California Workplace Sexual Harassment Study Announced by New DFEH Task Force
Building on the work of the EEOC, authorities at the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) have recently announced that they have developed a new task force to evaluate the incidence of workplace sexual harassment in California.
Officially known as the Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace, this team will reportedly analyze “the problem of sexual harassment,” as well as:
- The impacts associated with more than a decade of harassment prevention training within California
- Best practices and policies for preventing workplace sexual harassment.
To bolster the insight and perspectives associated with this task force, the DFEH has included various types of professionals including business leaders, employment lawyers, policymakers and labor advocates. The hope is that, by analyzing the prevalence and current nature of workplace sexual harassment in California, leaders will be equipped to develop resources and policies to:
- Prevent workplace sexual harassment and trigger a declining trend in these types of complaints filed with the DFEH
- Effectively address instances of workplace sexual harassment when they do arise.
Commenting on this new task force and the study its undertaking, DFEH Director Kevin Kish has explained that:
California has mandated sexual harassment training for supervisory employees in workplaces with more than 50 employees since the passage of AB 1825 in 2004, and that history and experience is a rich source of untapped information… We want to find out what has worked, what hasn’t, what best practices can be identified, and where we go from here in our efforts to eliminate workplace sexual harassment in California.
A Glance at Workplace Sexual Harassment in the U.S.
While the DFEH task force is expected to have more precise data regarding the incidence of sexual harassment in California workplaces, across the U.S., some of the latest findings about workplace sexual harassment include that:
- About 1 in every 3 women has been victimized by workplace sexual harassment by the age of 34.
- Workplace sexual harassment is far more prevalent in certain industries, with the service industry and the retail industry being the fields where this type of harassment tends to most prevalent.
- In contrast, the industries that tend to be associated with the lowest rates of workplace sexual harassment include the education industry and the health care industry.
- Although workplace sexual harassment most often arises in verbal forms, it can occur digitally/electronically (via text messages, emails, etc.).
- Of those who have been the targets of workplace sexual harassment, less than 1 in every 3 victims ever reports the incident to their employer and/or authorities.
- When victims do have the courage to report workplace sexual harassment, only about 15 percent ever feel satisfied with how their employers addressed the issue.
What do you think of the DFEH’s new task force and its intentions to study workplace sexual harassment?
Contact a Los Angeles Sexual Harassment Attorney at Urbanic & Associates
Have you been the target of workplace discrimination, harassment or retaliation? If so, you can turn to a Los Angeles sexual harassment attorney at Urbanic & Associates for help defending your rights and pursuing justice. Since 2000, our lawyers have been dedicated, aggressive advocates for our clients, helping them stand up to even the most formidable opponents in any legal setting.
To discuss your options for justice and recovery, call (310) 216-0900 or send our firm an email using the contact form on this page.
From our offices based in Los Angeles, Attorney James Urbanic provides superior representation to clients throughout Los Angeles County and southern California, including (but not limited to) those in Glendale, Burbank, Alhambra, Van Nuys, Santa Monica and Orange County.
