Both federal and state laws prohibit sex discrimination and
harassment in the workplace by way of Title
VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). Under unlawful sexual harassment, the laws
include unwelcome sexual propositions or advances, offensive statements or
gestures, leering looks, derogatory comments, statements about a person’s
appearance or body, and physical conduct, such as unwanted touching, assault,
or cornering or blocking movements.
If an employee has been sexually harassed, he or she would
normally be advised to oppose the behavior and report the incident to a
supervisor or other appropriate superior.
Many companies have human resources departments or other channels
through which to file a report, which may be set out in employer policies or
employee handbooks. No one should be
expected to tolerate sexual harassment or a hostile work environment and no one
should be afraid to report such conditions.
Sexual Harassment of
Farm Workers
Unfortunately, not all workers feel able to report offensive
and illegal behavior in the workplace.
National Public Radio recently published a two-part series on sexual assault
of female farm workers. Each part
focused on a female who experienced sexual assault by a supervisor while
working in the fields of California.
Both of these women were brave enough to eventually report the
wrongdoing, however the story reveals there are many, many more women whose
harassment and assault at work goes unreported.
Recently, advocates from the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) have been using advertisements on rural radio stations to
encourage women who have suffered sexual harassment or assault at work to feel
safe and come forward to report the unlawful behavior. However, there are several reasons why female
farm workers are afraid to do so. These
reasons include:
·
Many farm workers are undocumented are fear getting deported if
they come forward and lodge a complaint with a government or law enforcement
agency.
·
They fear they will lose their jobs. Many farms are run by a single supervisor who
has complete control over who gets hired, promoted, paid, and fired. Since that supervisor is often the harasser
or assaulter, the victims fear not being able to feed their families or pay
their bills if they speak.
·
They fear they will not find another job. As NPR reported, word travels quickly among
farm supervisors in California. If other
farm supervisors or workers hear that a female worker has complained of or
reported sexual mistreatment, no one else in the industry will hire her.
EEOC officials and legal aid attorneys in the rural areas state
that the more female agricultural workers come forward, the more consequences
the offending supervisors may have to face.
Those supervisors who are in hot water with the law will then serve as a
warning to others in the industry that there may be both criminal and civil
consequences for continued workplace harassment and assaults.
As previously mentioned, no one should have to endure offensive
treatment on the job. If you believe you
have been the victim of sexual harassment or any other type of unlawful behavior
at work, contact Pershing
Square Law Firm for assistance as soon as possible.
No one should be expected to tolerate sexual harassment or a hostile work environment and no one should be afraid to report such conditions
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