Sexual discrimination and harassment in the Workplace is any conduct of sexual nature (either physical or verbal) that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.  Generally, the law differentiates between the two basic legal categories of sexual harassment:

1.‘Quid pro quo’ (Latin: ‘something for something’) sexual harassment. When your boss either offers you some kind of benefit in exchange for a sexual favor or threatens to deprive you of one if you refuse to provide such a favor this is considered ‘quid pro quo’ sexual harassment.

2.‘Hostile environment’ sexual harassment occurs when sexual misconduct in the workplace leads to unpleasant and offensive working environment.  In order to find out whether a hostile environment has really been created most courts use the ‘reasonable person’ procedure, i.e. the court considers whether a ‘reasonable person’ would call the working environment in question hostile.

Sexual discrimination and harassment in the Workplace occur in a variety of situations.

The harasser and the victim don’t have to be of the opposite sex.  A woman can be sexually discriminated against by another woman and a man can be a victim of a male harasser.  The Federal Law prohibits same-sex sexual harassment. The harasser doesn’t have to be a homosexual and his or her motivation doesn’t have to be that of sexual desire.

Anyone affected by unwelcome sexual conduct can be considered the sexual harassment victim, not just the harassed person.

Sexual harassment may take the form of obscene jokes, offensive remarks and comments, sexually abusive letters or e-mails, propositions of sexual nature, unwelcome physical contact such as touching, kissing, massaging, etc; implicit or explicit demands for sexual favors.

Fighting Sexual Discrimination and Harassment In The Workplace

There are a number of actions you can take in order to protect yourself from sexual harassment in the workplace.  The first thing to do is to tell the harasser that their conduct is unwelcome and should be stopped.  This will be most effective in cases when the behavior is not too offensive and doesn’t go beyond inappropriate jokes and comments.  If the harasser doesn’t take notice of your request you may try putting your demand in the written form.  By all means keep a copy of your letter.  You can also file complaints to the supervisor or employer. If your company has a policy manual or handbook that instructs you how to file a complaint or deal with the harassment, follow the steps outlined in the manual or handbook.  If this still doesn’t help, it’s time to use the legal procedures to put an end to the intimidating conduct. Your first step is to contact one of our highly skilled attorneys.  Our attorneys will assist in evaluating your claim and in choosing which avenue will be the most effective in stopping the harassment and obtaining a remedy for any damages you have suffered as a result of the harassment.  Usually, but not always, that first avenue is reporting the instance of sexual discrimination and harassment In The Workplace to the U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).  The EEOC will investigate your case looking at the circumstances and the context of the incidents.  If the investigation and the attempts to settle the conflict don’t resolve the problem you can file a lawsuit. The EEOC will provide you with a letter that will allow you to take your case to the court.