Sexual harassment claims and lawsuits involve the application of complicated laws coupled with complex administrative and judicial processes. For these and associated reasons, a person who is the victim of this type of inappropriate workplace conduct is wise to be as proactive as possible to retain the services of an experienced Sacramento sexual harassment lawyer.

Sexual Harassment and the Creation of a Hostile Work Environment

At the heart of a claim based on an allegation of sexual harassment is the creation of a hostile work environment. A hostile work environment is defined as one in which conduct of a sexually harassing nature becomes what fairly can be described as an integral part of the target’s ongoing employment. In other words, the victim of sexual harassment reasonably believes that her job is jeopardized by countering or taking action to stop sexually harassing conduct. (The pronoun “her” is used throughout this discussion. This is done to enhance the readability of this page but is not intended to overlook the fact that men are subjected to workplace sexual harassment as well.)

A reasonable belief about jeopardizing a job oftentimes means that the perpetrator of sexually harassing conduct is in a position of authority over the victimized employee. With that said, a coworker can also be a perpetrator of sexual harassment when that individual’s conduct is not properly curtailed by supervisory personnel.

In order to rise to the level of creating a hostile work environment, the harassment faced by an employee must be severe and pervasive. The conduct must be so significant that a reasonable individual would consider that conduct offensive, hostile, and intimidating.

Due to the particularly egregious nature of sexual harassment in the workplace, there are instances in which this type of conduct exhibited in a solitary instance may be sufficient to give rise to a credible claim of creating a hostile work environment. In other words, there can be instances of workplace sexual harassment that takes the form of such severely inappropriate behavior that the demonstration of an ongoing pattern and practice of conduct becomes irrelevant to support a claim that a hostile work environment has been created.

Forms of Workplace Sexual Harassment

Actionable workplace sexual harassment can take many different forms. A determination of whether the conduct of a supervisor or coworker in the workplace rises to the level of sexual harassment is determined by considering the specific facts and circumstances at hand. In some ways, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Potter Stewart’s statement as to how pornography is identified can be useful in understanding what constitutes sexual harassment in an employment setting: “I know it when I see it.”

In fact, federal and California law, together with a myriad of court decisions on the subject, have identified a spectrum of conduct that can underpin a claim of workplace sexual harassment. This egregious conduct includes these types of actions if they have an attached sexual connotation:

• General comments
• Jokes
• Slurs
• Epithets
• Name calling
• Ridicule
• Mockery
• Insults
• Put-downs
• Presentation or display of offensive pictures
• Presentation or display of offensive objects
• Threats
• Intimidation
• Physical assaults

Preservation of Evidence Related to Workplace Sexual Harassment

In the grand scheme of things, any type of civil claim, including one involving sexual harassment, depends upon evidence to support the contention being made. Consequently, it is vital that as much evidence to support the claim is identified, collected, and preserved as soon as possible.

Not all evidence supporting a workplace sexual harassment claim is accessible to the claimant at the beginning of the process of asserting her rights. Some evidence can only be “produced” or collected via the evidentiary discovery process after a lawsuit is filed. With that said, merely because not all evidence is collectable at the commencement of the claim process does not mean that a laidback attitude should be taken in regard to identifying, collecting, and preserving as much evidence as possible.

While a layperson certainly has the ability to identify and collect evidence as part of her desire to pursue a workplace sexual harassment claim, an experienced workplace harassment lawyer has the skillset necessary to ensure that all potentially available evidence is in fact collected and properly preserved in a manner sufficient to support pursuing a claim. The need for involving an experienced, skillful attorney in this process underscores the importance of retaining a Sacramento sexual harassment lawyer sooner rather than later.

Workplace Sexual Harassment Claims and Administrative Proceedings

Different types of workplace discrimination and harassment claims oftentimes need to be submitted to an administrative process before judicial proceedings are initiated. There are very specific deadlines associated with these types of proceedings.

Laypeople might have some familiarity with the judicial system but nearly always lack any type of clear and meaningful understanding of administrative processes. This is a perfectly understandable state of affairs.

The potential need to navigate through administrative proceedings illustrates why a victim of this type of workplace harassment is well-served retaining the professional services of a workplace sexual harassment attorney.

Sexual Harassment Claims and the Statute of Limitations

California has a law known as the statute of limitations. The statute of limitations establishes a deadline by which different types of cases must be filed with the court. The failure to file a lawsuit or a criminal case by the established deadline nearly always means that a particular case cannot be brought in court.

The California statute of limitations for sexual harassment lawsuits was extended in 2020. The deadline for filing a sexual harassment lawsuit is not three years from the date of the incident in question.

The fact is that identifying the date the statute of limitations begins to run can prove to be somewhat complex in a sexual harassment case. This fact underscores the importance of being as proactive as possible to retain the services of an experienced Sacramento sexual harassment attorney.

How to Proactively Retain a Qualified Sacramento Sexual Harassment Attorney

The first step to proactive retain an experienced, committed, tenacious Sacramento sexual harassment lawyer is to schedule what commonly is known as an initial consultation and case evaluation. As initial consultation with legal counsel provides you the opportunity to learn more about a particular attorney and to determine if that professional is a proverbial “good fit” for your case. You also have the opportunity to learn more about sexual harassment law and the overall procedure for pursuing a sexual harassment claim and lawsuit.

Moreover, a preliminary meeting with a sexual harassment lawyer provides counsel the opportunity to review at least some of the basic facts and circumstances surrounding your situation. A lawyer is able to get at least some feel for the potential strength of your case.

As a matter of practice, a California sexual harassment lawyer typically charges no fee for an initial consultation. Moreover, a Sacramento workplace sexual harassment attorney typical utilizes a contingency fee agreement for representation in the case itself. Generally speaking, this means that a lawyer does not charge a fee unless a positive settlement or judgment is obtained in a particular case. There can be some caveats to this type of arrangement which can be ascertained and discussed during an initial consultation to a Sacramento sexual harassment lawyer.