Best Ohio Sexual Harassment Attorney Answer: Can my boss force me to go to strip clubs during work? What should I do if my boss asked me to send naked pictures to him? What does quid pro quo sexual harassment mean? How do I find the best Ohio gender discrimination lawyer?
Sexual harassment is a form of gender discrimination. All employees are protected under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Ohio’s R.C. § 4112.99 from being sexually harassed by their bosses while at work.
Let’s look at a situation that happened at Metro Special Police & Security Services, Inc. in Charlotte. The captain and lieutenant in the private security company engaged obvious forms of sexual harassment. While making offensive sexual comments may not in and of itself create a hostile work environment, asking subordinates to take and send pictures of their private parts obviously crosses the line. If the bosses conditioned future employment on sending the naked pictures, this would amount to quid pro quo sexual harassment (quid pro quo is a Latin phrase that means “this for that”). To make matters worse, according to the complaint, the captain and lieutenant also forced their subordinates to go with them to a strip club while on duty. The complaint further alleged that the “captain touched the chests and genitals” of some of his subordinates. Under these facts, there should be a case of clear sexually hostile work environment. This brazen captain was not done abusing his position of authority, and apparently offered promotions to certain employees in exchange for sex. This is the very textbook definition of quid pro quo sexual harassment.
But, here is the twist: the captain and lieutenant were men. All the subordinates were male. The requested pictures were of the subordinates’ penises. The male bosses grabbed subordinate male’s penis and rubbed their chests. It was a gay strip club. And, the solicitation was for man on man homosexual sex.
But, a violation of sexual harassment employment laws is a violation right? Yes … and no. Clearly, this is a violation and the security company was going to be liable, but Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), who prosecuted the case, obviously did not think it was worth the same as a case brought by a woman against a male supervisor. When complaints go through the EEOC, as opposed to qualified employment discrimination and sexual harassment lawyers, the EEOC has sole discretion as to when to settle the case and for how much. In this case, the EEOC decided to the case brought on behalf of “Officers James Pedersen, Eric Steele, Daniel Griffis and a class of similarly situated male employees.” While it is unclear how many male employees were in the class, we can safely assume that it was at least two, and that the settlement would be distributed to at least five employees, but likely more.
So in your mind, think about how much one woman should get if her boss groped her chest, grabbed her crotch, forced her to take pictures of her vagina and got to strip clubs during work, and demanded sex in exchange for a promotion. The EEOC agreed to settle this homosexual harassment for $155,000 to be paid to the entire class of victims, which means less than $30,000 a piece – possibly much lower.
So while the law recognizes the rights of employees to be free from same sex sexual harassment, those who enforce these laws at the EEOC appear to have some level of inherent bias.
So, men or women being subjected to sexual harassment from a man or woman boss, your best avenue to protect your employment law rights is to get your own lawyer.
Sexual harassment is unlawful under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and similar Ohio laws. Sexual harassment is a form of gender discrimination. If you feel that you are being sexually harassed or are working in a sexually charged or hostile working environment, you should not wait to call the right attorney at 866-797-6040 to schedule a free and confidential consultation. At Spitz, The Employee’s Law Firm, you will meet with a sexual harassment lawyer/hostile work environment attorney to find out what your legal rights are and the best way to protect them. Sexual harrassment is a form of gender discrimination, and employers should be held accountable if they discriminate against female workers in any fashion – but particularly for sexual harrassment. It does not matter if you have been wrongfully fired or are still employed, there is no reason to wait to find out what your legal rights are and how to protect yourself from sexual harassment and gender discrimination.
Disclaimer:
The materials available at the top of this page and at this gender discrimination, wrongful termination, and sex harassment law website are for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. If you are still asking “what should I do …”, “I’m being sexually harassed …” “my supervisor grabbed my…”, “my boss is touching…,” “I’ve been wrongfully terminated,” or “how do I …”, your best course is to contact an Ohio sexual harassment attorney/hostile work environment lawyer to obtain advice with respect to sexual harassment/hostile work environment questions or any particular employment law issue. Use and access to this employment law website or any of the links contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship. The legal opinions expressed at the top of this page or through this employment law website are the opinions of the individual lawyer and may not reflect the opinions of Spitz, The Employee’s Law Firm, Brian Spitz, or any individual attorney.