Many Americans experience job-related stress. An employee might feel anxiety, for instance, about a particularly demanding project, an important meeting or a challenging workload. No employee in San Diego, though, should ever feel stressed or afraid because of an inappropriate work environment.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was drafted to protect workers from discrimination in the workplace based on race, ethnicity, gender, religion, and sexual orientation. These protections are also meant to prevent sexual harassment.
Unfortunately, employers do not always acknowledge the law, and employees are sometimes subjected to unsolicited, illegal sexual conduct on the part of their employers. When this type of illegal behavior does occur in the workplace, employees are certainly entitled to seek guidance from an attorney in order to protect their rights.
After enduring a hostile work environment, a former dry-cleaner employee filed a lawsuit against her boss. According to the lawsuit, the woman’s boss had consistently asked for sexual favors and often approached the female employee in a sexually suggestive way, placing his hands on her body without her consent.
By taking legal action, the woman’s former employer has now been ordered to take several measures to create and ensure a harassment-free environment that will benefit all other employees.
The woman’s boss must create and enforce a bilingual (Spanish/English) sexual harassment policy, all employees must receive two hours of anti-discrimination training, and the employer must post notices in Spanish and English of the company’s intent to comply with anti-discrimination laws. This will help to make sure that all workers are aware of their rights and their employer’s obligation to abide by state and federal labor and employment laws.
Additionally, the female worker will receive financial compensation for her employer’s wrongdoings.
Source: jobmouse, “General Manager of Oasis Dry Cleaners Routinely Asked Female Employee For Sexual Favors,” Anneline Waldman, June 27, 2012