California sexual harassment case

California Legislature Setting Example for Sexual Harassment Policies

July 5, 2018 | by Nassiri Law

California Senate and Assembly members will soon have a new set of rules in place by which they will investigate sexual harassment complaints, according to Capital Public Radio. The policy was unanimously approved by the Joint Legislative Rules Committee and was based on guidelines created by Los Angeles County. It effectively replaces the two separate policies each house was operating under previously. New standards include creation of an investigative unit, whose members would collect evidence and interview witnesses in connection to all complaints, and an external panel, whose experts would make decisions based on the evidence and recommend potential consequences. The rules have seen some revisions in recent weeks, including adding the ability to report inappropriate behavior by third parties and lobbyists who regularly interact with government workers. This would be in addition to legislative employees and lawmakers already protected by and accountable to the policy. Furthermore, a majority of the outside panel experts will be appointed by chief justice of the California Supreme Court. The panel will act separately from legislative counsel, allowing for neutral recommendations.

Before we can truly trust lawmakers to hold others accountable, they must show themselves to be trustworthy enough to hold themselves accountable. This is as true as ever in the wake of the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements. The past year has been eye opening in regards to the amount of sexual harassment that is taking place in work places across the country, including government offices. Roughly 150 women working for the state signed an open letter in October 2017 describing a culture of harassment and abuse in California politics. Three lawmakers in the state have stepped down due to accusations since then. Even more shocking are how many reports are being swept under the rug. That’s why we are seeing new policies cropping up all over the place. Continue Reading ›

California Democrats Seek Internal Sexual Harassment Accountability

January 5, 2018 | by Nassiri Law

The current movement of women challenging the status quo and dragging sexual harassment into the spotlight famously started in California with accusations against top Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. These revelations have caused a ripple effect, not only through Hollywood, but across the country in all industries.

Recently California has become the center of discussion once again, with state Democrats coming under fire amidst a storm of sexual harassment allegations and rallying cries among party members for internal investigations and accountability, according to an article from Politico.

While evidence of wrongdoing has led to public hearings, the hiring of two law firms to investigate accusations, and the resignation of two state assemblymen (with more under investigation), it also has caused turmoil among the party. Democrats in California will lose their Assembly supermajority temporarily this year due to the resignations, and while those seats are expected to go to new Democrats, all eyes are on the 2018 elections and how this will affect the state legislature’s future.

Some party members are quick to point out the good some of the accused have done for women’s rights through policy and advocacy, while others are adamant it is time to clean house and make a loud and clear statement that there is no room for sexual harassers and assailants among the state’s top leadership. Continue Reading ›

Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Netflix Settled

October 25, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

Sexual harassment in the workplace is nothing new. However, laws have evolved over the last several decades to include many more protections and legal causes of actions for victims. Unfortunately, it still happens, and remains a very serious problem, as we’ve seen with several high-profile accusations made against famous power players like Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein and Bill O’Reilly. Even our own president has been accused of such conduct. But it’s not isolated to the seedier side of show business or within wealthy circles.

According to a recent news article from The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix has just settled a claim levied by an executive involving allegations of sexual harassment at the workplace. The employee who filed the lawsuit was formerly the director of human resources. According to his complaint, he said that during the months he worked at the company, he was regularly the target of sexual harassment and said the company has an unwritten policy of targeting such harassment and employment discrimination. Continue Reading ›

California Sexual Harassment Training Required for Certain Firms

August 12, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

The sexual harassment scandal bubbling over in San Diego has become a blight on the city, as the embattled mayor is now attempting to strong-arm the city into paying his legal bills due to a failure to provide anti-sexual harassment training.

Our Costa Mesa sexual harassment lawyers recognize that such training is required in California by all schools and government agencies and all companies with 50 or more workers.

The purpose of such training is to help prevent sexual harassment, but of course, it’s not full-proof. Supervisors do become more educated about what sexual harassment is, but a cursory training session at the beginning of one’s employment doesn’t automatically prevent future occurrences. More practically for the employer, such training serves to help protect them in future litigation. It’s a way for companies to say, “Here, see what we did to prevent this from happening from the very start.”