Rhonda says…

Posts Tagged sexual harassment

How to Document Harassment

Apr 10

Posted by admin in Harassment and Discrimination | No Comments

Documenting Harassment or Discrimination Claims

Documentation is very important.  Good documentation will support your position and provide credibility to your claim.  Keep a journal of all the events that contributed to the harassment and/or discrimination. 

 The following should be included in the documentation:

  • Date of occurrence
  • Location
    • Ex: In the company break room at 9:25 amHarassers
    • Ex: Mark Zinnnn was putting money into the candy machine
  • Witnesses
    • Ex: Mary Mrrrty was in the break room and Jeff Grrrty came in at 9:30 am
  • What happened
    • Describe the behaviors in detail, where everyone was located, what words or actions  occurred, who said or did the words or actions, and the result of the behaviors, i.e. you left the room, you cried, etc.
  • Whom you told and what you said afterwards
    • Ex: I told Jes Maeeeiy. I said…
  • Signature
  • Date written

Tags: , , ,

Art and Music and Harassment

Mar 3

Posted by admin in Harassment and Discrimination | No Comments

Harassment Through Art and Music 

Likewise, art or music that is seen as politically offensive, misogynistic, or sexually themed can lead to harassment liability.  A U.S. Court of Appeals in Slayton v. Ohio Dep’t of Youth Services, for instance, upheld a $125,000 damages award based in part on a coworker’s playing “misogynistic rap music” and displaying “music videos depict[ing] an array of sexually provocative conduct.” 52

 The injunction in another case barred the possession or display of any “sexually suggestive, sexually demeaning, or pornographic” 53 materials in the workplace, defining “sexually suggestive” as covering anything that “depicts a person of either sex who is not fully clothed … Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , ,

Teens and Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Jan 24

Posted by admin in Harassment and Discrimination | No Comments

Starbucks does not have the corner on sexually harassing teens.

As an ex high school teacher and harassment prevention trainer, I dealt regularly with this issue. High school girls were propositioned, groped and required to date or perform a sexual act to get a job or a raise. Teenage sexual victimization is a quiet crime. As a career and technical educator, one of my responsibilities was to teach sexual harassment prevention to my junior and senior students. After the presentation, students would congregate and share their “war” stories in the lunchroom, quad, or bathrooms.

How did I know this? Staff members would mention it to me and some of those girls would stop by to talk to me. Brave students would stop me in the quad or stop by my classroom after school. These students were reluctant to admit it happened to them, so the talk would usually be about a “friend” or relative that was involved in a sexual harassment situation. It was evident that most of these “friends” thought they had to go along with it, they caused it to happen, or they did not want to get anyone in trouble. None of them wanted to admit it happened to them… it only happened to their “unnamed” friends.

  • A female student was asked whether she had a boyfriend, whether they had sex and what kind of sex she liked during an interview. She got up and left.
  • A 17-year-old student talked about a male interviewer telling her she could have the job if she went on a date with him. She told him no and did not get the job.
  • A 15 year old told me that she knew of “someone” that had to give a boss oral sex to get a raise. She would not reveal her “friend’s” name.
  • After she graduated, one of my most successful female students told me that she went on an interview where the owner of the company got out of his chair, walked behind her, and started to touch her breasts. She just sat there.

Unfortunately, this unacceptable behavior continues.

Why does this behavior occur?

  • Few students are willing to report it.
  • Sex is a commodity on-campus and therefore seen as one off-campus.
  • Sexual harassment is commonplace on a high school campus, thereby making it acceptable behavior off campus.
  • Sexual harassment prevention is not commonly taught in school.
  • Business owners are not required to train their employees in sexual harassment prevention in most states.

What can be done to address this problem?

  • Sexual harassment on and off campus should be address at every high school.
  • Sexual harassment prevention training should be offered in the freshman year.
  • All businesses should train their employees.

Teenagers are the unspoken victims of sexual harassment. They are easily exploited by authority figures and most likely to say nothing. It is through education that schools can curb the sexual victimization of teenagers.

Rhonda Goetz is a sexual harassment prevention trainer and owner of Chrome Zebra, Inc. a sexual harassment prevention elearning company.

