The protections afforded to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and gender non-conforming individuals are increasing both at the state and federal level.  In October 2017, Governor Brown signed SB 396, which requires California employers to include training on gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation as part of its legally-mandated harassment prevention training.  On November 16, 2017, the Equal Employment Opportunity […]

The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) imposes an affirmative duty on employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent and correct discriminatory and harassing conduct in the workplace. FEHA regulations were amended effective April 1, 2016 that changed and added certain employer obligations. Last month, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (“DFEH”) released a “Workplace Harassment […]

A recent case from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that hugging can create a hostile work environment and the case should proceed to trial. The case is Zetwich v. County of Yolo. For more on this case, please see this L.A. Times article: https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-ln-hugging-9th-circuit-20170223-story.html. This case will also be discussed during SHLC’s February 28th Webinar: Sexual Harassment and […]

In December 2016, an Illinois federal court awarded $250,000 in damages to a former employee of Costco who was sexually harassed by a Costco customer. The employee worked for Costco between 2009 and 2012. She claimed that a frequent customer repeatedly touched her without her permission, tried to hug her, and regularly followed her around the store, where the customer […]