put you under the supervision of another supervisor. At this point you have the option of reporting his retaliation to HR, and/or reporting it to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). To file a lawsuit, you would need to report it to the DFEH first anyway. By making the report now, it would give you some leverage at work because they will not want to mess with you any more by engaging in further retaliation. If you want further advice, please call our office.