Tags: , , ,

Handling the Harasser’s Interview with Care

Dec 21

Posted by admin in Harassment and Discrimination | No Comments

Interviewing those people accused of harassing someone else can be at the very least difficult or at the worst, dangerous.  Knowing how to handle this type of interview can resolve issues quickly and mitigate retaliation efforts.

Follow these guidelines:

  • Review 5 Interview Techniques for Harassment Claims.
  • Setup the interview using two investigators if possible.
  • Expect the interviewee to be highly reactive to the complaint.
  • Explain the purpose of the interview.
  • Reiterate that no decision has been made in with this claim, that the investigation is ongoing.
  • Identify the person making the claim.
  • Provide specific charges of the complaint.
  • Ask for the harasser’s response to each of the specific charges.
  • Do not let the interview digress into character and other non specific rhetoric.
  • Ask for witnesses.
  • Assess the harasser’s credibility.

During the interview, you should be taking copious notes, remaining professional and asking appropriate follow-up questions. Failure to collect sufficient information in this phase may create a liability issue for not handling the interview process correctly. It may also add to the claimant’s credibility if litigation occurs. Don’t let this happen to you. Handle the interview with care!

Protect your company — train your employees online!

Tags: , , ,

Sexual Harassment: Sexual Favoritism

Dec 6

Posted by admin in Harassment and Discrimination | No Comments

Sexual Favoritism is defined as unwanted sexual advances which make an employment benefit contingent upon an exchange of sexual favors. Although not a law unto itself, it matches Federal Quid Pro Quo law (this for that).

This type of harassment can occur when employees, who submit to a manager or supervisor’s sexual demands, are rewarded by that manager or supervisor. It is important to note however, that the wronged party(ies) is not the one who submitted, but those who did not and are denied the benefits of the submission. 

In other words, employees who are otherwise denied raises or promotions may claim that they were penalized by the sexual attention directed at the favored coworkers.

Examples:

Use of Power

  • Using position to request dates, sex, etc.
  • Propositioning an individual
Positive Response Results
  • Preferential treatment, favorable reviews
  • Raise
  • Promotion
  • Paid time off, etc.
Negative Response Results
  • Threats, unfavorable reviews
  • Unreasonable workload
  • Demotion
  • Loss of job

How has the court ruled in these cases? 

Tags: , , ,

Sexual Harassment: Non Employee Harassment

Dec 6

Posted by admin in Harassment and Discrimination | No Comments

Non Employee harassmentHarassment by Non-employees is exactly what it sounds like. This is when employees, who are harassed by customers, vendors, temp workers, outside contractors, tec. still retain their rights to a harassment-free workplace. 
 
Liability
Employer may be liable if the harassment is known, has control or could have controlled the actions, and fails to take appropriate, corrective action.
 
NOTE: This is not limited to the employer’s premises. The employer is responsible for sexual harassment that occurs anywhere, such as when employees are visiting, calling upon or working at a customer’s or vendor’s premises.
As an employer, you cannot disregard the situation.  The courts have upheld your responsibility in this area.
 
Remember: an employer must investigate and respond appropriately to the allegation even if it appears trivial or contrived. 
It is also in the employer’s best interest to take some action whether the claim has substance or not.  Document the incident, require additional training, etc.
 

Tags: , , ,

Sexual Harassment: Hostile Environment

Dec 5

Posted by admin in Harassment and Discrimination | No Comments

A Hostile Environment occurs when unwelcome sexual conduct ruins an employee’s work environment.
 
When this occurs the behavior or its effect unreasonably interferes with work performance and/or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment either at work or at company-sponsored events. The behavior must be unwelcome and in most cases repeated.
 
Types of sexual harassment includes:
 
Verbal
  • Repeated unwanted requests for dates
  • Discussing personal lives or sexual practices
  • Sexually explicit or degrading words
  • Derogatory nicknames, comments, slurs, innuendos
  • Dirty/sexually explicit jokes or teasing
  • Belittling, name-calling
  • Inappropriate forms of address i.e. honey, sweetie, babe, doll, etc.
  • Suggestive or insulting sounds
  • Whistling, catcalls
  • Graphic/verbal comments about another’s dress or body
  • Encouraging or requiring an employee to wear suggestive clothing
Written
  • Unwanted emails, text messages, love poems, love letters, cards
  • Obscene poems or limericks

Tags: , ,

Get Adobe Flash playerPlugin by wpburn.com wordpress themes