What Is "Sexual Harassment?"

Sexual Harassment Attorney Serving DuPage, Kendall, and Will Counties

Sexual harassment is a form of employment discrimination based on physical or verbal abuse of a sexual nature. The negative effects of sexual harassment can include the inability of the victim to adequately perform their job, as well as psychological damage and ultimately the feeling that they need to quit their job to avoid the harassment. An experienced employment law attorney at Mirabella, Kincaid, Frederick & Mirabella, LLC can help you determine your rights if you are the victim of sexual harassment.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits two primary categories of sexual harassment: Quid pro quo harassment and hostile work environment harassment.

Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment

If a supervisor conditions an employment-related benefit on a sexual favor, that is called quid pro quo sexual harassment. The supervisor may make a direct or indirect threat that the employee will not get a raise, promotion, or other benefit if the employee does not engage in the sexual conduct requested.

If you are the victim of quid pro quo harassment, it is not necessary for you to prove you were actually financially harmed by the harassment. You need only prove that your supervisor harassed you, that some aspect of your job could be affected by your response, and that you did not welcome the sexual request made of you. If this is proven, your employer can be held liable, because the perpetrator is a representative of the company.

Hostile Work Environment Sexual Harassment

A hostile work environment caused by sexual harassment occurs when the sexual harassment is so severe or pervasive that it creates a working environment that a reasonable person would find abusive or when the harassment interferes with the victim's job performance. This type of sexual harassment usually occurs over an extended period of time, and it may involve multiple acts by the abuser or abusers. However, this type of harassment can also be a single incident that is sufficiently abusive or threatening.

Hostile work environment sexual harassment can include actual sexual advances, physical contact between the perpetrator and victim, sexual remarks directed at the victim, sexually-oriented emails sent to the victim, pornographic or sexually suggestive material placed in a location where it can be seen by the victim, requests or demands for sexual favors, or watching or recording a co-worker in a bathroom, locker room, or dressing room.

Hostile work environment sexual harassment is judged based on an objective standard. The question to be answered by the court is whether a reasonable person would find the conduct objectionable. This means that not all conduct will rise to the level of hostile work environment harassment. The court will consider the entire incident or incidents when making a determination of whether the conduct violates the law. If you have experienced hostile work environment harassment, an experienced sexual harassment lawyer can help you determine whether you have a claim.

Contact Our Wheaton Sexual Harassment Lawyers

Our employment discrimination attorneys know all the applicable laws—those related to employment discrimination and those covered by other legislation. Contact a knowledgeable employment discrimination lawyer at Mirabella, Kincaid, Frederick & Mirabella, LLC to discuss filing an employment discrimination claim. Call 630-665-7300.