Sexual harassment can come in many different forms and from various people, but for the victim of the harassment, it can create a very hostile work environment. Workers in California and anywhere in the United States have the right to be heard when confronted with harassment and it is the company's duty to do something about it.

A recent news story shows the length some victims have to go to in order to be heard. The story comes out of Louisiana where an engineer claimed he was being harassed by a male supervisor at his company. According to the engineer, the supervisor was making sexual comments, touching his body and was asking him to take off his clothes. He also sent him explicit text messages.

The engineer, along with his direct supervisor who saw the harassment firsthand, reported the incidents to two superiors. The managers reportedly brushed it off as "horsing around" and did not take action. Eventually the engineer resigned and apparently the offending supervisor was later fired.

The issue was taken to civil court where a jury awarded the engineer $500,000, but the judge entered a judgment stating the evidence did not prove the offender "had a sexual interest in men." Later, during an appeal, the court reinstated the jury's findings, stating that there was evidence and that the company did not take immediate action. The judge also stated that sexual harassment applies in any situation where there is discrimination because of sex, whether it is between the same or opposite sexes.

Source: Courthouse News, "Ignoring Fishy Horseplay Is Sexual Harassment," Sabrina Canfield, Jan. 26, 2012