Sexual harassment charges lodged against legal journal. (Daily Journal)

SAN FRANCISCO -- Ever since the televised hearings last fall over whether U.S. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas made unwanted advances at Anita Hill, the San Francisco Daily Journal has devoted extensive coverage to the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace.

Indeed, Bay Area lawyers look to the Daily Journal, a highly respected newspaper known for its authoritative writing, to remain current on crucial legal trends. And the subject of sexual harassment is rapidly becoming one of the most important areas of the law.

But now the Daily Journal finds itself in an awkward position: the newspaper and some of its employees face charges of sexual harassment or sexual discrimination against female workers.

In the latest incident to surface, the Daily Journal last month suspended an editor who has been accused of sexual harassment, sources close to the publication said.

The sources said one of the reasons for the two-week suspension was that the editor allegedly pulled down his pants in front of a female employee and made unwanted physical contact. They said the incident allegedly occurred last winter as the female employee drove the editor home from a bar where the two had been socializing with co-workers. Sources said that employees also complained that he was verbally abusive to them.

The editor returned to work last Monday. Neither he nor the female employee would comment.

The suspension is not the first incident involving allegations of sexual harassment or discrimination at the newspaper or its parent company. There have been two other …