1. What is it ???

2. is defined by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when:  submission to the conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a condition of an individual’s employment  submission to or rejection of the conduct is used as a basis for employment decisions affecting the individual such as a pay raise or a promotion

3. Definition (cont.)  the conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment

4. The law does not prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that are not very serious. Harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted).

5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b7QwY QRiqw&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bojKifK PkPk&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBRAn Q8vzmo&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm_Yew SqOy8&feature=related

6.  Both victim and harasser can be male or female  Both can be the same sex.  The victim does not have to be the person harassed but could be anyone affected by the offensive conduct.

7. Did you know … ??? In 2009 …  12,696 sexual harassment claims were filed  16% of charges were filed by males  47.7% * were found to have no reasonable cause  6.3% * were found to have reasonable cause  Cost of these claims was $51.5 million (not counting litigated claims) *Other claims were closed by settlement, satisfactorily arbitrated, or dropped by claimant

8. Types of sexual harassment:  Quid-pro-quo – this for that - the employee is required to provide sexual favors to get hired, to get a pay raise, or to keep the job

9.  Hostile environment - employee is subjected to unwelcome or intimidating working conditions  Making derogatory statements about one’s gender  Coarse jokes, abusive graffiti, and unnecessary touching  Posting of nude or offensive pictures in the workplace  Commenting on physical attributes

10. Hostile environment cases are often difficult to recognize. The facts of each situation determine whether offensive conduct has “crossed the line” from simply boorish or childish behavior to unlawful gender discrimination.

11. Conduct that does not offend most reasonable men might offend most reasonable women. In one study, two-thirds of the men surveyed said they would be flattered by a sexual approach in the workplace, while 15 percent would be insulted. The figures were reversed for the women responding.

12. What does the employee do?  Make a report to the appropriate official. It does not have to be your supervisor.  Report incidents immediately, especially if they are recurring. Sexual harassment is an organizational problem. The employer wants to know about it so it can take prompt and appropriate action to ensure that no further incidents occur.

13. What does the employer do?  Develop and implement a robust written sexual harassment policy  Provide training that focuses on the EEOC guidelines concerning sexual harassment  Establish investigation guidelines that maintain confidentiality  Assign a mixed committee of males and females to investigate charges of harassment  Develop a means of capturing unreported incidents

14. What does the employer do? (cont.) Let all employees know that sexual harassment will not be tolerated. Establish appropriate penalties that could range from discipline to discharge Provide protection against retaliation for victims as well as witnesses

15. Sexual harassment is wrong in any environment and should not be tolerated in any organization

16. Questions ???