The research was conducted over eight office environments, from telecom and pharmaceutical industries to architecture and engineering. The study sought the number of individuals, male and female, who were subjected to unwanted harassment in the workplace. The study focused not on the number of incidents but on the number of people who were harassed at least once.

In every field except the legal professions, more than one in four women had a harassment situation. In four of the eight groups, more than one-third of women have been subject to sexual advances. The percentages ranged from 41 percent in the media industry to 22 percent in the legal industry.

Men were also victims in surprisingly high numbers. The percentages were over 15 percent in half of the groups, and double-digit numbers in six of the eight groups. The authors speculate that blue-collar professions such as manufacturing and construction might have more frequent situations, but no research was performed in these professions.

The preliminary research makes clear that both women and men can be the victims of undesired advances. And this conduct can occur in professions dominated by highly educated individuals. In today's workforce, no one in such a situation is required to accept such conduct. Those who are targets of this conduct have a right to seek the counsel of an experienced employment law attorney for redress.

It doesn't matter how subtle or blatant the harassment at work is, no employees should ever have to deal with it. Supervisors and others at the workplace should be on the lookout for any form of harassment, including those that are unspoken. Here are some to watch for:

Claims that a person was just joking

Many incidents of subtle harassment include claims that the person making comments or doing things was just joking. Harassment isn't ever a joking matter and people shouldn't be given a free pass for atrocious behavior if they make this claim. Zero tolerance policies can help to address this issue as long as the stated penalties are followed through with.

Unspoken harassment

Harassment doesn't always have to do with verbal accosting. Instead, grimaces, eye rolling and similar actions can harass employees. One incident of this happening likely won't constitute harassment but if an employee does these on a consistent basis when one specific person is around, that could be construed as harassment.

Personal space invasions

There are times when an employee will consistently encroach upon the personal space of others. The purpose of these actions will matter. If an employee is getting too close to another in an effort to intimidate them or to make any type of unwanted contact, harassment might be occurring. Policies should be in place that protect the personal space of workers.

Untruthful statements

One fairly common form of harassment at work that might not always be noticed is when an employee makes untruthful statements about another employee. It is hard to prove this, but it is a primary reason why employers should ensure they investigate employee claims regarding others workers. Often, these lies or partial truths are made in an effort to bully someone.

Workers who are harassed, no matter how subtle it might be, should be sure to report the incidents to the proper people. Legal action might be necessary if an employer doesn't take appropriate action to curtail and address the matter.

The researchers concluded after three studies that concerns about poor leadership could cause people to lash out. People with narcissistic personality traits could compensate for their feelings of incompetence and resulting insecurity by harassing people beneath them on the workplace hierarchy.

The report recommended that workplaces encourage a culture that recognizes the strengths and skills of workers. Insecurity might not take hold if people have more positive feelings about their performance. By contrast, workplaces create an environment more susceptible to abusive relationships when gossip runs rampant and management maintains psychological distance from rank-and-file employees. Sexual harassment training that prompts reflection about personal insecurities could help mitigate the problem as well.

Employers have a legal obligation to investigate complaints from employees about harassment, especially when it is based on sexual or racial discrimination. An employee who feels that a company failed to take a complaint seriously might wish to consult an attorney. An attorney may be able to examine evidence like employee evaluations, witness testimony, workplace correspondence and company policies to see if behavior crossed legal lines. After approaching an employer with documented evidence about potentially illegal conduct, an attorney might request a settlement that includes financial damages and reforms of workplace policies. If an employer continues to dismiss the person's claims, an attorney may advance the case to the courtroom and explain the situation to a jury.

According to media reports, the plaintiff worked as a senior manager of content marketing at Natera, a San Carlos-based company that provides preconception and prenatal testing services to women. The plaintiff alleges that the company told her she would no longer be a manager after she announced she was pregnant. She also claims that a male executive asked her and another pregnant employee to use their pregnancies to go undercover and get blood tests at a competing company. Then, during her maternity leave, she claims she was demoted. When she complained about the demotion to human resources, she alleges that she was terminated from her position at the company.

The plaintiff said that the experience was a "sad wake-up call" about pregnancy discrimination in the workplace. She also said she was especially horrified that she was treated so poorly by a company that caters to pregnant women. When contacted by the media, Natera said it had no knowledge of the lawsuit. It also said it strives to create a diverse staff and comply with all applicable employment laws.

An employment law attorney could help employees dealing with any type of workplace discrimination, including pregnancy, gender, race and age discrimination. After reviewing the case, a lawyer may recommend filing a complaint with state agencies and/or the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. If the complaint is successful, an employee could be awarded back pay and other compensatory and punitive damages.

Source: KPIX, "Ex-Worker At Prenatal Testing Firm Claims She Was Fired For Getting Pregnant," July 11, 2018

Research from the AARP indicates that only 3 percent of workers over 40 who have experienced age discrimination on the job have filed formal complaints. At the same time, nearly 60 percent of workers over 45 said that they had personally witnessed or experienced age discrimination. While reports often rely on the charges filed by federal and state agencies to track workplace discrimination rates, these official complaints reflect only a portion of the discriminatory actions that workers encounter on the job.

Even so, workplace discrimination charges made to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and its state counterparts are on the rise. In 2008, they reached a high of 24,000 complaints, a trend that has failed to dissipate as the financial crisis has lessened. Other indications of age discrimination on the job have also been spotted by journalists; many tech companies have purchased targeted digital job ads to be shown to millennial audiences. However, the most common complaints speak to job loss with 55 percent of all charges referring to discriminatory firing.

Workers over 40 have a right to make a living free from discriminatory behavior due to their age. Older employees who have been subjected to workplace discrimination may wish to consult with an employment lawyer about the next steps they can take, including filing complaints or pursuing further legal action.

