Sexual harassment in the workplace is one of the most complicated areas of employment law. It is also one of the areas that has recently received the most press. Below is a basic guide to sexual harassment in the workplace. Please note that sexual harassment in the workplace often goes hand-in-hand with other illegal acts, like gender discrimination. If you have a problem with sexual harassment in the workplace, you should think about what else might be going on as well.

The principles described here apply to both. However, there are some differences that could make a difference to individual cases. It should also be noted that the damages for sexual harassment in the workplace cases differ greatly between California and Federal law. See the damages section for a more detailed explanation. Two Types of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace There are two types of sexual harassment in the workplace, "quid-pro-quo" and "hostile environment."

The Hostile Environment will be explained in a separate section, although where there's one, there's often the other. Quid-Pro-Quo Harassment "Quid-pro-quo" is Latin for "this for that." It is a trade. When the trade is on the basis of sex, it is illegal.

This is the when the employer makes sex a prerequisite to getting something in the workplace. For example: " sleep with me and you'll get the job." That's illegal. This type of sexual harassment in the workplace is the "casting couch" clich&Mac195;©.

Quid-pro-quo can also include negatives. For example, "sleep with me or you're fired" is also illegal.

Who can sue?

Obviously, the woman who is fired because she wouldn't sleep with the boss can sue. But so can a woman who the boss didn't even want to sleep with.

Take for example a situation where the boss asks one of his assistants to sleep with him in exchange for a promotion. She does it and gets the promotion. Under the law, she has a claim, because her agreeing to his sexual demands was a condition of the promotion. She also has a claim if she refused and didn't get the promotion.

Now, if she was just having an affair with him because she wanted to, there is no claim.