Workplace Harassment Attorneys in San Francisco

As an employee, you have the right to go to work and not feel harassed or threatened because someone else uses inappropriate language or worse. You also have the right to not be propositioned by your boss or have your employment privileges and career path suffer because of declining another's advances.

What Is Quid Pro Quo Harassment? 

Quid pro quo means "something for something." Quid pro quo harassment occurs in the workplace when a manager or other authority figure offers or merely hints that he or she will give the employee something (a raise or a promotion) in return for that employee's satisfaction of a sexual demand. This also occurs when a manager or other authority figure says he or she will not fire or reprimand an employee in exchange for some type of sexual favor. A job applicant also may be the subject of this kind of harassment if the hiring decision was based on the acceptance or rejection of sexual advances.

To prevail on a quid pro quo claim, a claimant (the plaintiff in a lawsuit) must be able to prove the following elements to a jury:

• Plaintiff was an employee of, or applied for a job with, company X (the defendant).
• The alleged harasser, an officer or employee of company X, made unwanted sexual advance to the plaintiff, or engaged in other unwanted verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.
• Certain job benefits were conditioned, by words or conduct, on the plaintiff's acceptance of the alleged harasser's sexual advances or conduct; or that employment decisions affecting the plaintiff were made based on his or her acceptance or rejection of the alleged conduct.
• At the time of the alleged conduct, the alleged harasser was a supervisor or agent for company.
• The plaintiff was harmed by the alleged conduct.

At the end of the day, courts are looking for proof that the underlying sexual harassment resulted in a significant employment action, such as the plaintiff being fired or suspiciously passed over for a promotion.