Sexual Harassment: Ten Surprising Facts

by Ronald K. California Law Expert

Sexual harassment doesn’t have to involve physical touch. Verbal abuse such as sexual banter, telling lewd jokes, asking personal questions of a sexual nature, and singing songs with crude lyrics can also counts as sexual harassment. Visual acts such as posting lewd photos at work, viewing lewd photos on the computer and making crude gestures and expressions can also be part of a sexual harassment claim filed by a personal injury attorney who specializes in sex harassment claims, also known as a “sexual harassment attorney”.

Sexual harassment can involve remarks about gender and does not have to be blatantly sexual in nature. Case in point, it will be considered sexual harassment to insult a woman by making offensive comments about all women in general.

The perpetrator and the victim can be of the same sex, although this is uncommon.

In the year 2010, sexual harassment lawyers filed approximately 16.4% of all sexual harassment claims on behalf of men.

The perpetrator/abuser does not necessarily have to work for the company on a daily basis. The offender might hold some position such as sales representative, or may be a client, customer, patient, or other entity that is not present at the place of employment on a day-to-day basis.

The sexual harassment victim does not necessarily need to be the actual person who the abuser intended to harass. Anyone who is affected by the derogatory behavior on the job, (such as a co-worker) may be considered a victim of sex harassment and may file a claim.

Employees in the Unites States have legal protection against sexual harassment at work on both a State and Federal level.

Sex harassment claims typically fall into one of the two following categories: 1) hostile working environment and 2) quid pro quo.

Not only is it illegal to sexually harass a hired employee, it is even illegal to harass a job applicant.

An experienced sexual harassment attorney may help sexual abuse victims to sue the employer for lost work income from the past, and even work income that may be lost in the future. Other financial awards might include payment of your attorney costs, payment for your emotional distress, and punitive damages against the employer.

R. Klettke is a freelance writer. He writes about personal injury and medical malpractice law and other matters of jurisprudence.

Note: This article is not intended to provide legal advice upon which you should rely in making any decisions regarding the instituting or prosecuting of a legal claim. Laws and rules relating to the bringing of a claim vary widely from state to state. You should always contact a personal injury attorney to obtain information as to the rules and the laws pertaining to any claim you might have.