Final Paper Sexual Harassment.docx

Running Head: SEXUAL HARASSMENT

Social Issues and the Workplace: Sexual Harassment Lindsay Neilson SOC 402: Contemporary Social Problems & the Workplace Instructor: Peggy Morrison November 2, 2015

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According to the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) the definition of sexual harassment is behavior toward another person based on that person’s sex which can often include unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. These actions are considered sexual harassment when they explicitly or implicitly affect an individual’s employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment (Korgen, K. O., Korgen, J. O., & Giraffe, V., 2015). The occurrence of sexual harassment has proven over and over what negative effects are imposed on not only the victim, but also the company in which the individual is employed. While sexual harassment knows no gender, one gender is typically affected more than the other. The issue of sexual harassment in the workplace has caused such an uproar across the nation, laws have been put into effect protecting those who fall victim and punishing those who commit the now crime; along with companies creating policies in which sexual harassment is strictly frowned upon and violators are reprimanded should the claims be proven true. Whereas sexual harassment can occur to any gender and be performed by any gender, the most common gender affected are women. Some believe this is because women are and have been stereotyped to be inferior to men since far back in history and perceived to be the “weaker” sex. This in turn makes individuals believe women are more vulnerable to such acts. Much research has been done and it has been found that men and women interpret sexual behavior differently. Women are much more likely than men to label a given situation as harassing. Men report that they would be flattered by sexual harassment at work, while women report that they are annoyed by the same behavior. (Shannon, C. A., Rospenda, K. M., & Richman, J. A., 2007). According to a poll created by The Huffington Post, one in five women claimed to have been

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harassed by their boss and one in four claimed to be harassed by a co-worker. However, women are not the only ones reportedly harassed by either a superior or co-worker; 6% of men claimed to have been harassed by co-workers and 14% reported to being sexually harassed by their boss (Berman, J., & Swanson, E., 2013). Unfortunately, most instances of sexual harassment go unreported by victims. This is due in part to fear of repercussions they could face for reporting this behavior, especially those reports against superiors. Gender however, is not the only discriminatory factor in sexual harassment in the workplace. People are also often sexually harassed based on their race and sexual orientation as well. The effects that sexual harassment in the workplace can have on an individual can be very detrimental and debilitating. Sexual harassment has been linked to various mental and emotional health disorders including but not limited to: depression, anxiety, hostility, and drug and alcohol abuse. These in turn can affect the victims physical health; when anyone’s emotional and mental health are damaged, they often have side effects that affect their physical health such as loss of appetite, headaches, and sleep disturbances just to name a few (The Effects of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace [Web log post]., 2015). While sexual harassment is a personal crime, it is not just the person that is affected by this behavior. Co-workers and the company in which the person is employed by also can suffer drastically. As if a day at the office is not enough stress for a person, sexual harassment is considered a major stressor of the workplace; to all of the workers. “A number of negative outcomes of workplace sexual harassment have been documented, including job dissatisfaction, absenteeism, job turnover, low self-esteem and elevated stress” (McDonald, P., & Backstrom, S., 2008). A stressful work environment often can also cause employees to become disengaged from their work which in turn lowers their loyalty to the company and their productivity rate, which

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could end up costing the company money should the employees not meeting deadlines as needed. Another financial loss a company could endure as a result of a sexual harassment claim is to be involved in a personal injury lawsuit at the hands of the victim. While very detrimental to the company, they financial hardships a company can endure as a result of sexual harassment are not the only effects imposed on the company; the company’s ethical value is also greatly damaged. While ethics is not an element that every company has to have to succeed, it is a quality that most like to have. A company’s ethical value can determine their clientele, employees, and overall value as well. When a company’s ethical value is damaged, they take a risk of losing not only employees but customers as well. Publicly published articles and government hearings sparked interest in sexual harassment in the late nineteenth century. Interests in the problem of female sexual vulnerabilities during this time period lead to the composition of several books that embedded context of the subject within their pages. Helen Campbell’s 1887 report on Women WageWorkers, and Upton Sinclair’s 1905 exposé, The Jungle, are examples of written publications exposing the situations that women endured during this point in American history (MacKinnon, C.A & Siegel, R.B., 2004). In 1976, the first sexual harassment decision was handed down by the Supreme Court in the case of Williams v. Saxby (Tesser, B, 2013). It was not until then that sexual harassment was ruled as a form of gender discrimination, therefore violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and being declared illegal. With the rising number of sexual harassment claims made every year, the EEOC now classifies the claims into two categories. “Quid pro quo” harassment occurs when a person refuses to grant sexual favors and in return is either fired, had a promotion opportunity taken away, or their wages frozen; “hostile environment” harassment occurs when sexual abusive behavior, language, or gestures are used

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that leave the victim of said harassment feel humiliated or discriminated against (Basu, K., 2003). Claims of sexual harassment should be reported to the EEOC immediately and in doing so, the employee may seek immediate remedies such as reinstatement if they were terminated from their position as a result of a quid pro quo claim or as retribution for reporting said behavior. They may also receive payment by the employer for lost wages and punitive money damages. Along with the Supreme Court and EEOC, states may also enact Fair Employment Practice laws which allows sexual harassment to be dealt with on a state level. The State however most generally does not provide victims with recovery from personal injury or damages (HG.org Legal Resources, n.d). California is leading the country in preventing sexual harassment in the workplace by introducing Assembly Bill 1825 and new Government Code section 12950.1, requiring mandatory compliance training for employees. (Tesser, B., 2013). An employer is legally responsible to a victimized employee for sexual harassment by a supervisor with authority over that employee in two instances. When the harassment leads to a tangible employment action by the employer, such as demotion, decreased compensation, significantly different work assignments, or termination, the employer's liability is absolute. When there has been no tangible employment action, the employer is liable unless he can prove that he has taken reasonable care to prevent and correct promptly any sexually harassing behavior. If the employer has widely distributed an effective policy and complaint procedure then he would not be liable. Also, if the employee unreasonably failed to take advantage of any preventative or corrective opportunities provided by the employer or to avoid harm otherwise then the employer in not liable (Sandler, 1997). In addition to state and federal laws prohibiting sexual harassment in the workplace, most companies have policies in place prohibiting sexual harassment. While this is not required by

