FREE ESSAY ON SEXUAL HARRASSMENT

SEXUAL HARRASSMENT

Sexual Harassment
in the Work Place
I. Definition
Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964.
Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical
conduct of a sexual nature constitutes sexual harassment when submission to or rejection
of this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably
interferes with an individual's work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or
offensive work environment.
Sexual harassment can occur in a variety of circumstances, including but not limited to
the following:
? The victim as well as the harasser may be a woman or a man. The victim does not have to
be of the opposite sex. In Oncale v. Sundowner, the US Supreme Court decided just this
month unanimously ruling that same sex complaints are covered by the law.
? The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, an agent of the employer, a supervisor in
another area, a co-worker, or a non-employee. 
? The victim does not have to be the person harassed but could be anyone affected by the
offensive conduct.
? Unlawful sexual harassment may occur without economic injury to or discharge of the
victim.
? The harasser's conduct must be unwelcome.
It is becoming increasingly rare to find the traditional "quid pro quo" claim of sexual
harassment. The current trend is that of a "hostile work environment" which can be much
more difficult for the employer to address. The EEOC considers the following factors in
determining whether or not an environment is sexually hostile:
? Whether the conduct was verbal or physical or both
? How frequently it was repeated
? Whether the conduct was hostile or patently offensive
? Whether the alleged harasser was a co-worker or supervisor
? Whether others joined in perpetrating the harassment, and
? whether the harassment was directed at more than one individual.
No one factor controls but an assessment is made based upon the totality of
circumstances.
II. Regarding Employees
It is helpful for the victim to directly inform the harasser that the conduct is
unwelcome and must stop. However, a victim of harassment need not always confront his/her
harasser directly, so long as his/her conduct demonstrates that the harasser's behavior
is unwelcome. The victim should use any employer complaint mechanism or grievance system
available and, if that fails, contact the EEOC which makes a determination on a
case-by-case basis.
III. Regarding Employers
Prevention is the best tool to eliminate sexual harassment in the workplace. Employers
should take all steps necessary to prevent sexual harassment from occurring. An effective
prevention program should include an explicit policy against sexual harassment that is
clearly posted for the employees to read and be included in any in-service training
programs. I heard on the news last week that a company was being sued even though they
had a sexual harassment policy. The complainant didn't feel that the company did enough
to assert the policy. The employer should also have a procedure for resolving sexual
harassment complaints. This procedure should encourage victims to come forward and should
not require the victim to complain first to the offending supervisor, if that is the
case. This procedure should ensure confidentiality as much as possible and provide
effective remedies as well as protection from retaliation. 
IV. Discussion
I would like to share a couple of statistics that Dr. Chwialkowski gave out in my other
Public Administration class last week. He found a survey that asked women how many of
them had slept with their bosses. Nineteen percent responded that they had. Of those,
sixty percent said it furthered their careers.
The following is a scenario Dr. Chwialkowski gave out. I would like for the class to
input your opinions as to whether or not sexual harassment occurred.
Michael is a supervisor who works for the Bowling Green office of the Environmental
Protection Agency. Young and athletic, Michael has had more than his share of affairs
with young women, but has never been married. He has always had a good relationship with
the young women in the office, and often plays tennis and golf with some of them on
Saturdays. They frequently tease him about the suggestive calendars and pin-ups that he
has hanging in his office, especially of Demi Moore, who is Michael's favorite Hollywood
actress.
This teasing increased when Mary, a young and attractive 25 year old with a Master's
Degree from Duke, was hired into the office. Michael immediately took a liking to her and
assigned her to some of the agency's "pet" projects that Michael himself was involved in.
Michael also placed her in an office that was in close proximity to his own. In the
process of working together, Michael learned to respect Mary's professionalism and
intelligence as well as her beauty. He was hopeful, then, when he asked her out in
December of 1996, for he told his best friend John that "I believe Mary is something
really special."
For two months, Mary and Michael dated. The relationship, at least according to Michael,
was proceeding in a satisfactory fashion, and didn't seem to be interfering with their
relationship at work. On February 1, 1997, however, Mary abruptly announced at the
beginning of their date that this was the last time that she would go out with Michael -
she had no specific reasons for her decision, except to announce that she was not quite
ready for a serious relationship. Michael was stunned and didn't know how to respond.
For the next six months, the relationship between the two was noticeably strained at
work. Mary deliberately avoided the area around Michael's office, and Michael noticed
that she avoided joint projects that offered the possibility of working with him. On
several occasions, Michael tried to talk to Mary when she was alone near the Xerox copy
machine, but Mary stated that there was nothing to talk about and walked out. On four
separate dates, Michael left messages on Mary's answering machine at home, but never
received a response. Finally, Michael concluded that the gossip surrounding the
relationship was hurting morale in the office and decided to request that Mary get a
transfer to another location. Michael's boss approved the request, and Mary was
transferred to Pittsburgh.
Michael thought the incident was over and was surprised in February 1998 when he
discovered that the agency and Michael individually were being sued for sexual harassment
by Mary. Based on the above, has Michael done anything wrong? What should/will be the
outcome of this lawsuit?
Questions for me to ask:
(Get the ladies in class fired up)
? "What about it? Isn't she 'bout a typical woman going after the money???!!!
? What specifically did Michael do wrong? He really cared about Mary and she wouldn't
even talk with him. OBVIOUSLY SHE WAS THE PROBLEM!!!!
? If she would have talked with him and settled the matter, there probably would not have
been any further problems. 
? Was Michael wrong to call her house repeatedly and leave messages on her machine?
? Was he wrong to approach her at work at the Xerox machines to discuss this personal
problem????
? Was Michael wrong to have the pin-ups in his office? The other ladies didn't seem to
mind and teased him.
Dr. Chwialkowski said that in today's court, Michael and the agency would probably lose
mainly because they transferred her. If Michael would have transferred himself, there
most likely would not have been grounds for a suit. 
The purpose of this discussion isn't to say absolutely whether Michael or Mary was wrong
but to get you thinking about this. 
There is an old adage, "Don't get your honey where you get your money." 
? What do you think about that? Is there some truth to that? (GET INPUT FROM CLASS IF
THEY ARE TALKATIVE)
? But, what about all the successful marriages that have resulted from men and women who
first met at work? 
? Should the employer discourage romance in the workplace?
? What if an employer has a policy against co-workers dating or becoming involved? Is
that right? Is it any of their business? What it affects job performance?
? Should the employer be liable if they do or do not encourage or discourage workers from
starting relationships that may go bad and cause problems on the job later.
These are complicated issues and there are no cut and dry answers. Relationships develop
in work areas all the time and always will. On a personal level, before you become
involved with someone at work, there are consequences that should be considered. Once
more, there have been many successful marriages so it is not necessarily taboo. If you
are in a management position, you should be prepared to handle the complications that may
result when one of these relationships go bad and effect work performance. For example,
Michael's boss could have handled the situation better. He actually made the decision to
transfer Mary. Michael only recommended the transfer. Maybe he should have told Michael
he needed to be the one to go.
As the political make up of the US Supreme Court changes, and the decisions that
determine what constitutes sexual harassment change, Human Resource Managers need to be
ready to adapt and change with those swings. Sexual harassment is just one of a myriad of
issues that have to be dealt with.
Bibliography
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