Sexual harassment claims have recently become center stage in the news with women coming forward to make legal claims and demand change. In the U.S. sexual harassment in employment, in academia, or by housing management of landlords is illegal.
Sexual Harassment Definition
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, EEOC, defines sexual harassment as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, as well as any of the following sexual verbal or physical conduct:
- Submission to sexual conduct as a term or condition of one’s employment where one feels their employment status is jeopardized
- Submission or rejection of the sexual conduct is used as a basis for employment decisions, with hiring, firing, preferred work schedules, or promotions as examples
- Conduct interferes with an employee’s work performance, or creates a hostile, offensive or intimidating work place environment which includes sexist jokes, posting of sexually explicit pornographic pictures
- Direct sexual advances or propositions for sexual favors
Types of Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment behavior must be unwelcome. The behavior is not mutual and is not welcome. There are three forms of harassment which are detailed below:
Physical Harassment: This type of behavior includes
- Actual or attempted rape or sexual assault
- Touching a person’s clothes, hair, body
- Hugging, kissing, patting, brushing up against, stroking or massaging interaction that is unwelcome
- Touching or rubbing oneself in a sexual manner in front of another person
- Deliberate touching, leaning over, cornering or pinching
Verbal Harassment: This type of conduct includes the following:
- Making sexual comments about another’s body, whistling or cat calls
- Telling sexual jokes or stories, or turning work discussions to sexual topics
- Asking about sexual fantasies, preferences, or history
- Asking personal questions about one’s social or sexual life
- Calling someone a girl, hunk, doll, babe, honey, etc
- Making kissing sounds, smacking lips, or howling, directed at another person
- Telling lies or spreading stories about another’s personal sex life
- Unwanted pressure for dates, unwanted phone calls
Non-Verbal Harassment: These types of harassment can include the following behaviors:
- Making sexual gestures with hands or with body movements
- Making facial expressions that can include winking, licking lips, throwing kisses
- Giving personal gifts of a sexual nature
- Looking a person up and down, staring at someone
- Blocking a person’s path or freedom to move about
- Following a person
Sexual and EEOC Charges in Georgia
The number for total EEOC charges (which includes race, religion, color, retaliation, and sex based charges) reflects the number of individual charge filings in the State of Georgia. With the percentage of U.S. sex charges at 6.2% of all charges, Georgia has a percentage rate of 32.6%.
Sexual Harassment Attorney
Being the victim of sexual harassment is a serious matter and needs to be handled by an expert attorney that will not only pursue your claim but protect your rights and confidentiality. Call Joel Baskin for an appointment to discuss your situation.