Sexual Orientation Harassment and Discrimination

Harassment based on sexual orientation can involve anything from demeaning slurs and images to inappropriate advances and touching. Discrimination based on sexual orientation can also involve obvious adverse employment actions, such as termination, denial of a promotion and demotion, and less obvious actions like bad schedules, reassignment of job duties and unfair write ups. In California, both harassment and discrimination based on employees' sexual orientation is illegal.

At the Long Beach and Los Angeles, California, employment law firm of Lyon Law we have helped hundreds of gay workers pursue and win compensation for damages resulting from sexual orientation harassment and discrimination.

Have you experienced harassment or discrimination at work based on your sexual orientation? Contact Lyon Law at (562) 426-2112 for a free consultation and experienced legal help.

If you have experienced damaging harassment or discrimination at work from a homophobic superior or coworker, attorney Geoff Lyon can help. Managers, supervisors, co-workers and business owners cannot penalize or harass you in the workplace in any way based on your sexual orientation.

While popular perceptions regarding sexual orientation harassment and discrimination involve prejudice against gays by straight-run or straight-managed businesses, harassment also occurs between gay and gay-perceived employees. In fact, most sexual orientation harassment cases we handle involve gay individuals harassing another gay person or someone perceived as being gay.

In a recent case we handled, a gay superior perceived a subordinate as gay. The superior harassed the subordinate, made advances, and later terminated the employee when rejected. The case settled for a substantial sum.

It is illegal for superiors to use gay slurs and to make unwelcome advances against same-sex subordinates, even in jest. If you are experiencing same-sex sexual harassment at work, we can help.

Though less common, association discrimination can cause real harm. Association discrimination involves discrimination against employees who are perceived as sympathetic towards or protective of someone based on their sex, race, religion, sexual orientation or national origin. If you have defended the workplace rights of a harassed co-worker and have experienced retaliation by your employer, you may have a legal claim.

It is important to get exceptional legal guidance before making any decisions regarding your possible employment law case. Our consultations have no charge and you don’t pay us anything unless you win. We will also advance any legal fees and expenses necessary for your case. You can contact us during business hours or make a special appointment if you need us to accommodate evening or weekend appointments. We are located just off the 405 freeway. To contact us call (562) 426-2112 or through this website via the box conveniently found on the upper left-hand corner.