04/07/ © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. BLR’s Human Resources Training Presentations Sexual Harassment: What Is and Isn’t Acceptable: Part II

04/07/ © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Goals Know when an employer is liable Understand what isn’t sexual harassment Understand the objectives of a workplace sexual harassment policy Gain a better understanding of your role in achieving our policy objectives with FACTS

04/07/ © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. When Is an Employer Liable? Tangible Employment Action – Liability is automatic

04/07/ © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. When Is an Employer Liable? (cont.) Hostile Work Environment – Supervisors vs. non-supervisors – Tangible employment action vs. no action – In a school system

04/07/ © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. What Isn’t Sexual Harassment? The stray remark The overly sensitive employee Consensual relationships

04/07/ © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. A Sexual Harassment Policy To provide uniform expectations To protect employee rights Foster respect for all parties To promote compliance and prevention Management and employee responsibilities

04/07/ © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. General Guiding FACTS Familiarize yourself with the company policy Address incidents of sexual harassment immediately Cooperation Thorough investigation Satisfactory resolution

04/07/ © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Follow the FACTS Familiarize yourself with the company policy

04/07/ © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Follow the FACTS (cont.) Address incidents of sexual harassment immediately

04/07/ © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Follow the FACTS (cont.) Cooperate – Full cooperation of all parties is expected and required

04/07/ © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Follow the FACTS (cont.) Thorough investigation – Documentation of complaints – Employee interviews – Signed statements

04/07/ © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Follow the FACTS (cont.) Satisfactory resolution – Swift response and resolution – Objective review of the facts – Fair and appropriate response

04/07/ © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Summary Sexual harassment is physical, verbal, or visual conduct of a sexual nature in the workplace that is unwelcome. Sexual harassment is unlawful. Our company adheres to a policy of “zero tolerance” regarding sexual harassment in our workplace. It is our goal to educate employees so that a harassment-free work environment is promoted and maintained.

04/07/ © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Summary (cont.) To this end, employees must immediately report any incident of sexual harassment. Managers and supervisors must immediately address and correct any report of such activity. All employees should work together to eliminate harassment. A work environment that is free of harassment is one that is supportive and beneficial to all.

04/07/ © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Case Study Edna, Employee, has worked for Mark, Manager, for almost ten years. As Mark’s Administrative Assistant, Edna knows Mark and his idiosyncrasies better than anyone else. For example, how Mark likes to call Edna and the other female co-workers “Babe,” how he often rests his hand on Edna’s shoulder while he dictates a letter, and how he often compliments the female typists on their appearance and dress.

04/07/ © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Case Study (cont.) In the past, none of this ever particularly bothered Edna. Edna always felt that Mark’s behavior was harmless and characteristic of men from Mark’s generation. Last week, Mark issued a written warning to Edna based on her misuse of company phones and excessive absenteeism. Edna has now filed a formal internal complaint charging Mark with sexual harassment. Is this sexual harassment?

04/07/ © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Case Study Analysis Edna probably does not have a valid complaint. Although the courts have held sexual harassment must consist of conduct that is offensive to a reasonable person, they also noted that an “affected” employee must also actually be offended. Although a reasonable person might be offended by Mark’s behavior, the facts suggest Edna has never previously been offended. Also, since Edna’s complaint comes soon after recent disciplinary action, the validity of her complaint is somewhat suspect.

04/07/ © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Quiz 1.An employer is liable for sexual harassment when _________________________________________________. 2.The employer is automatically liable in all cases involving a hostile work environment. True or False 3.Name three situations that probably won’t be considered sexual harassment: _______________________________________. 4.The acronym FACTS stands for _________________________________________________. 5.The purpose of the organization’s sexual harassment policy is _________________________________________________.

04/07/ © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Quiz (cont.) 6.Every party to a complaint should be interviewed during the investigation process. True or False 7.A thorough investigation of a harassment complaint includes ____________________________________________________. 8.Managers do not need to take all complaints seriously; only those that can seem to them to have some merit need be investigated. True or False 9.Cooperation of all employees is necessary for policy to be carried out successfully in all cases. True or False 10.The three elements necessary for a satisfactory resolution of a sexual harassment complaint are __________________________.

04/07/ © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Quiz Answers 1.An employer is liable when a tangible employment action occurs or hostile work environment is proven. 2.False. An employer is automatically liable only if an employee experiences a hostile work environment at the hands of his or her supervisor and experiences an unreasonable interference with the employee’s job performance as a result. Other cases of hostile environment depend on the facts of the case, the employer’s knowledge of events, and its efforts to correct and prevent workplace harassment. 3.A complaint made on the basis of a stray remark or a consensual relationship or a complaint made by an overly sensitive employee would not be considered sexual harassment. Claims are generally analyzed from the perspective of a reasonable person.

04/07/ © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Quiz Answers (cont.) 4.FACTS stands for: Familiarize yourself with company policy; Address complaints immediately; Cooperate in any investigations; ensure a Thorough investigation; and reach a Satisfactory resolution. 5. The purpose of a sexual harassment policy is to provide uniform expectations, protect employee rights, foster respect for all parties, promote compliance and prevention, and assign management and employee responsibilities. 6.True. The complainant, the accused, and any witnesses must be interviewed.

04/07/ © Business & Legal Reports, Inc. Quiz Answers (cont.) 7.A thorough investigation includes documentation of the complaint, employee interviews, and signed statements from the parties involved in the complaint. 8.False. All complaints should be taken seriously, and every incident should be addressed immediately. 9.True. Cooperation on the part of employees is not only helpful in achieving a satisfactory resolution, it is expected and required in every case. 10.The three elements necessary for a satisfactory resolution are swift action when a complaint is made, an objective review of the facts, and a fair and appropriate response on the part of management.