I have been charged with sexual
harassment?
It's Monday morning and you arrive at your place of
employment and your boss calls you into her office to inform you that you
have been named in a
sexual harassment charge. Your mind
is going 100 miles an hour at this point and
you do not know how this could have happened. In fact, based on an
employees perception, it could happen to anyone at all.
You should have the ability to pick up the phone immediately and consult
your attorney because you very well may have a lawsuit on your hands that
will require legal services. It is an allegation that will not go away.
You can learn basic employee rights. Doing so will prepare
you to answer the investigation findings regardless of whether you are
guilty or innocent.
How often
is this really happening in the work place? The U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reported that 12,510 cases were filed for fiscal
year 2007 alone with monetary benefits reaching almost $50 million dollars! Just think - these were only the cases
that were officially reported.
With
the passage of the 1991 Civil Rights Act victims of alleged sexual harassment
are now in the position of recouping not only actual damages such as lost wages,
but also punitive and compensatory damages up to $300,000 including their
attorney fees. Prior to the passage
of this Act in 1990 there were only 6,127 complaints resulting in only $7.7
million dollars in monetary settlements.
Sexual
harassment can be directed at a person of the same or opposite sex. Behaviors
that are considered as sexual harassment include:
Verbal
- Sexual propositions
- Asking questions about an employee’s sex life or
conduct.
- Calling women/men by crude sexual
names
- Asking personal or intimate questions
- Making sexual threats
- Bragging about sexual prowess
- Making negative sexual comments about women/men based
upon gender
- Repetitive asking for dates, affection, attention, or
touching
- Making fun of a co-worker in a sexual
way
- Verbally abusing a member of the opposite sex
- Requests for sexual favors
- Demeaning
sexist remarks
Physical
- Touching
- Jostling
- Bumping
or blocking
- Leering
or staring
- Taking
unwelcome photographs
- Physically
restraining a person of the opposite sex
- Indecent
exposure
- Passing
or posting sexually offensive materials
- Groaning,
sighing or offering sexual thoughts
- Whistling,
jeering or hooting
Such behaviors are especially offensive when:
- It
is either implied or clearly stated that submission to or rejection of the
behavior will affect or is a term or condition of, the individual's employment
or educational status, or
- they
create a coercive, hostile or intimidating atmosphere, or interfere with an
individual's academic or work performance.
Harassment
can come in many other forms and are not uncommon in the work place even with
all of the work place training on the subject. They are:
Verbal
Harassment
- Referring
to someone's race, religion, sex, disability, age, or other characteristic
protected by law in negative, vulgar, or derogatory terms
- Put-down jokes or stories
- Making
comments that include statements about inappropriate stereotypical ideas,
attributes, or characteristics of others
Nonverbal
Harassment
- Written or graphically derogatory
material about protected characteristics
- Unwelcome,
offensive, or hostile facial expressions or body gestures
- Having
or sending inappropriate screen savers, wallpaper, or email
- Sexually
oriented graphics, pictures, or calendars
Physical
Harassment
- Threatening or intimidating actions
- Blocking
a person's path with intent to intimidate or threaten
- Pushing,
shoving, or purposely bumping into a person
- Unwelcome
touching, caressing, or fondling
The
EEOC has measures in place so that there are multiple levels of reporting sexual
harassment that include your organization leaders, You HR department (normally
an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Officer), as well as other State
resources particular to your region to protect you from retaliation if you
report a violation.
