The new sexual harassment law, SB-1343 brings sexual harassment training to more workplaces. The previous rule required sexual harassment training only for larger employers, with 50 or more employees, but it was finally recognized that a sizable portion of California’s workforce is concentrated in smaller businesses. The new rule requires anyone who employs five or more people to provide sexual harassment training to their staff, which makes it the duty of most employers by law. The statute requires two hours of sexual harassment training to employees who supervise others and one hour of sexual harassment training to non-supervisory employees by the beginning of 2020. It’s meant to spread awareness of the obligations of companies not to permit or condone sexual harassment in…Read More
Q: Are confidentiality agreements and non-disparagement agreements related to sexual harassment claims unlawful? With the #MeToo movement, it became clear that often sexual harassment and assault claims don’t come to light, especially in the case of famous or wealthy serial harassers and serial predators. Once a person settled the lawsuit with a harasser, the settlement agreement typically included strict binding confidentiality provisions, which had the effect of buying the silence of the victim. For example, if you have a famous person such as Harvey Weinstein who was accused of sexually harassing a woman in connection with his duties as a movie executive, that woman could sue, and hopefully, get adequate damages for the suffering she incurred. But as part of…Read More
Most clients can’t afford to pay an attorney on an hourly basis. That’s why the legal system includes the availability of contingency fee representation, which means that the attorney gets paid a portion of the recovery and collects no attorneys fees otherwise. Contingency fee arrangements serve create several useful social goods. One, it allows people who have meritorious claims to get experienced counsel to take on their cases. These cases often take thousands of hours from beginning to end and very few people can afford an attorney’s hourly rate, multiplied by thousands of hours to get justice. The contingency fee system allows the representation to occur with the attorney getting a percentage of the recovery and makes the client and…Read More
Punitive damages are damages assessed against an employer in order to punish the defendant for their bad conduct, and to deter future similar conduct. Since punitive damages are to punish the employer for misconduct, the amount of the damages is determined according to what would have an impact on the business. For example, if a jury assessed $20,000 in punitive damages against Apple, it would be considered very little. However, a $20,000 punitive damage award against a small restaurant might be enough incentive never to be involved in that type of situation again. Punitive damages are awarded to sexual harassment victims if you can demonstrate that the harassment was perpetrated by a managing agent officer or director of the company.…Read More
The monetary recovery available to you in a sexual harassment case are a full array of tort remedies designed to make the victim whole. You may get any lost wages, for example, if the victim of sexual harassment is denied promotion, or terminated because of refusing sexual advances. Whatever economic loss can be proven is recoverable, including attorneys’ fees. In addition, one of the most significant damages typically recoverable in harassment cases for the victim is emotional distress, from sleeplessness to worry, grief, anxiety, and depression, all of which are very common for sexual harassment victims. That is often one of the biggest elements of recovery. You need to satisfy the requirements under the Fair Employment and Housing Act, which basically…Read More
That’s a common situation even though most companies have policies that prevent or make clear that the company is not supposed to tolerate sexual harassment. People in that situation have a couple of options. They can make a formal complaint with the help of a lawyer. It is definitely advisable to get an experienced sexual harassment lawyer involved as soon as possible because once the allegations hit, it’s really the function and purpose of the human resources organization to circle the wagons around the company and take steps to address what they believe is the inevitable lawsuit. It’s imperative that victims in that situation reach out to legal counsel as soon as they are in a position where they feel…Read More
Q: Do employers have a duty to prevent sexual harassment? It has been clear under California law that employers are obligated to have appropriate sexual harassment training in their workplace, have appropriate policies and handbooks, and inform the workplace that sexual harassment is not tolerated. Employers must also provide mechanisms for employees to report sexual harassment, such as requiring prompt, thorough investigation of harassment complaints. The new law makes it clear that it’s not just limited to sexual harassment, but it now includes harassment based on any conduct including harassment based on age, race, sexual orientation, and disability. Non-Supervisor and Third-Party Harassment Q: What is the employer’s duty in the case of harassment of a person who is not in…Read More
There are new sexual harassment provisions of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act as California takes the lead on #MeToo legislation. The old sexual harassment law in California was based on Brooks v. City of San Mateo, wherein the Court considered “the legal implications of a single, rather unsavory, episode of workplace sexual harassment.” In that case, a co-worker of the victim “forced his hand underneath her sweater and bra to fondle her bare breast” after being forcefully pushed away to stop his harassing conduct. The Ninth Circuit panel ruled that even though the supervisor had allegedly placed his hand underneath a subordinate’s blouse and cupped her breast, it was just one instance of sexual harassment. The Court’s opinion was…Read More