Sexual Harassment: Minimize Your Legal Risk

Sexual Harassment: Minimize Your Legal Risk

Despite significant gains in equality in the workplace, sexual harassment remains all too common. Worse, many managers aren't aware of what "counts" as sexual harassment, making it possible for this discriminatory behavior to happen right under their noses. Victims are similarly hesitant to report, making it even more difficult to spot and stop.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) lists sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Here's what you need to know to end this discrimination in your company.

What is Sexual Harassment?

The EEOC defines sexual harassment as "unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature." While explicitly sexual behavior or remarks fit the definition, so do actions that demean a person on the basis of their sex -- like making disparaging comments about women.

Generally speaking, sexual harassment claims fall into one of two categories recognized by the EEOC: quid pro quo and a hostile work environment. "Quid pro quo" sexual harassment makes benefits (like promotions or raises) contingent on providing sexual favors, or makes avoiding punishments (like demotion or bad shifts) the consequence of not providing those favors. "Hostile work environment" sexual harassment occurs when "a reasonable person in the worker's position would have considered the environment hostile or abusive."

Why Is Harassment Under-Reported -- and How Does It Affect Your Talent?

Although sexual harassment has been prohibited in the workplace for over 50 years, the number of reports has not caught up with the number of occurrences. Why?

  • There's still a power imbalance. Although anyone may experience sexual harassment at work, most victims are still younger women in lower-level positions, and their harassers are men in positions of authority over them.
  • No one wants to rock the boat. The same environments that breed sexual harassers often work to protect them. The same friendship and camaraderie that boosts your cooperative or collaborative atmosphere can also serve to protect harassers and silence victims who don't want to find themselves ostracized -- especially at the start of their careers.
  • They fear retaliation. Most sexual harassment claims filed with the EEOC are "retaliation" claims, in which the claimant states they were fired, demoted, or harassed for speaking up. Retaliation can cause an ongoing chain of headaches, lawsuits, and redoubled harassment, making it easier for victims simply to stay silent.

How does sexual harassment affect your hiring? First, sexual harassment laws don't just apply to workers -- they also apply to applicants. However, many hiring managers and many candidates don't know this. When sexual harassment happens during the hiring process, the quality of your talent pool suffers as a result.

But even if the hiring process is free of illegal discrimination, if the workplace is not, word gets around. Workers who are harassed take their talents elsewhere, and warn others in their field to avoid applying. Pretty soon, your talent pool shrinks.

Practical Tips to Encourage Sexual Harassment Reporting

Although sexual harassment is everywhere, it is not inevitable. Here's how to take a proactive approach to ending this form of illegal discrimination:

  • Create a clear reporting process. Make it clear where workers should go and who they should talk to if they feel harassed. Ensure that a neutral third party is assigned to each claim.
  • Take decisive action every time. When a complaint is made, look into it every single time. Doing so demonstrates a commitment to ending harassment as well as a commitment to objectivity, spelled out in your policy.
  • Foster respect and zero tolerance for harassment. Treat vulnerable team members as respected colleagues, call out double standards, and increase training and education to encourage cooperation and mutual respect.

Managing situations quickly when they could get out of hand is one of the best ways to model expected behavior and clarify expectations. If actions seem to be skirting the line, stop them before they go further.