California Employment Harassment Rights: What Every Worker Has the Right to Know
Do you believe that your sexual harassment rights have been violated or that you are the target of some other form of employment discrimination in your workplace? If so, it is absolutely crucial that you learn what your rights are and how you can protect them. All workers who live in the L.A. area and anywhere in the state of California should know that there are many particular laws in place in California protecting the harassment rights of employees. There are different types of harassment that considered to be unlawful due to employee harassment rights and both men and women may become victims of violations of harassment rigths at work.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was in many ways the beginning of employment rights in America. According to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, it is considered to be unlawful to discriminate against a worker based on that worker’s race, color, sex, religion, or national origin. This definition was later expanded to include age and disability. Around that same time, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was created as a governing body over employee harassment rights law, in order to help eliminate employment discrimination.
Violations of Employee Harassment Rights
Employees are protected under Title VII from sexual harassment and race harassment in the workplace, as both of these forms of harassment are considered to be types of employee discrimination. Violations of Sexual harassment rights usually fall into one of two categories: ‘quid pro quo’ or hostile environment. Quid pro quo harassment involves the promise of job benefits in exchange for sexual favors, or the threat of negative action against the employee if sexual advances are rejected. A sexually hostile work environment is one in which an employee feels that sexual or sexist comments and jokes, offensive graffiti, and ridicule based on sex status, permeate the work environment making it hostile or abusive. Both types of harassment are a violation of an employee’s harassment rights.
A violation of Racial Harassment rights is also a form of racial discrimination and it therefore considered to be illegal according to California employee discrimination law. Racial harassment may include things such as rude comments or gestures, as well as negative and derogative racial slurs, and they may be verbal or written. As is true with sexual harassment, if a worker reports racial harassment to his or her supervisor and that complaint is ignored, that supervisor may also become liable regardless of his or her level of participation in the actual harassment.
What to Do About Violations of Harassment Rights
If you have experienced a violation of your harassment rights, then you should know that you do have rights and that they are protected under California State and Federal law. But do not try to go it alone; finding good legal counsel is imperative when it comes to protecting yourself. You need a representative who has the expert knowledge and skills that it takes to identify the harassment rights based on each individual’s specific situation. This can mean the difference between remaining the victim and successfully protecting your civil rights as an American worker.
For a free consultation to connect with a legal professional regarding your harassment rights, simply fill in your contact information on this page and someone will be in touch with you within 24 hours.
