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Why should I read about sexual harassment policies?
Sexual harassment is a form of workplace discrimination, a violation of workplace policy, and it is illegal. Harassers may be individually subject to liability. If you don’t know that your behavior could be perceived as sexual harassment you may be unknowingly placing yourself in danger of losing your job, or worse, becoming legally liable.
The information provided below has been released by New York State “Combating Sexual Harassment: Sexual Harassment Policy for all Employers in New York State.”
What exactly is sexual harassment?
Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination and includes harassment on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, self-identified or perceived sex, the status of being transgender, or gender identity. The victim of sexual harassment does not necessarily need to be the intended target.
Sexual harassment can include:
-unwelcome conduct directed at an individual because of their sex
-unwelcome sexual advances
-requests for sexual favors
-other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature
-rejection of such conduct affects the individual’s employment
-conduct is made implicitly or explicitly a term or condition of employment
But more specifically, what can be considered “sexual harassment”?
How would I know if I’m crossing the line into sexual harassment? Here are some common behaviors that can be considered to be sexual harassment if they are severe or pervasive. (This means that the conduct could be one very severe incident or several less severe, but still creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.)
These acts, described below by New York State “Combating Sexual Harassment: Sexual Harassment Policy for all Employers in New York State” can all be considered sexual harassment in the workplace:
“Physical acts of a sexual nature, such as:
o Touching, pinching, patting, kissing, hugging, grabbing, brushing against another
employee’s body or poking another employee’s body;
o Rape, sexual battery, molestation or attempts to commit these assaults.
• Unwanted sexual advances or propositions, such as:
o Requests for sexual favors accompanied by implied or overt threats concerning the
target’s job performance evaluation, a promotion or other job benefits or detriments; o Subtle or obvious pressure for unwelcome sexual activities.
• Sexually oriented gestures, noises, remarks or jokes, or comments about a person’s sexuality or sexual experience, which create a hostile work environment.
• Sex stereotyping occurs when conduct or personality traits are considered inappropriate simply because they may not conform to other people’s ideas or perceptions about how individuals of a particular sex should act or look.
• Sexual or discriminatory displays or publications anywhere in the workplace, such as:
o Displaying pictures, posters, calendars, graffiti, objects, promotional material, reading
materials or other materials that are sexually demeaning or pornographic. This includes such sexual displays on workplace computers or cell phones and sharing such displays while in the workplace.”
Retaliating against an employee for filing a sexual harassment complaint is illegal under federal, state and often local law.
All sexual harassment complaints must be taken seriously and investigated in a timely manner. It does not matter if the complaint was reported verbally or in written form. All parties involved should receive a fair and impartial investigation.
If the investigation turns up that the alleged harasser has, in fact, committed sexual harassment, they may be subject to liability.
For more information about sexual harassment, send us a message.
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