Sexual Harassment

Counsel from an Akron Employment Attorney with Years of Experience in Sexual Harassment Claims

Linnen Co., L.P.A. has had substantial experience and great success in protecting the rights of clients in Akron, Summit County and Northeastern Ohio who have been the victims of sexual harassment in the workplace. An employer has obligations under both federal and Ohio law to provide a workplace that is free from sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is based upon the conduct of a supervisor, coworker or possibly a non-employee — such as a supplier or client of the employer — which creates a hostile, offensive or intimidating work environment based upon the employee’s sex. The courts recognize sexual harassment in the form of “hostile environment" and “quid pro quo." Some cases could involve both types of sexual harassment.

Hostile Work Environment

To establish a hostile work environment, the employee must show that:

  1. the harassment was unwelcomed,
  2. the harassment was based on sex,
  3. the harassing conduct was sufficiently severe or pervasive to affect the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment or any matter directly or indirectly related to employment, and
  4. either (a) the harassment was committed by a supervisor, or (b) the employer, through its agents or supervisor personnel, knew or should have known of the harassment and failed to take immediate and appropriate corrective action.

Quid Pro Quo

Quid pro quo sexual harassment is when a supervisor or business owner offers tangible job benefits in exchange for some form of sexual interaction with the employee, or when there is a threat of tangible job detriments if the employee does not comply with the requested sexual favors. For quid pro quo sexual harassment to occur, there is no requirement for a “job benefit or detriment."

How to Bring a Sexual Harassment Claim

Sexual harassment under federal law is based on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et. seq. Title VII makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against an employee on the basis of sex and the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that sexual harassment is a form of unlawful sex discrimination. In order to bring an action under Title VII, the employee is required to file an administrative claim with either the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC). An employee has a total of 300 days to file with the EEOC, but only 180 days to file a claim with the OCRC. Ohio is a dual filing state, so if an employee files a charge with the OCRC, a claim will be automatically initiated with the EEOC as well and the OCRC will perform an investigation.

Ohio Sexual Harassment Lawsuits

An employee may also file a sexual harassment claim under Ohio statutory law or under Ohio common law. Ohio Revised Code § 4112.01 et. seq., prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, disability, age, sex and ancestry. In addition to applying law that has been decided in the Ohio courts, an Ohio court will apply federal law under Title VII in sexual harassment cases.

Contact Us for a Confidential Sexual Harassment Case Analysis

You may contact us by email, by completing our confidential Do I Have a Case? form, or by calling us directly at (330) 258-8000.