This year's flood of allegations have businesses evaluating their policies and reputations
Todd Fredrickson //December 13, 2017//
This year's flood of allegations have businesses evaluating their policies and reputations
Todd Fredrickson //December 13, 2017//
In 2017 the issue of sexual harassment has again come to the fore as a flood of allegations, some going back decades, have been made against actors, entertainers, politicians movie moguls and others.
Many of these recent charges can credibly be described as sexual harassment in the workplace. Indeed, charges of sexual harassment continue to form a significant portion of the claims investigated by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Between 2010 and 2016, the agency received 87,683 charges of sexual harassment and recovered approximately $296 million in settlements for harassment claims. And these numbers do not include the thousands of civil lawsuits filed by employees each year or the jury verdicts or settlements that ensue.
Although the concept of sexual harassment is by no means new, it seems many employees and employers still don’t get it – they’ve missed the message about the wide variety of language and behavior that may give rise to liability. Harassment is defined as any conduct of a sexual nature that is severe or pervasive enough to create a hostile work environment. Simply put, sexual harassment encompasses much more than unwelcome physical contact and language of a sexual nature.
Sexual harassment can include any and all of the following:
Sexually oriented “kidding” or “teasing”
TYPES OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT
“Quid pro quo” harassment (literally, “this for that”) occurs when someone with authority promises a subordinate a reward in exchange for participation in a relationship, or threatens a negative consequence for refusing to participate. One example includes a manager who implies to a subordinate that she will be promoted if she has an affair with him. Quid pro quo claims also come up when a manager and more junior professional have a consensual affair, the affair ends and the manager doesn’t get the message.
Far more common are claims of “hostile work environment” sexual harassment. In those situations, an employee typically alleges that a string of events or conduct – sexual language, stories, behavior or images – is sufficiently severe or pervasive that they interfere with the employee’s work. This may include sexual jokes sent on email, text messages and discussions among coworkers about sex or sexual images in the workplace.
Physical behavior also results in sexual harassment claims, including hugging, patting, brushing up against an employee and massaging a coworker’s shoulders. The fact that the person doing the touching does not intend to offend does not keep the person they touched from claiming harassment. Instead, a court will look at the recipient’s impression of the conduct.
Note these same rules apply when it comes to harassment based on race, religion, disability, age, sexual orientation or other protected characteristics. Racial comments, jokes about religion and the like can land employers in the same soup.
TIPS FOR EMPLOYERS TO PREVENT HARASSMENT CLAIMS
The foregoing provides an overview of certain legal issues. It is not intended, and cannot be construed, as legal advice for any purpose.