Sexual Harassment Workshop

1. Sexual Harassment Workshop Alisha Culbertson, RayceLashley, Cory Rector, Garrett Saunders

2. Our Purpose • Today we gather to inform the administration of the company how to handle and the importance of reporting sexual harassment when it occurs in the work environment. When sexual misconduct occurs the importance of reporting the harasser is key to neutralizing the problem. Through activities and visuals we will teach you to avoid and diffuse possible sexual harassment before it stand has a chance to conspire. We will incorporate how to communicate to your instigator that the advancements are unwanted and need to stop.

3. Definitions • The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued guidelines in 1980 that stated sexual harassment is a violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.  It defined sexual harassment as “unwelcome sexual advances, requests, for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of sexual nature.”

4. Definitions continued… • The US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) defines sexual harassment as “deliberate or repeated unsolicited verbal comments, gestures, or physical contact of a sexual nature which are unwelcome.”

5. What Do These Have in Common? • Harassing behavior is unwelcome and unsolicited advances, of a sexual nature.  It is deliberate or repeated and it can be either verbal or physical.

6. How Bad is the Problem? • Also according to the US Office of Personnel Management, 42% of all female federal employees and 15% of all male federal employees reported being harassed in the previous 24 months.

7. Specifics of Sexual Harassment • Sexual harassment takes many forms • Verbal, visual or physical • Can range from repeated, unwelcome joking of a sexual nature to physical assault • It is behavior that may include • Unwelcome sexual advances • Requests for sexual favors • Other unwelcome verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.

8. Characteristics • Subtle pressure for sexual activities • Unwelcome touching, patting or pinching • Leering at a person's body • Persistent, offensive and unwelcome sexual remarks or jokes • Demands for sexual favors accompanied by implied or overt threats • Sexually graphic comments about a person's body or personal life

9. Employee Situations Okay… No Way!

10. Okay? Or No Way? • Leering • Joking • Promotions • Dinner • Reasonable Person • Quid Pro Quo • Hostile Environment

11. Effects on Victims • The effects of sexual harassment vary from person to person and are often dependent on the severity and duration of the harassment. • For many victims of sexual harassment, the aftermath may be more damaging than the original harassment.

12. Effects continued… • External • Retaliation • Backlash • Victim blaming • Internal • Depression • Anxiety • Feelings of shame and/or betrayal

13. Advice for HR Managers • The HR Manager needs to be alert to the emergence of potential harassment • They must act quickly through the appropriate manager(s) • She/he also needs to be able to give impartial and expert advice to people involved in harassment and discrimination cases, both victims and offenders

14. Advice for HR Managers continued… • The HR Manager normally would carry out a follow-up inquiry with the complainant three months after the complaint is decided upon, regardless of the outcome. • The inquiry should establish whether you have been subject to retaliation or threat of retaliation by the offender, alleged offender or any other staff member in the workplace • Also by the offender’s friends, associates, family or ethnic community.

15. Recovering fromSexual Harassment • Talk to people about what happened. • Do not let others tell you how you should feel about the situation. • Join a support group.

16. Video Presentation Women in the Workplace

17. It Can Go Both Ways

18. Anyone Can Be Sexually Harassed Title VII Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin.

19. Anyone Can Be Sexually Harassed continued… • Sexual harassment is a gender-neutral offense: Men can sexually harass women, and women can sexually harass men. • However, statistics show that the overwhelming majority of sexual harassment claims and charges are brought by women claiming that they were sexually harassed by men. • People of the same sex can also sexually harass each other, as long as the harassment is based on sex rather than sexual orientation, which is not a protected characteristic under Title VII.

20. For example, if a man's coworkers constantly bombard him with sexually explicit photos of women, and this makes him uncomfortable, he might have a sexual harassment claim. If, however, a man's coworkers tease and belittle him because he is gay, that might not be illegal harassment under federal law as it is currently interpreted. Anyone Can Be Sexually Harassed continued…

21. Anyone Can Be Sexually Harassed continued… • The line between harassment based on sex and harassment based on sexual orientation becomes blurred when gender-based stereotypes are at play. • For example, courts have held that Title VII is violated when a woman is harassed and discriminated against because she does not act sufficiently feminine. • Similarly, a man who is harassed for having feminine mannerisms and gestures is protected by Title VII. • These same employees might not be protected if their harassers relied more explicitly on homophobic slurs and remarks. • This type of behavior detracts from productivity and morale and doesn't serve any valid purpose, so there's no reason to allow it to continue. 

22. Responding Appropriately When Sexually Harassed • If you experience sexual harassment or witness it, you should make a report to the appropriate official. You do not have to report the incident to your supervisor first, especially if that is the person doing the harassing. • Failure or delay to report incident can hinder the administrations ability to prevent or correct measures when appropriate. • Report incidents immediately to: Supervisor, Harassment hotlines, department director, an independent elected official, or Director of Human Resources.

23. Employee’s Rights • No employee who exercise’s their right to make a complaint of sexual harassment will be subject to any penalty or consequence. • Sexual harassment will not be tolerated in the workplace and any employee who has experienced or witnessed harassment of another has an obligation to report the offense immediately. • Any employee who knowingly makes a false statement during a sexual harassment investigation is subject to disciplinary action and up to termination.

24. The DO’S and DONT’S of Sexual Harassment DO’S • Admit that a problem exists • Tell the offender specifically what you find offensive • Tell the offender that his or her behavior is bothering you • Say specifically what you want or don’t want to happen, such as “please call me by my name not Honey,” or “please don’t tell that kind of joke in front of me.” DONT’S • Blame yourself for someone else’s behavior • Choose to ignore the behavior • Try to handle any severe or recurring harassment problem by yourself -- get help.

