Sexual Harassment

The area of law dealing specifically with discrimination consisting of unwelcome verbal or physical conduct directed at an employee because of his or her sex. The motivation for the unwelcome conduct or comments can be sexual attraction or hostility.

The harassment can involve same sex harassment, harassment by a man against or a woman or a woman against a man. Sexual Harassment can take the form of a hostile work environment or quid pro quo sexual harassment.

Hostile work environment

Sexual harassment creates a hostile, offensive, oppressive, or intimidating work environment and deprives its victim of his or her statutory right to work in a place free of discrimination, when the sexually harassing conduct sufficiently offends, humiliates, distresses or intrudes upon its victim, so as to disrupt his or her emotional tranquility in the workplace, affect his or her ability to perform his or her job as usual, or otherwise interferes with and undermines his or her personal sense of well-being. The Fair Employment and Housing Act prohibits sex harassment and discrimination as well as other types of harassment and discrimination in California.

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