BLR’s Human Resources Training Presentations in Pennsylvania

1. BLR’s Human Resources Training Presentations in Pennsylvania Sexual Harassment: What Is and Isn’t Acceptable: Part I

2. Goals • Consider federal laws that prohibit sexual harassment in the workplace • Recognize the specific forms of harassment • Know who can commit sexual harassment • Recognize who can experience harassment • Understand under what conditions sexual harassment can occur • Consider Pennsylvania laws governing sexual harassment

3. What Is Sexual Harassment? • Title VII • Title VII prohibits discrimination in employment based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin • The courts have interpreted discrimination based on sex to include sexual harassment

4. What Is Sexual Harassment? (cont.) • Conduct of a sexual nature in the workplace • Unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favors, or verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitutes sexual harassment

5. Who Can Commit Sexual Harassment? • Supervisors • Subordinates • Co-workers • Clients/customers

6. Who Can Commit Sexual Harassment? (cont.) • Teachers • Students • Same-sex

7. Who Can Experience Sexual Harassment? • Direct targets of harassment • Bystanders/witnesses to harassment

8. How Can Sexual Harassment Occur? • Tangible Employment Action • Employee suffers a loss(monetary, change inworkload or assignment) • Focus on harm to victim • Occurs between a supervisor and employee

9. How Can Sexual Harassment Occur? (cont.) • Hostile Work Environment • Severe or pervasive conduct (or both) • Unreasonable interference with job performance • Offensive, intimidating, hostile work environment • Can be created by anyone in the workplace

10. Does a Hostile Work Environment Exist? • How frequent is the conduct? • How severe? • Is the conduct physically threatening or humiliating? • Does the conduct unreasonably interfere with an individual’s work performance?

11. Pennsylvania Law • Pennsylvania Human Relations Act • Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission • Sexual harassment defined

12. Three Primary Forms of Sexual Harassment • Physical harassment or abuse • Verbal harassment or abuse • Visual harassment or abuse

13. When Is It Illegal? • Must be put up with to keep the job • Employment decisions based on response • Employee’s work negatively affected • Hostile work environment created

14. Who May File Complaints? • Victims • Witnesses • Co-workers

15. Summary • Sexual harassment is prohibited by Title VII • Sexual harassment is conduct of a sexual nature in the workplace • Sexual harassment is unwelcome advances or requests for sexual favors, or verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature • Sexual harassment can be committed by employees, customers, or clients

16. Summary (cont.) • Any employee–as well as bystanders and witnesses–can be a target of harassment • Sexual harassment is characterized by tangible employment action or a hostile environment • Pennsylvania law prohibits sexual harassment

17. Quiz 1. Sexual harassment in the workplace includes lewd remarks and sexual calendars. True or False 2. People of the same sex cannot commit sexual harassment. True or False 3. Besides employees who are direct targets, who are the other two groups who may be victims of sexual harassment?

18. Quiz (cont.) 4. If a supervisor terminates an employee for refusing a sexual demand, it is an example of what kind of harassment? 5. A hostile work environment may be intimidating and include sexual jokes. True or False

19. Quiz Answers 1. True. 2. False. The key here is not sexuality, but that the act is sexual in nature. 3. Bystanders or witnesses to sexual harassment. 4. It is an example of tangible employment action. 5. True.