Are you preparing for a deposition regarding a sexual harassment suit? If so, an Irvine employment law office has advice on how the process will happen.

You will need to meet at least once with an employment attorney like those at your Irvine employment law office. Before the deposition, you will need to be familiar with each element of the applicable jury instruction. With this knowledge, you will be able to understand the legal theories of your case. Once you have this knowledge, Irvine employment attorneys can better prepare you to “link” the facts of your case to the legal elements.

We’ve assumed, because mass media tells us, that “harassment” is illegal. However, those at the Irvine employment law office want you to be aware that there are no laws providing a blanket ban on “harassment.” Title VII is the federal law only protects individuals from employers regarding these specific types of harassment:

• Race;
• Color;
• Religion;
• Sex; and
• National origin.

Read through the following jury instruction, which shows other obstacles which must be overcome to prove your case. Irvine employment attorneys stress that the conduct in question must be pervasive and severe, not just unwelcome.

Jury Instruction Regarding Sexual Harassment: Sample

The plaintiff seeks damages against the defendant for a sexually hostile work environment. This occurred while the plaintiff was employed by the defendant. To establish that the work environment was sexually hostile, Irvine employment law office must prove the following elements. These elements must be proved by a multitude of evidence:

• The plaintiff was subject to requests for sexual conduct, verbal conduct of a sexual nature, physical conduct of a sexual nature and other sexual advances;
• The advances were unwelcome;
• The work environment was rendered hostile due to the severe or pervasive behavior of the defendant;
• The work environment was determined to be abusive or hostile towards the plaintiff; and
• Any reasonable person in the plaintiff’s circumstances would consider the working environment to be hostile or abusive.

Irvine employment law office provides some circumstances which will help determine if the work environment was sexually hostile:

• The frequency of the discriminatory conduct;
• The severity of the conduct;
• Whether the conduct was verbal or if it consisted of physical threats or humiliation;
• If the conduct interfered with the plaintiff’s work performance.

[Manual of Model Civil Jury Instructions, Ninth Circuit §13.1 (2001).]

For more information on preparing for a sexual harassment deposition, contact Irvine employment law office Daily Aljian LLP at 949-861-2524.