25. Impact of Sexual Harassment • Sexual harassment at work can have very serious consequences both for the harassed individual as well as for other workers who experience it secondhand. • Sexual Harassment also impacts the harasser. The accusation alone can harm the harasser. • If the accusations turn false the accused party may suffer damages for which the employer could be held responsible such as job loss, blacklisting, or loss of income.

26. Prevention = Decreased Liability • “According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) web- site, "prevention is the best tool to eliminate sexual harassment in the workplace" (2002). The EEOC contends that the best means of prevention is by communicating to employees that sexual harassment will not be tolerated. This communication, their fact sheet contends, should be in the form of the creation of formal grievance processes and by immediately and appropriately pursuing complaints. While the EEOC's advice about communication is undoubtedly important, a far more nuanced and cohesive understanding of communication is necessary if organizations are to effectively prevent the occurrence of sexual harassment.” Debbie S. Dougherty & Mary JeanettSmythe (November 2004). Sensemaking Organizational Culture, and Sexual Harassment. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=6fca0097-e5f5-4599-8477- 2771a3661119%40sessionmgr115&vid=13&hid=111 • As a company prevention and policies to prevent harassment are key.

27. Guidelines for Determining Sexual Harassment • Determining whether sexual conduct is "unwelcome" • Evaluating evidence of harassment • Determining whether a work environment is sexually "hostile" • Holding employers liable for sexual harassment by supervisors • Evaluating preventive and remedial action taken in response to claims of sexual harassment

28. Types of Sexual Harassment (in the workforce) • The EEOC’s recognizes two types of Sexual Harassment: • Quid pro quo • Sexual favors in exchange for job benefits, including employment, promotions, salary, performance expectations and other employment options. • Hostile environment • Refers to a situation where employees workplace has a pattern of exposure to “unwanted sexual behavior” from possibly employees, supervisors, and/or mangers. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (1990). Policy guidance on current issues of sexual harassment (Section 703(a)(1) of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)). Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Retrieved from http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/currentissues.html

29. Determine if it’s Welcome • When welcomeness is the issue, employers should investigate to determine whether the victims conduct is consist or inconsistent with the accusation of conduct being un-welcome. • For upper management being confronted with conflicting evidence of welcomeness, is a normal experience. Look to the totality of the circumstances and evaluated on a case-by-case basis. • Thus, it is important for the employer to have a well-documented paper trail of circumstances and the nature of the complaints whether to harasser, co-workers, and most important upper management.

30. Evaluate the Evidence of Harassment • Because harassment doesn’t always happen in front of a camera, or before a witness doesn’t mean the employer disregards the incident. • To avoid liability to the company, the incident must be investigated. • The investigator should question the charging party along with the alleged harasser in detail. • The company’s management should create a paper trail, establishing both verbal warnings and written warnings were given. Then followed by possible separating the two individuals or warning both of the unacceptable behavior. This will avoid the company from liability. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (1990). Policy guidance on current issues of sexual harassment(Section 703(a)(1) of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)). Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Retrieved from http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/currentissues.html

31. Hostile Work Environment Hostile environment' harassment takes a variety of forms, many factors may affect this determination, including: • whether the conduct was verbal or physical, or both; • how frequently it was repeated; • whether the conduct was hostile and patently offensive; • whether the alleged harasser was a co-worker or a supervisor; • whether the others joined in perpetrating the harassment; and • whether the harassment was directed at more than one individual. Now this Leads to the 4 ways a company can avoid liability, and recognize hostile work environment. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (1990). Policy guidance on current issues of sexual harassment (Section 703(a)(1) of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)). Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Retrieved from http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/currentissues.html

32. 1. Evaluation Standard • In determining whether harassment is sufficiently severe or pervasive to create a hostile environment, the harasser's conduct should be evaluated from the objective standpoint of a "reasonable person.” • Example: • A "reasonable person" standard also should be applied to be more basic determination of whether challenged conduct is of a sexual nature. Thus, in the above example, a reasonable person would not consider the co-worker's invitations sexual in nature, and on that basis as well no violation would be found. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (1990). Policy guidance on current issues of sexual harassment (Section 703(a)(1) of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)). Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Retrieved from http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/currentissues.html

33. 2. Ferequencyof Incidents • Does isolated instances of harassment constitute hostile work environment? • Answer: No, unless the conduct is quite severe, a single incident or isolated incidents of offensive sexual conduct or remarks generally do not create an abusive environment. • “A ‘hostile environment’ claim generally requires a showing of a pattern of offensive conduct.In contrast, in ‘quid pro quo’ cases a single sexual advance may constitute harassment if it is linked to the granting or denial of employment benefits.” Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (1990). Policy guidance on current issues of sexual harassment(Section 703(a)(1) of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)). Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Retrieved from http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/currentissues.html

34. 3. Verbal Sexual Harassment • Consist of when the alleged verbal conduct is inappropriate. • The investigation should review the nature/color of the remarks, frequency and the target.

35. 4. Sex- Based Conduct • Acts of physical aggression, intimidation, hostility or unequal treatment based on sex may be combined with incidents of sexual harassment to establish the existence of discriminatory terms and conditions of employment. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (1990). Policy guidance on current issues of sexual harassment (Section 703(a)(1) of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. 2000e-2(a)). Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Retrieved from http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/currentissues.html

36. Conclusion • What have we learned? • Time for a short quiz…