While sex discrimination and workplace sexual harassment have certainly declined over the past century, our society is far from perfect; millions of women are faced with sexual discrimination every day at their jobs, either in the form of lower salaries, fewer promotions, crude comments, or exclusion. The knowledgeable and dedicated HKM Employment Attorneys are prepared to take on your case. Our law firm has been fighting against sex discrimination for more than 40 years, and we have experience in all types of workplace discrimination in all manners of circumstances.
Examples of Workplace Sex Discrimination
It is illegal for an employer to make an unfavorable employment decision in regards to the employee’s gender under Title VII of the Civil Right Act of 1964. All of the following areas of employment can be susceptible to sex discrimination when the employer makes an unfavorable decision based on the employee’s gender:
- Recruiting
- Hiring
- Firing
- Promotions and demotions
- Benefits
- Advancing or harming the career of an employee
- Salary
- And More
One of the most common types of sex discrimination occurs when an employer has made it okay for an employee to feel like an outcast, subservient, unwanted, or resented due to his or her gender. If you have routinely experienced mockery, being the brunt of sex-based jokes, or have been excluded, you have been the subject of sex discrimination in the form of gender harassment. Whether your employer has engaged in this behavior or has merely let it pass when your coworkers engage in it, you have the right to file a hostile workplace discrimination lawsuit.
Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment, which can also be a criminal offense if physical contact is made, is grounds for a discrimination lawsuit. Any of the following examples would fall under the category of sexual harassment, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC):
- Unwanted touching, groping, grabbing, or slapping
- Unwanted sexual advances, either written or verbal, that have become a routine. For example, it is not sexual harassment if a coworker asks another out on a date, but it may be sexual harassment if that same co-worker repeatedly continues to do so
- Quid pro quo harassment, which occurs when a manager or boss proposes a raise or promotion in return for a sexual favor. This is unlawful whether the employee takes them up on this proposal or not.
Why an Attorney is Necessary
Prejudice is learned and fostered as a person goes through childhood and adolescence. By the time the person becomes an adult, that seed of discrimination has generally already grown into a sizeable tree, and it becomes increasingly difficult to change that person’s behavior. As such, the only option may be to take strong legal action. By filing a workplace discrimination lawsuit, you not only take back what is rightfully yours–the financial damages that you have suffered–but you also take back your dignity.
A Pennsylvania Sex Discrimination Attorney can Help Today
Women suffer from higher rates of depression and anxiety than men largely due to gender-based roles. These gender-specific risk factors that affect women more than men include income inequality, low status or rank, and low income, according to the World Health Organization. Sex discrimination at work, which often leads to harmful coworker dynamics, is a leading cause of depression, poor productivity, and resentment. Call the Pennsylvania sex discrimination lawyers of HKM Employment Attorneys to right this wrong today.
Call 412-368-5754or fill out this form and we will get back to you ASAP.