Saturday, January 2, 2010

Preventing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace.

What Is Sexual Harassment?

Sexual harassment is any unwelcome sexual advance or conduct on the job that creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment. Any conduct of a sexual nature that makes an employee uncomfortable has the potential be sexual harassment. Given this broad definition, it is not surprising that sexual harassment comes in many forms. The following are all examples of sexual harassment:

• A supervisor implies to an employee that the employee must sleep with him to keep a job.

• A sales clerk makes demeaning comments about female customers to his coworkers.

• An office manager in a law firm is made uncomfortable by lawyers who regularly tell sexually explicit jokes.

• A cashier at a store pinches and fondles a coworker against her will.

• A secretary's coworkers belittle her and refer to her by sexist or demeaning terms.

• Several employees post sexually explicit jokes on an office intranet bulletin board.

• An employee sends emails to coworkers that contain sexually explicit language and jokes.

The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, manager, or coworker. An employer may even be liable for harassment by a non-employee (such as a vendor or customer), depending on the circumstances. Anyone Can Be Sexually Harassed. Sexual harassment is a gender-neutral offense, at least in theory: 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 of a heterosexual nature. For example, if a man's coworkers constantly bombard him with sexually explicit photos of women and sexually explicit jokes, and if this makes him uncomfortable because he is married, this behavior can constitute sexual harassment. Adopt a clear sexual harassment policy. In employee handbook, we should have a policy devoted to sexual harassment.

That policy should:

o define sexual harassment;

o state in no uncertain terms that you will not tolerate sexual harassment;

o state that you will discipline or fire any wrongdoers;

o set out a clear procedure for filing sexual harassment complaints;

o state that you will investigate fully any complaint that you receive, and

o state that you will not tolerate retaliation against anyone who complains about sexual harassment;

Train employees. At least once a year, conduct training sessions for employees. These sessions should teach employees what sexual harassment is, explain that employees have a right to a workplace free of sexual harassment, review your complaint procedure, and encourage employees to use it.

Train supervisors and managers. At least once a year, conduct training sessions for supervisors and managers that are separate from the employee sessions. The sessions should educate the managers and supervisors about sexual harassment and explain how to deal with complaints. Monitor your workplace. Get out among your employees periodically. Talk to them about the work environment. Ask for their input. Look around the workplace itself.

Do you see any offensive posters or notes? Talk to your supervisors and managers about what is going on. Keep the lines of communication open. Take all complaints seriously. If someone complains about sexual harassment, act immediately to investigate the complaint. If the complaint turns out to be valid, your response should be swift and effective.

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