Los Angeles employment Lawyer Perry Smith

Hostile-Environment Sexual Harassment

Not all forms of sexual harassment are physical. Though unwanted touching, groping, or physical contact are all major forms of sexual harassment in the workplace, other types of harassment may also occur on the job. Hostile-environment sexual harassment refers to a pattern of discriminatory or offensive behavior with sexual overtones. Unlike physical forms of sexual harassment, hostile-environment harassment are often non-specific; it was not until the 1980s that the court system began to recognize hostile-environment sexual harassment as a valid and serious concern.

Hostile-environment sexual harassment can take many varied forms, ranging from posting pornographic pictures in an office to a pattern of sexually-loaded remarks to a generally discriminatory atmosphere. This wide variety of manifestations means that hostile-environment cases are often very difficult to prove in a court of law.

Further complicating the issue is the fact that there is no real concrete standard by which to judge all hostile-environment allegations. Each case must be considered on an individual basis, which includes all aspects of the relevant situation. Different employers may be subject to different standards; a nightclub would hardly be judged in the same way as a corporate office. It is these varying factors which make hostile-environment cases so notoriously hard to argue.

In general, to make a successful hostile-environment sexual harassment claim, an employee must show that a) he or she was discriminated against because of his or her sex, b) the relevant behavior was severe or pervasive in nature, and c) his or her employer knew or should have known about the harassment, but did nothing to limit or stop it.

If you have been victimized by a pattern of hostile-environment sexual harassment, you deserve relief. Contact Los Angeles sexual harassment lawyer Perry Smith at 888-356-2529 today.