Federal and California law prohibit harassment of an employee based upon an employee's membership in a legally protected class such as their age, race, national origin or religion. Although sexual harassment receives a lot of attention and remains a serious area of concern for employers, any harassment based on any protected class is unlawful and can give rise to harassment claims.
You can begin to protect yourself by understanding harassment, taking steps to avoid situations that can inspire lawsuits and by knowing how to handle complaints when they do arise.
This section explains the behaviors that constitute harassment and the laws that prohibit harassment in the workplace. You will learn under which circumstances your company will be held liable for the acts of your employees, supervisors, managers and even non-employees. You will find how some individuals can be held personally liable for their acts in addition to making the company liable. This section also discusses procedural aspects of harassment claims and what you should do when you learn, directly or indirectly, that an employee is being harassed.
This section also includes information on the California law that mandates harassment prevention training for all employees.
