When is Sexual Harassment Perpetrated by Clients and Customers Unlawful?

Sexual harassment in South Florida workplaces is often perpetrated by employers and by co-workers in various types of jobs, but at the same time, clients and customers can also make comments or engage in behaviors that seem to rise to the level of sexual harassment. If you are being harassed at work by a client or a customer, or if you are having to work in a location where a client or customer is creating a hostile work environment because of sexual harassment, it may be possible to file a claim.

To be clear, sexually inappropriate comments or behaviors from clients or customers do not always meet the legal requirements of unlawful sexual harassment, but in some cases they do. Our South Florida sexual harassment lawyers can provide you with clarification, and we can discuss the details of any harassment you are being forced to endure. It may be possible to move forward with a sexual harassment claim.

Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment Only Occurs Under the Law When the Perpetrator is in a Managerial Capacity 

There are two general types of sexual harassment that can occur in South Florida workplaces, and the first is known as quid pro quo harassment. This type of sexual harassment involves requests or demands for sexual favors in exchange for some sort of benefit (which can range from something like a raise to merely being able to keep a job).

Although clients or customers might use language with an employee that looks like quid pro quo harassment, for this type of harassment to exist and to be actionable, it must be perpetrated by an employee who is in a supervisory or managerial capacity. In other words, the perpetrator must be in a supervisory position to the targeted employee. As such, even if a client suggests that they will agree to sign a contract or make a purchase in exchange for sexual favors, this is not quid pro quo harassment under state or federal law.

Hostile Work Environment Harassment Can Involve Clients and Customers 

While quid pro quo harassment cannot be perpetrated by a client or customer, the other recognized and actionable type of sexual harassment, hostile work environment harassment, can be.

For sexual harassment to create an actionable hostile work environment, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) explains that the conduct typically “must create a work environment that would be intimidating, hostile, or offensive to reasonable people.”

When a client or customer sexually harasses anyone at your place of employment such that it creates a hostile work environment, you may be able to file a claim. You do not even have to be the target of the sexual harassment (although you may be).

Contact a Palm Beach Gardens Sexual Harassment Lawyers 

If you are experiencing sexual harassment in your workplace, it is critical to seek legal advice as soon as possible. One of the experienced Palm Beach Gardens sexual harassment attorneys at Sconzo Law Office can talk with you today to learn the details of your case and to discuss your options with you for filing a claim and seeking a remedy. Contact us for more information.

Source:

eeoc.gov/harassment