Personal Injury Law

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

By Michael Phelan

Even in 2008, sexual assault continues to haunt the workplace. Since 1964,
when sex and gender based harassment were outlawed with the passage of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964, some male employers and supervisors have continued
to use the workplace as a trolling ground for sexual gratification. More
often than not, this is much, much more than about sex - it's about raw
power. When an employer or supervisor uses the economic power of the
workplace over a woman to force sexual contact, the female employee is
placed in a hopeless situation. She must choose between putting her hard
earned wages, a job, medical benefits and, often, concern for her family's
ability to survive and blowing the whistle on this illegal conduct. Many
times, there is no realistic choice. While completely involuntary and
repulsive, it is the fear of losing the ability to care for her family that
forces many women into this horrible nightmare she must face just by
clocking in or reporting to work every day.

State and federal laws protect against any unwanted gender based or sexual
conduct that effects terms, conditions or privileges of employment. Title
VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act applies this prohibition to employers of 15
employees or more. Most states have complementary or parallel protection
against sexual contact in the workplace. (While less common, men can also
be subjected to this illegal conduct). Employees are generally also
protected against sexual conduct by customers of an employer. The statute
provides very strong retaliation protection to those who oppose illegal
conduct and to those who participate in any proceedings in claiming
protection of the law or as a witness to such conduct. The Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission website contains extensive information on sexual
harassment, retaliation and other forms of prohibited workplace
discrimination (www.eeoc.gov). State and federal judges take the
retaliation protection very seriously and will not tolerate intimidation,
threats or any retaliation to witnesses or to persons asserting their legal
rights to challenge this conduct. In the case of Burlington Northern v.
White, the United States Supreme Court recently expanded the retaliation
protection in Title VII cases to prohibit any employer action that would
dissuade a reasonable employee from asserting legal rights or assisting in a
claim.

Full post as published by Richmond Virginia Personal Injury Lawyer on February 04, 2008 (boomark / email).