A spokeswoman for the EEOC said that deaf or hearing-impaired employees have a right to access workplace information and participate in meetings. When employers fail to provide reasonable accommodations for workers' disabilities, they deny those people a fair chance to enjoy the benefits of employment.

The ADA grants employers flexibility when determining how to accommodate a worker's disability. An employer does not have to fulfill a request for a specific accommodation, but the organization must propose a reasonable solution to the problem. The Job Accommodation Network suggests that employers can include hearing-impaired people in workplace communications by providing a sign language interpreter or using written materials on notepads or text messages. The law urges employers to work with individual employees to select reasonable accommodations when difficulties arise.

A person who encounters discrimination or harassment at work might not find a supervisor or manager to be a reliable source of information about employment law. A person may receive an impartial view of legal rights by consulting an attorney. An attorney may be able to organize evidence about lost work opportunities due to sex, religion, disability, age or race and pursue a settlement. Direct negotiations with an employer may not resolve the problem, but an attorney might recommend filing a lawsuit. A pretrial settlement or jury award might provide the person with compensation for lost pay and career damage.

When an employer takes an adverse employment action for one of these illegal reasons, the employee can take action. Proving that these actions were discriminatory can be challenging, however. Here are some important points to remember when determining your next course of action:

What actions are considered adverse?

Adverse employment actions have negative impacts on employees. In order to be cited as part of a retaliation claim, these actions have to occur after the discriminatory situation, harassment or complaint. You will need to show that the adverse action resulted from your complaint or report.

Retaliation can also occur in response to an employee's willingness to speak up about a situation with another employee, e.g., testifying in a harassment or discrimination case. Another situation in which retaliation might occur is when employees cooperate in cases against their employers. This frequently occurs after safety violations have been reported and investigated.

There are many adverse actions that employees can face. Some, such as termination or demotion, are obvious. Others aren't so blatant. Some employers might move the employee to a different shift that is less desirable for the employee. They could also reassign an employee's job duties or have him or her report to another location. The key here is that it has to be something negative for the employee, e.g., making their commute much longer or choosing a shift that doesn't mesh with the employee's lifestyle.

How can retaliation be proved?

Retaliation is proven is by showing that the employee didn't do anything that should have led to the action. In some cases, going over the employee's work record, including evaluations, can help prove retaliation took place. It is important for workers to continue carrying out their job duties to the fullest extent possible so that their employers can't claim that they were doing substandard work.

Many different factors can come into the picture in these cases. It is imperative that any worker making a claim of retaliation understands that they must be willing to participate in building the case. This could be a lengthy process, so be prepared for this possibility.

Initially, the U.S. District Court in Pasadena dismissed her claims, granting summary judgment in favor of the bank. While the appeals court ruled that several of the former employee's claims for failure to promote could not move forward, it reinstated her wrongful termination complaint. The appeals court panel that heard the case found in favor of the former employee in a 2-1 ruling.

The bank argued that the woman's dismissal did not come about due to discriminatory reasons but rather because of changes in the market and a decline in business with an accompanying force reduction. In order to support its claim, Wells Fargo submitted a document called a "business case," which was created three days before the employee was terminated. The former employee argued in response that there was no actual decrease in business nor a market downturn, disputing the "business case" and arguing that it presented no evidence for its claims. While the court noted that evidence on both sides was weak, it maintained that there was a genuine issue of fact to be decided in further legal proceedings.

When individuals lose their jobs due to unlawful discrimination, they could have a claim for wrongful termination. An employment lawyer can work with people who have been subjected to discriminatory treatment or unfairly dismissed seek justice and compensation for the harms they have suffered.

The Act makes use of different means to target harassment. It gives victims more power, for example, by removing the use of nondisclosure agreements to keep accusers silent. Use of NDAs in harassment settlements came under scrutiny following allegations of harassment by celebrities like Harvey Weinstein, Matt Lauer and Bill O'Reilly. The bill also includes measures to punish companies that have allowed systemic harassment to develop. It establishes a confidential service for employees to report violative behavior to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

If the bill passes, companies will not be allowed to take tax deductions for expenses tied to harassment cases, and they'll have to report the amounts of sexual harassment settlements to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The EMPOWER Act would also require that companies develop training programs to help employees understand their rights, what does and does not constitute sexual harassment in the workplace and how sexual harassment can be reported.

In a case where an employee feels he or she has been a victim of harassment in the workplace, a lawyer may be able to help. An attorney with experience in employment law could assist by examining the facts of the case and advising the client in regard to potential causes of action. Legal counsel might gather evidence in preparation for trial or attempt to negotiate a settlement with the at-fault party.

The company filed a motion for summary judgment, but a federal district court judge denied it. The judge ruled that the upper limit on experience and the comments made to the man could constitute age discrimination and that there was sufficient evidence for the case to go to trial.

Age discrimination is coming under greater scrutiny from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the agency intends to increase its enforcement. Companies have begun dropping some language in job descriptions, such as "digital native" and "culture fit," that could lead to bias against older workers. The EEOC is investigating whether thousands of Intel layoffs globally were related to age discrimination, and a staffing agency was fined $50,000 after one candidate was told that age would be a factor. As many as 66 percent of employees ages 45 to 74 say they have seen or experienced workplace age discrimination.

Age discrimination laws protect workers who are 40 and older, but like many other forms of discrimination, it can be difficult to prove. Employers might claim that an employee was not keeping skills fresh, or they might use layoffs or other methods to push older employees out of the workforce. People who believe they are dealing with age discrimination during the hiring process or on the job may want to talk to an attorney about how to identify it and what to do next.