Sexual harassment is unwanted
sexual or gender based behavior that occurs when one person has
formal or informal power over the other.
3 Elements to Sexual
Harassment
- The behavior is unwanted or
unwelcome.
- The behavior is sexual or related
to the gender of the person.
- The behavior occurs in the
context of a relationship where one person has more formal power
than the others (such as a supervisor over an employee or a faculty
member over a student) or more informal power (such as a peer over
another).
Terminology
Sexism:
Attitudes and beliefs
that say one sex is superior to another sex.
Sex
Discrimination: Basing employment or grading decisions on a person's
sex or treating people differently because of their sex.
Sexual
Harassment: Unwelcome behavior of a sexual nature.
Quid Pro
Quo: Employment or grading decisions that are conditioned on a
person's acceptance or rejection of unwelcome sexual
behavior.
Hostile Work
Environment: Unwelcome sexual or
sex-based behavior that creates an offensive, hostile, or
intimidating work or educational environment and that adversely
affects a person's ability to do his or her work.
Sex-Based
Harassment: Behavior that denigrates, ridicules or abuses another person
because of her or his sex.
RECENT NEWS AND
EVENTS
Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission case settlements during 1998 rose $34 million, but out
of court settlements and litigation settlements were much
higher.
Studies estimate one woman in four
will experience sexual harassment on the job.
Twice as many employees reported
sexual harassment cases to the EEOC last year than they did 5 years
ago.
For 1999, the EEOC received a 15%
budget increase - it's largest ever, with calls to concentrate on
individual complaints rather than high profile cases.
If one employee harasses another,
it is the COMPANY who pays the damages, not the
harasser.
The US Supreme Court has ruled
that even if an employer is unaware of harassment taking place, the
employer's liability remains.
The majority of sexual harassment
complaints stem from inappropriate behavior by co-workers, not
managers, according to Society for Human Resource Management 1999
survey.
Men file 1 in 8 sexual harassment
claims.
The courts have ruled in favor of
employers who take reasonable care to correct any harassing
behavior.
Employers can avoid most claims by
simply taking reasonable care to prevent sexual harassment in the
workplace.
REASONABLE
CARE
"To defend themselves, employers
would have to show that they exercise reasonable care to prevent or
promptly correct any sexually harassing behavior."
- Federal Supreme Court, Friday, June 26, 1998
In the current climate, employers
could be liable for sexual harassment damages even:
• If the victim
never complained to the company.
• If the harasser
is a customer.
• If the harasser
is a co-worker, not a supervisor.
• If the harasser
and the victim are the same sex.
• If the
investigating supervisor did not pursue the investigation out of
respect for the victim's request for confidentiality.
• If the victim
perceives his or her own opportunities impeded by a manger's sexual
harassment of, or legitimate consensual relationship with, another
employee.
LEGAL
TERMS
Quid Pro Quo Harassment
- Harasser requires sexual favors of
victim in return for some action by harasser, or harasser
retaliates against victim for refusing sexual favors.
Hostile Environment
Harassment -
• Victim is
usually subjected to unwelcome repeated sexual comments,
innuendoes, or touching, which alter conditions or interfere with
school or employment performance or access to opportunities
provided by the institution.
• Conduct is
gender-based, and creates an intimidating or offensive place for
employees to work or students to go to school. (usually requires
a pattern of this sort of behavior, but sometimes one incident is
enough, if severe or outrageous.)
• Can occur off
campus grounds, e.g., school sporting event, on bus, on school
trip, in college-sponsored internship program.
• Can be caused by
teachers, professors, administrators, bus drivers or other staff,
students, vendors or persons temporarily on campus.
Unwelcome - A way of determining whether conduct is sexual
harassment. "Unwelcome" means conduct was not wanted or
willingly permitted. Victim may "voluntarily" submit to
sexual intercourse, but behavior may still be considered
unwelcome.
Reasonable Person
- A standard set by the US Supreme Court to
determine if conduct is sexual harassment. Thus, conduct is
sexual harassment if a reasonable person with the victim's
perspective would consider it so. (Some courts use reasonable
woman standard to show that the victim's perspective should be
considered and to distinguish between a man's view of conduct and a
woman's.)
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