What Are Common Types of Sexual Harassment Lawsuits?
Sexual harassment claims have advanced from the old ages of being totally unrecognizable to providing rightful relief and compensation to the victims of the harassment, especially that type of physical unwanted advancement in the workplace.
Sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual advances or constant requests for sexual favors and any other similar verbal or physical conduct of a sexual capacity that negatively affects the victim’s ability to do their job.
Furthermore, sexual harassment not only unreasonably interferes with the individuals work capabilities, but also creates a negative or hostile work environment for the particular individual.
photo/ Gerd Altmann
Types
The law prescribes two types of sexual harassment:
Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment
This involves the conditioning of specific employment benefits directly proportional to sexual favors or behaviors. A typical scenario would be that the individual is fired from his or her job because he or she rejected a superior’s sexual advances.
Hostile work environment
This type is not directly proportional to any benefits or detriments in the workplace, rather it enables the creation of a negative or hostile environment at the place of work. In order to achieve the negative environment in a working capacity, the test is that of a standard reasonable person, that is, would a reasonable person of the same sex feel intimidated or offended in a similar manner under the same circumstances?
This usually happens when the incident of harassment is quite constant and has been developing over time to the severity that a person considers the office environment completely hostile just because of the actions of his or her colleagues or superiors.
Behaviors to Look Out For
There can be quite a number of behaviors that can compose ongoing sexual harassment and they can be in any form be it verbal, physical, or visual. Some of the acts are included but not limited to to following:
- Sex-based slurs, abuses, or lewd comments
- Gossip which can be attributed to the individual’s sex life or personal relationships
- Displays of pornography in the workplace
- Talking about the gender of someone in a derogatory manner
- Overt/Covert sexual gestures
- Constantly staring or leering at someone in an inappropriate manner
- Unwanted touching of the individual without consent
Remedies available
Even though different federal, state, and local laws allow different types of remedies to the victims, you can have a claim to many different damages, such as the following:
- Back pay, which includes the salary from the date that you had been terminated on account of the sexual harassment until the date of the trial
- Compensatory damages, intending to cover any harm to your reputation in the firm and also the emotional distress that you have faced on account of the grievous actions of the perpetrator
- Punitive damages, intending to set an example as it directly targets the company or firm that failed to act, was negligent, or if it acted maliciously in any manner when the sexual harassment took place
- Lost future earnings, including earnings and possible promotions that you might have attained if the harassment had never happened in the first place
- Equitable relief, comprising of an order reinstating you to your previous job
- Litigation and sexual harassment lawyer expenses
Author: Annabelle E
