EdLawConnect Blog

While school and community college districts have policies and complaint procedures to address overt unlawful discrimination and harassment in the workplace, there is a more subtle aspect of workplace culture which creates potential liability for employers – microaggressions.

As the #MeToo Movement placed a glaring spotlight on the continuing problem of sexual harassment in the workplace, outgoing California Governor Jerry Brown signed several bills aimed at curbing harassment. All of them impact California employers, both public and private.

In mid-October 2017, Hollywood movie executive Harvey Weinstein tumbled from grace when he was accused of sexual harassment from multiple actresses who had worked with him over the decades.  After the first complaint came in, more and more women began to come forward with their own allegations against Weinstein.  From there, out of the Weinstein complaints grew a new movement of women and men speaking out against other celebrities, politicians, and media personalities alleging sexual misconduct.  Social media responded with a “#metoo” movement where victims of sexual harassment and misconduct took to the internet to give light to a topic previously tucked away in the dark.