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Sexual harassment is a form of discrimination, in the United States, that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Sexual harassment occurs when one employee makes continued, unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, to another employee, against his or her wishes.
Examples of Sexual Harassment:
Sexual harassment can occur in a variety of situations. These are examples of sexual harassment, not intended to be all inclusive.
- Unwanted jokes, gestures, offensive words on clothing, and unwelcome comments and repartee.
- Touching and any other bodily contact such as scratching or patting a coworker's back, grabbing an employee around the waist, or interfering with an employee's ability to move.
- Repeated requests for dates that are turned down or unwanted flirting.
- Transmitting or posting emails or pictures of a sexual or other harassment-related nature.
- Displaying sexually suggestive objects, pictures, or posters.
- Playing sexually suggestive music.
When an employee complains to a supervisor, another employee, or the Human Resources office, about sexual harassment, an immediate investigation of the charge should occur. Supervisors should immediately involve Human Resources staff. Employees need to understand that they have an obligation to report sexual harassment concerns to their supervisor or the Human Resources office.
Why should an employer have a Sexual Harassment Policy?
It does not matter whether the alleged harasser intended the conduct to be harassing or complimentary. Rather, the conduct is evaluated from the perspective of the victim. Thus, in Ellison v. Brady (924 F.2d 872 (9th Cir. 1991)), the trial court found that there was no harassment, characterizing the defendant employer as an inept Don Juan rather than a wrongdoer. The Ninth Circuit rejected the "reasonable person" standard utilized by the trial court since it "tends to be male biased and systematically ignores the experiences of women." Rather, the circuit court found that if a "reasonable woman" would find the conduct severe and pervasive enough to alter the terms and conditions of employment such that an offensive environment was created, then sexual harassment can be found.
The Supreme Court on June 26, 1998, made employers more liable for incidents of sexual harassment. Ruling on two sexual harassment cases, Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, and Burlington Industries Inc. v. Ellerth, the Supreme Court basically stated that the employer is responsible for the actions of the supervisor, even when the employer is unaware of the supervisor's behavior. An employer can no longer claim that they did not know about the sexual harassment because the employee did not inform them, nor can they claim that they were unaware of the supervisor's behavior.
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