California residents may not expect the best treatment when they go to work. They often understand that their jobs can be physically, emotionally and mentally taxing. Simply put, people know that they are at their place of employment to work. But while people expect to spend their time at work working, they often don’t expect the other ill treatment they find. Discrimination, sexual harassment, unsafe working conditions and other illegal treatment is, sadly, commonplace in many California workplaces.
Recent statistics show that sexual harassment is actually something that many American workers have experienced. According to one study, 38 percent of women had experienced some form of sexual harassment in their workplaces. Another study found that between eight and 13 percent of all employees had experienced sexual harassment at work.
A lot of different behaviors can constitute sexual harassment. Depending on the situation, jokes and comments can be sexual harassment or not. However, it is clear that sexual assault should never be tolerated in a California workplace.
Again, sexual assaults at work are not uncommon. One study found that in seven years, more than 36,000 people were sexually assaulted or raped while at work. Of these victims, 80 percent were women. Another study found that sexual assault and rape accounted for 2.3 percent of all nonfatal workplace violence in the U.S.
Claims of sexual assault are even higher in fields that are predominately male. In the military, for example, rates of sexual assault are higher. In 2010, more than 3,000 soldiers reported instances of sexual assault. However, these instances are likely underreported.
Workers should never have to live with sexual harassment or sexual assaults in the workplace. If you have been the victim of sexual harassment, you have legal rights. An attorney can help to address specific legal concerns and questions in these cases.
