When Does Sexual Harassment Occur?

When Does Sexual Harassment Occur?

One of the biggest obligations that managers and supervisors face is knowing what kinds of behaviors can involve illegal sexual harassment. And once they recognize the actions, they need to know what to do about it.  Exactly, when does sexual harassment occur?

Steps to Take

Quick. Suppose a manager or supervisor makes a sexual advance on an employee. What is the employer’s responsibility?

The employer doesn’t have the luxury of hiring a special prosecutor who can investigate for years. In a sense, the employer is the special prosecutor — and the judge and jury as well. But if not careful, it could be the employer rather than your employee who winds up in court.

Here’s a scenario: A manager is speaking at a hotel convention. A woman who works for him is taking registrations at a desk in the lobby. She gets a message that the manager wants to see her in his hotel suite. She goes to his room where he asks her for a sexual favor. She refuses, and leaves in disgust. The next day, or the next month, or the next year, she calls a press conference and announces she is charging him, and the employer, with sexual harassment.

Now it is your job to sort out the facts. You’re the special prosecutor, remember?

Was this an example of woefully poor behavior — or was it sexual harassment?

Some points are clear. Sexual harassment is a form of discrimination. It’s the sex part of sex discrimination. It violates federal law in at least two areas: Educational settings and in the workplace. It is the “sleep with me or you’ll lose your job” exploitation. But the law takes it a little further than that.

In the workplace, sexual harassment has been defined as “unwelcome sexual conduct.” The definition prompted a spokesperson for the Women’s Legal Defense Fund, to lament: “That implies that people get one free pass. How else do you know it’s unwelcome?”

In the situation involving the manager and the employee, if he stopped his advances when he saw they were unwelcome, and didn’t repeat this type of behavior again, then there probably was no illegal sexual harassment. Illegal sexual harassment is sexual attention that is: * Unwelcome and unwanted. * Affecting the victim’s physical and emotional health and interfering with the ability to do a job. * Perceived by the victim to mean that submission is a condition of employment or advancement.

Another potential workplace example: Jane is a good employee who sits next to Ralph. One day, Ralph puts a calendar on his desk that has a nude pin-up photo in full view. The photo makes Jane uncomfortable and she tells Ralph first, and then she tells you that it is bothering her. A week later, she complains to you again.

There are two red flags here:

1. Her emotional health may be affected by the refusal to take down the calendar, as well as her comfort and probably her job performance.

2. There are no more “free passes.” She’s made it clear that the conduct is unwelcome.

Here are some tips on what to do if an employee reports an incident of sexual harassment:

Take all complaints seriously so your employee sees that you are sincere, unbiased and non-judgmental.
Talk with the employee but also make sure you get a written account of what happened and specifically, what constituted the harassment.

Respond quickly to the complaint. If you have a human resources manager, turn the information over to that person immediately. If you don’t have someone like that on staff, consult an attorney.

And the first step toward preventing sexual harassment complaints is to watch your own behavior.

Since a disgruntled employee might someday charge you with sexual harassment, you can make sure any such charge would be groundless.

Guidance on Sexual Harassment:

Here’s how: Never touch your employees without permission. Never be demeaning to people, particularly with reference to gender. Never treat employees as potential dates. Never get romantically involved with an employee. Never make sexually suggestive comments. Always make sure that compliments contain no innuendo. Always keep your office door open when meeting with someone of the opposite sex.

If you want to avoid a sexual harassment lawsuit, the best advice is to take all complaints seriously and investigate them promptly. Handle your investigation discreetly to avoid office gossip. Record interviews if possible or have a witness present. Interview both the complainant and the accused with compassion, because you must remain impartial until you know the truth.

Do exit interviews with any employee leaving for any reason. In the course of the interview, ask if the employee ever encountered sexual harassment. If the answer is “yes,” act on it immediately. If the answer is “no,” and you have it in writing, you have some protection against a complaint ever being lodged by that former employee.

To prevent sexual harassment complaints:

1. If you don’t have a policy prohibiting sexual and other illegal harassment, develop one and make sure it is included in your employee handbook. Define harassment, state that the employer won’t tolerate it and make sure employees understand it’s OK to blow the whistle on someone.
2. Make sure your employees know what they should do if they experience sexual or other illegal harassment.

3. Be observant in your workplace. If you take steps to stop inappropriate behavior, no matter how innocent it may seem, you may save yourself from far more serious problems.

4. Don’t forget the three most important parts of any investigation of alleged sexual harassment: Document, document, document.

Vision HR can help you create and enforce a Sexual Harassment policy and conduct training on the proper steps for employees, managers and owners to handle this very real threat to any business.  Give Vision HR a call to discuss options on how to get this type of support from experts for your business at 386-255-7070.

 

 

Source Bizactions / Thompson Reuters