Los Angeles Sexual Harassment Lawyer

Proving Hostile Environment Sexual Harassment Claims

While quid pro quo sexual harassment has been recognized by the courts for a number of years, hostile environment has only been recognized as a legitimate claim since the late 1980s. When a hostile environment is alleged, the legality of behaviors must be determined on a case by case basis. There is no hard line rule for determining what does and does not constitute sexual harassment.

In the workplace, hostile environment claims focus on the working conditions that must be endured by the victim as a condition of employment as opposed to tangible job changes. To establish whether the situation is enough for a cause of action, the “totality of circumstances” must be weighed and measured with an eye to determining “that the harassment affected a term, condition, or privilege of employment” is “sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the condition of the victim’s employment and create an abusive working environment.”

In order to create a hostile environment, the behaviors must be frequent, severe, and pervasive. A single incident or a few isolated incidents are not enough to create a hostile environment. It also is not enough that only one employee engages in such conduct unless that employee is in a supervisory capacity.

A prima facie case for hostile work environment sexual harassment requires that the victim be able to prove:

• He or she suffered intentional, unwanted discrimination because of his or her sex;
• The harassment was either severe or pervasive;
• The harassment had a negative effect on the terms, conditions, or privileges of the work environment;
• Harassment detrimentally affect a reasonable person of the same sex; and
• Management knew about or should have known about the harassment and did nothing to stop it.

Contact a Los Angeles Employment Lawyer

If you have been the victim of a hostile work environment, contact Los Angeles sexual harassment lawyer Perry Smith at 1-888-356-2529 to discuss your situation and to determine your legal options.