Identifying Acts of Sexual Harassment

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Sexual harassment has plagued the labor sector for the longest time. Women in particular were the ones who often experience this kind of maltreatment. Luckily, through the years, there seems to be a decline in the number of cases that involve sexually harassing a female employee throughout the United States.

This seems to be the result of the cultural, social, emotional, and psychological revolution that the human race had gone through. Nonetheless, this does not guarantee that sexual harassment had been completely obliterated. It merely implies that these violations have turned far more discreet than before.

In line with the discussion of sexual harassment, it is defined as the maltreatment of an applicant or employee because of his or her sex. It also includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and verbal or physical harassment that are sexual in nature. To probe on the previous cases of sexual harassment that was handled by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a recent press release should be cited.

According to the records of the EEOC, Quality Egg – a defunct egg producer, has violated federal civil rights laws. This is by letting its manager to sexually harass at least two female employees. The EEOC stated that by not doing anything or by not implementing policies that would prevent harassment in the workplace, Quality Egg had breached the rights of employees and its responsibilities as an employer. Therefore, as penalty, the company is set to pay $85,000 to its two female former employees.

To help workers in identifying the elements present in sexual harassment, here are some circumstances cited as examples by the EEOC:

•    The harasser and the victims could be either a man or a woman.  Gender is irrelevant in cases that involve sexual harassment.
•    The actions done by the harasser should be unwelcome.
•    The victim does not need to be the one harassed, but could be someone who is affected by the actions of the harasser.
•    The harasser could be the supervisor, company agent, supervisor of another area, a co-worker, or a non-employee such as a customer.

If this problem took place in California, the victim should ask for the help of a Los Angeles employment lawyer. This person would prosecute the harasser to get justice that the victim rightfully deserves.