Sexual harassment in the workplace is a form of discrimination that can include physical or verbal abuse of a sexual nature. US laws protect victims of sexual harassment and discrimination, with two main forms outlined in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Prevention policies and education can help to deter sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace.
Sexual harassment, especially in the workplace, is a form of discrimination. Discriminatory workplace practices include bias in job assignment, promotion, compensation, hiring, firing, retaliation, or harassment involving physical or verbal abuse of a sexual nature. In the United States, sexual harassment and discrimination are subject to both state and federal laws established by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII outlines two main forms of sexual harassment, sexual harassment in a hostile environment and sexual harassment quid pro quo.
Hostile Environment Sexual harassment is sexual harassment in which the workplace atmosphere is one in which the employee is subjected to unwelcome physical or verbal behavior of a sexual nature and severe or pervasive. This form of sexual harassment can occur if, for example, a group of colleagues continues to share pornographic images with another colleague who has previously made it clear that he finds the images offensive. Quid pro quo sexual harassment is sexual harassment that occurs when the fulfillment of a sexual request serves as a prerequisite to a hiring decision. This form of sexual harassment can occur if, for example, an employee who rejects a supervisor’s romantic advances is later reprimanded or fired in retaliation.
Simple teasing is not prohibited by law, and individual incidents or offhand comments made in jest may not reach the level of sexual harassment and discrimination in isolation, but this behavior can escalate to the level of unlawful sexual harassment if it develops into a pattern of behavior or is indicative of growing hostility in the workplace. The particular gender or sexual orientation of the victim or abuser is not a prerequisite for a sexual harassment and workplace discrimination determination. A victim of sexual harassment and discrimination can be a woman or a man, and the harasser can be same-sex or same-sex. Furthermore, the victim need not be the specifically harassed person, nor is an economic loss necessary for a finding of discrimination. When investigating allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination, government agencies and other law enforcement organizations will typically look at the record as a whole, including the context surrounding the conduct, the nature of the sexual behavior, and the situation in which it is said that accidents have happened.
While federal and state laws exist to protect victims of sexual discrimination and harassment, eliminating discriminatory behavior and sexual harassment in the workplace is often best achieved through the development of appropriate workplace discrimination prevention policies and workplace harassment training. Prevention policies and education can act as a powerful deterrent when they effectively communicate the message that sexual harassment will not be tolerated. This is done when the communication is directly linked to an employee grievance system designed to take sexual harassment and discrimination reports seriously, appropriately, and with a sense of urgency.
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