Sexual Harassment Survivors Have Found Their Voices, And Employers Are Learning The Hard Way

Last month, Ashley Judd’s sexual harassment claim against Harvey Weinstein was dismissed by a California judge who said that she did not make her case for sexual harassment under the civil code that was in place at the time she filed her claim. The law was amended in September of 2018, and her claim may now be within the scope of the statute as amended, but the judge said he could not apply that amendment retroactively. While this may seem unfair, only the sexual harassment claim was thrown out, and Ashley Judd may continue to pursue the other claims she has filed against him, including defamation.

Sexual Harassment Survivors

Los Angeles sexual harassment attorneys know that making a sexual harassment claim may be a scary prospect, but sexual harassment claims are being given more respect, and victims are finally being believed and respected more than at any point in the past. Thanks in part to the #metoo movement and also to the culture shift in feeling compassion and empathy for sexual harassment and sexual assault survivors, survivors are feeling empowered and are more often seeking legal remedies for what they have been through.

Other Prohibited Workplace Conduct

Other prohibited conduct related to sexual harassment in the workplace includes retaliation and third-party sexual harassment.

• Retaliation – Employees who have experienced sexual harassment are often reluctant to file a sexual harassment claim because they are afraid it will hurt their employment, such as being fired or demoted. California law prohibits retaliation against employees who file a sexual harassment claim against their employers. In this case, you may not know that your employer will not retaliate against you but be assured that if your employer does retaliate against you for making a sexual harassment complaint, you have another claim for retaliation against them that also offers remedies and compensation.
• Third-party harassment – Employers may be responsible for third-party sexual harassment in certain circumstances. If an employer knows or should have known that an employee was being subjected to sexual harassment by a third party yet fails to correct it or otherwise protect its employee, the employer may be liable. A common scenario is an employer that knows that its client is sexually harassing one of its employees yet fails to correct the situation or protect the employee for fear of losing the client’s business. Or when an employer looks the other way when one of its top-performing employees or supervisors sexually harasses other employees who are afraid to speak up.

If you are the victim of sexual harassment, third-party harassment, retaliation, or any other type of prohibited workplace conduct, contact a Los Angeles sexual harassment attorney at Rager & Yoon – Employment Lawyers to discuss your claim. If you have suffered due to mistreatment in the workplace, you deserve to be compensated, and our attorneys will advocate on your behalf in order to see that not only do you get that compensation but also that employers and other bad actors in the workplace are held accountable.