Sexual Harassment, Wrongful Termination Suit Filed

California residents who may believe that people today should be savvy enough to know what is and is not appropriate or allowed in the workforce may be right. However, just because people might know what behavior is appropriate or not, that does not prevent them from acting inappropriately. Sexual harassment, discrimination, and other things remain all too active in all too many workplaces today.

An example can be seen in a lawsuit recently filed by a research assistant against a highly regarded professor and the University of California Regents. The female assistant, 60 years younger than the male professor, alleges that the man-made physical advances toward her touched her inappropriately, and made comments to her about emotional ties.

Despite reporting the actions to the director of the center where she worked, the research assistant continued to experience unwanted behavior and the work environment grew increasingly uncomfortable as the center’s director did not escalate the situation. In fact, the directed ended up firing the assistant after her pay had already been cut substantially. In addition to sexual harassment, the woman’s lawsuit accuses the professor and the Regents of wrongful termination, retaliation, and creating a hostile work environment. Battery and assault charges are also alleged.

When a California resident experiences these types of situations, talking with an attorney may help them understand how they can seek justice and compensation amidst what is often a very confusing set of circumstances.

Source: CBS San Francisco Bay Area, “Top UC Berkeley Professor Accused of Sexual Harassment,” March 23, 2017