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federal law, it is strongly suggested by the EEOC. A company policy addressing sexual harassment should clearly state the behaviors that are considered to be harassment and the company's intolerance of such behaviors. It should inform employees of the proper steps they must follow to report sexual harassment; and clearly explain the process in which the company will investigate and resolve a complaint, including assuring employees that full confidentiality will be kept. It should also state clear warnings that violation of the policy will result in punishments that could include dismissal and assurance that retaliation will not be tolerated should an incident happen. (Ganzel, 1998). Good policy statements reflect collaboration among executives, supervisors, and employees because "sexual harassment is a manifestation of deeply held beliefs, attitudes, feelings, and cultural norms . . , it is predicated on sociocultural views and sex-role stereotypes" (Brandenburg 1997, p. 39). No policies, set forth by the company, will be 100 % effective unless all employees are fully educated about the company's policies and procedures. To prevent vulnerability to sexual harassment allegations, a company should provide training and education classes for all employees and keep record of their participation in and completion of the training program. Employees need to be aware that while companies can be held liable for sexual harassment incidents, there are exceptions to that can relieve the company from that liability. The education classes and training should clearly explain the laws that prohibits sexual harassment. They should identify the actions that could be considered sexual harassment and describe the company's policies and procedures pertaining to sexual harassment. However, the training should also raise awareness of sexual harassment and present strategies for intervention. It is here that we go back to the subject of a company’s ethics. Ensuring their employees are properly trained, educated, and aware of the definition of sexual harassment and the

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consequences should they engage in such is one way to show that the company cares about their employees. This in turn also raises their level of ethical value which can be used as an evaluation tool should an allegation of sexual harassment be made. While many companies take every step possible to ensure that they educate and train their employees on what sexual harassment is and what the consequences could be, there is always room for improvement. When pertaining to an issue that is as recognized as sexual harassment you can never be too clear. All policies, procedures, rules, and regulations should be updated yearly to ensure that all subjects and possibilities of sexual harassment are covered. Also, accompanying policies placed for sexual harassment should be no-tolerance policies which clearly identifies what the company will and will not condone by all employees. Should sexual harassment occur, companies should either offer on-site counseling should it be needed or at the least offer to pay all or a portion of the bill should a victim need to seek mental health services. Implementing these strategies would not only show the employees that their company does care about them on a personal level, but also show that they are willing to work together with employees to help fix the problem that was created by the incident. As clearly stated above, sexual harassment in the workplace is not something that should or is taken lightly on not only a corporate level, but also a state and even federal level. Federal and state laws have been put in place to ensure the rights and safety of individual professionals no matter what their trade may be. Men and women both can be and are victims of sexual harassment more often than anyone would like to admit, sadly enough even themselves at times. If all companies, no matter how large or small, were required to have anti-harassment policies in place and properly inforce those policies, I believe we would see a decrease in the number of sexual harassment filings received by the EEOC annually. Not only would this benefit the people

SEXUAL HARASSMENT victimized by this shameful and humiliating act and their co-workers, it would also benefit the company in which they are employed. By setting up these policies and incorporating new ideas on how to protect their employees, they would improve not only their company and their employees work environment but also the way their customers view them as a provider of their services.

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Basu, K. (2003). The Economics and Law of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace. Journal Of Economic Perspectives, 17(3), 141-157 Berman, J., & Swanson, E. (2013, August 27). Workplace Sexual Harassment Poll Finds Large Share Of Workers Suffer, Don't Report. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/27/workplace-sexual-harassmentpoll_n_3823671.html Brandenburg, J. B. (1997). Confronting Sexual Harassment. New York: Teacher's College, Columbia University. Ganzel, R. (1998, October 10). "What Sexual-Harassment Training Really Prevents." Training 35, no. 10: 86-94. HG.org Legal Resources. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.hg.org/sexual-harassment-law.html Korgen, K. O., Korgen, J. O., & Giraffe, V. (2015). Social issues in the workplace (2nd ed.) [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/ MacKinnon, C.A & Siegel, R.B., (2004). Directions in Sexual Harassment Law: Introduction and Afterword. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=480623 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.480623 McDonald, P., & Backstrom, S. (2008). Fighting back: Workplace sexual harassment and the case of north country*. Australian Bulletin of Labour, 34(1), 47-63. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/204469875?accountid=32521 Sandler, B.R. (1997). Handling sexual harassment. Washington, DC: Association for woman.

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Shannon, C. A., Rospenda, K. M., & Richman, J. A. (2007). Workplace Harassment Patterning, Gender, and Utilization of Professional Services: Findings from a US National Study. Social Science & Medicine (1982), 64(6), 1178–1191. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2006.10.038 Tesser, B. (2013, July 23). A History of Sexual Harassment in the United States| CA Employment Law [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.trgllp.com/blog/a-historyof-sexual-harassment-in-the-united-states/ The Effects of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace [Web log post]. (2015, February). Retrieved from http://www.employmentadvocacy.com/blog/2015/february/the-effects-of-sexualharassment-in-the-workplac.aspx