What Are the Different Types of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace?
Federal EEOC guidelines regarding the Discrimination Because of Sex (29 C.F.R. Section 1604.11) defines two different kinds of sexual harassment:
Quid pro quo
Quid pro quo sexual harassment occurs when an employee faces unwelcome sexual advances or conduct, and their response directly impacts employment decisions. This includes hiring, promotions, raises, demotions, or termination. Such actions exploit workplace power imbalances and violate employees’ rights to a coercion-free environment.
Hostile working environment
To be considered a hostile workplace by California employment laws, the presence of harassment must be pervasive (widespread) to the point that the victim(s) and others find abusive and feel threatened. Harassment can be defined as any type of behavior that a reasonable person would view as intimidating, hostile or offensive.
All forms of sexual harassment, including quid pro quo sexual harassment, are illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, to win quid pro quo hostile work environment cases, workers must have experienced severe or pervasive effects on their employment. These in turn then created the hostile workplace environment.
How do you build a strong quid pro quo sexual harassment case? Your employment attorney must determine if the sexual conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create a quid pro quo hostile work environment. This is the case whether the conduct occurred once or several times. If you have more specific questions about your own circumstances, then please contact our Los Angeles sexual harassment lawyers for more information.
