#MeToo – No Longer Silent About Workplace Harassment

Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, Fox News host Bill O’Reilly and pop superstar Mariah Carey are among the latest high-profile figures to be accused in what feels like an ominous deluge of sexual harassment allegations from men and women around the country. The October “#MeToo” movement, where social media users tagged their profiles to signal that they had been sexually harassed or assaulted, added to the growing chorus of allegations by galvanizing victims of harassment to speak publicly about their experiences.
Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and, in California, the Fair Employment and Housing Act. Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature may constitute sexual harassment when the conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual’s employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. Individuals of any gender can be the target of sexual harassment, which does not have to be motivated by sexual desire. It is similarly unlawful for an employer to retaliate against an individual for opposing employment practices that discriminate based on sex or for filing a discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any way in a responsive investigation, proceeding, or litigation.
Johnson Fistel, LLP has recently been retained by six victims of sexual harassment in the workplace and is committed to holding employers accountable. If you have been illegally victimized by your employer or another person in the workplace, please contact us for a free consultation and case evaluation. You may telephone us at (619) 230-0063 or e-mail us at contactus@johnsonfistel.com.