If you are experiencing sexual harassment at the workplace and you live in LA, you should immediately contact a Los Angeles lawyer specializing in sexual harassment in the workplace.
Recent years have seen cases of sexual harassment spike, but that doesn’t mean incidents have increased. It simply means people are coming forward and sharing what they experience.
The truth is that sexual harassment has always existed. It has been a part of the workplace throughout the modern era. And the reason that people stayed silent remains why people continue to stay silent today.
People are not only scared of humiliation and losing their jobs, but we also downplay our own experiences. For example, when a person experiences sexual harassment in the workplace, they often convince themselves otherwise.
If you’ve experienced workplace sexual harassment, it’s crucial to seek guidance from experienced professionals. Los Angeles sexual harassment lawyers can provide you with the support and legal expertise needed to navigate through these challenging situations.
Here are a few examples of sexual harassment in the workplace, particularly those that people tend to downplay.
Lewd Conversation
We may have gone through a president who defended such talk as ‘locker room talk,’ but the law sees inappropriate sexual conversation as a serious workplace problem. Such talk does not need to be directed at you to make you feel uncomfortable and threatened.
A conversation where a person discusses sexual acts, personal experiences, or even comments on the body of someone you don’t know can be considered sexual harassment. That is true even if you are just within earshot of the conversation.
What To Do
Depending on how severely the incident impacts you, you have options. You are well within your rights to seek legal assistance immediately. However, if you would prefer to handle the matter internally, especially if the actions do not reflect the rest of the workplace, you could start by reporting the matter to HR.
Depending on their response, you can decide to take further action.
Sexual Or Inappropriate Jokes
People are apprehensive about reporting someone whose jokes cross the line. There is a real stigma to being ‘humorless’ and ‘oversensitive.’ That means that sexual harassment can often hide in plain sight in a culture of humor.
It is especially difficult to find a way forward in the company if sexual and inappropriate jokes are part of the workplace culture. Whatever you do, do not accept it. If the type of jokes make you feel uncomfortable, you have the right to take action.
What To Do
You could take the matter to HR, and you probably should. However, you should temper any expectations of action if the company culture condones the behavior. Seek legal help as soon as possible.
Excessive Attention
Often the line between annoyance and harassment is not tangible. Rather it’s something that you experience in what is happening. For example, you could easily have a co-worker that is just awkward and struggles with boundaries and has no ill intention. But when that is the case, it is something that you know.
Conversely, when someone pays you excessive attention, and there is something off about it, it can make you feel uncomfortable and threatened. This dynamic is unhealthy and tantamount to sexual harassment if the attention is predatory.
What To Do
If you are uncertain, tell the person you are uncomfortable with all the attention. They may not have seen things that way and might back off and apologize. However, if the situation makes you feel that you cannot do that, you are waiting for your right to seek legal assistance in response.
Regardless of the particular form of harassment, it’s essential to take legal action against your harasser. If you don’t, you might struggle to make progress in your career, not to mention the extreme mental harm harassment has on the victim.
P.S. This article is not legal advice.
Featured image: Vecteezy. Composite by Mikeshouts.
