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While most cases of harassment in the workplace would be tried under statutes of protection found in the FEHA, or Fair Employment and Housing Act, a recent case was awarded by jury and upheld in appeals using the \u201cRalph Act\u201d specific to hate related crimes. The case of Sylvia Ventura vs. her employer, ABM Industries, created new precedence and avenues for compensation in cases of sexual harassment where threat of actual physical harm can be proved.<\/p>\n
There are two significant differences in this case that make it important.<\/p>\n
First, by using the Ralph Act to try this case rather than the FEHA, the plaintiff is not required to exhaust all administrative avenues in remedying the situation. In other words, if you are harassed at work in the normal sense of sexual advances or jokes, etc., the company must prove that they made all attempts to rectify the problem in house either through discipline of the defendant or other means. They must do this before the case can go before the court.<\/p>\n
The second difference, and this is very important, is that in order to be deemed a hate related crime based on sex, the harassment must prove to have been violent or threatened bodily harm to you or others.<\/p>\n
In the Case of Ventura, she was able to provide proof through threatening voicemails and bite marks, which when she took this proof to her employer they failed to do anything in response.<\/p>\n
Because there was proven violent intent, Ms. Ventura was able to take the matter to court without waiting on her employer to \u201cdo the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Are you being harassed at work, has it crossed the line of annoyance to actual fear? You have more protection than ever, but you must speak out and put a stop to it. You have a limited time to file a claim against the offending person and employer.<\/p>\n
You need knowledgeable legal counsel who can pursue your case in the best way possible.<\/p>\n