An increasing number of sexual harassment cases are being settled with the help of a sexual harassment attorney. Sexual harassment includes any kind of unwelcome conduct, or inappropriate behaviour, that is of a sexual nature.

When employers fail in their responsibility to adequately protect their employees against sexual harassment, or, when a sexual harassment incident occurs, and they fail to take proper and timely remedial action, their company could face litigation.

This litigation could result in large financial penalties, as well as unwanted publicity for the company.

Also, employers have an obligation to investigate allegations of sexual harassment once a complaint has been lodged with their company. Failure to take proper remedial action can lead to a court case.

In recent years there have been a number of important rulings delivered by the United States Supreme Court on sexual harassment in the workplace.

The Supreme Court of Canada has also issued a number of rulings on workplace sexual harassment. In Canada it is the employers' responsibility to provide employees with a harassment-free workplace.

These rulings have placed the liability on employers for sexual misconduct of their staff especially those in positions of authority (e.g. managers, supervisors, lecturers, and teachers).

Here the onus is on those individuals in authority, not to abuse their authority and/or power to sexually harass or intimidate their subordinates or others.

Having an experienced sexual harassment attorney to litigate on one's behalf can result in the employer being liable for both compensatory and punitive damages. In most cases this can prove very costly for the company being sued.

In both the United States of America and Canada, there a growing trend of using employment lawyers to address the issues of harassment at work.