Employees Often Ignore Sexual Harassment

There are many reasons sexual harassment in the workplace goes overlooked in California. Sometimes, employees are too concerned about losing their jobs to say anything; other times, they don’t know where to turn. One of the biggest reasons, though, is that many employees just shrug it off and ignore it.

One young woman told the story about working as a waitress back when she was 18, in one of her first jobs. The young man who was her supervisor would often make sexual jokes and flirt with the staff. No one said anything.

On one occasion, while in a group setting and telling another waitress how to kneel down and clean a piece of equipment, he made a joke about how that waitress was used to being on her knees often, accompanying it with a crude gesture. After it happened, the woman telling the story spoke up and said it was uncalled for, but the woman the joke had been about did nothing. She just ignored it.

When the supervisor was called out on his behavior, he didn’t even take it seriously. He even made another joke about how she should just call the sexual harassment hotline. He’d been allowed to act that way for so long that he did not see anything wrong with it.

You have a right to a comfortable workplace that is free from all forms of sexual harassment — from unwanted advancements to jokes. If you have been subjected to these things, you don’t have to ignore it. You should know all of the legal actions that you can take to make things right.

Source: Forbes, “Sexual Jokes And Lewd Conversations In The Workplace: Where’s The Line?,” Emily Heist Moss, accessed June 25, 2015