Legal Question in Sexual Harassment in California

Re: Sexual harrassment-unemployment insurance question...

Recent court decisions have made it even more important to report incidents of sexual harassment to an employer, placing the company on notice and creating the obligation to take immediate and corrective action. Failure to do so, or to retaliate against you would cause the employer even greater liability. If you sense that your employer is not responding to your complaint appropriately, you should call the Department of Fair Employment and Housing and ask the State to conduct an investigation. Do not quit your job! If necessary, see your doctor, and if he or she believes your health is at risk, ask him to be put on medical disability. You may even be eligible for leave under the family medical leave laws. If you quit your job, it may be very difficult for you to obtain unemployment benefits. The burden is on you to show you quit for good cause, which is not as easy as you may think. You may also be causing harm to any case you want to bring later.

Re: Sexual harrassment-unemployment insurance question...

Sexual harrassment is a very serious tort. You would be entitled to lost wages, general damages (pain and suffering), punitive damages, and, worker's compensation benefits for the stress claim filed simultaneousely with the civil action. Please contact me directly at (619) 222-3504.

Re: Sexual harrassment-unemployment insurance question...

Mr. Kirchbaum gave you a very well reasoned and informative reply.

If you quit, you would have to prove what's called "constructive termination." That means that no "reasonable person" (which will be whatever a jury decides that is) in your situation would be able to tolerate your working conditions. It adds an extra "hoop" to jump thru and prove before you can obtain any damages for wrongful discharge. A wrongful discharge claim would be available to you if you complained about the sexual harrasment and were then fired.

It is extremely important that you make a complaint, wrtten is better and keep a copy, to your supervisor or your supervisor's supervisor, if he's the one you're complaining against.

If you are located in the SF Bay area, you can get further advice by calling me at 408-295-8282.