Breaking the Silence: Creating User-Friendly Sexual Harassment Policies

Numerous surveys suggest that while the number of women in the work force who have experienced sexual harassment is high, the number of those who are willing to actually report incidents of harassment is far lower. To better understand the consequences of sexual harassment to women and the legal implications to the corporation, we discuss briefly the psychophysiological consequences experienced by victims, followed by a review of sexual harassment law. Next we discuss the results of our survey based on a national sample of 1500 working women. Our study examines the reasons underlying women's reluctance to report sexual harassment and identifies policies and procedures to encourage the reporting of sexual harassment. Our findings are discussed in terms of the need for organizations to develop more user-friendly sexual harassment reporting procedures.     

Sexual harassment: Rights and responsibilities

This article briefly reviews the development of a philosophy about sexual harassment at work and legal protection for victims of harassment. It then focuses on the rights and responsibilities of three groups affected by sexual harassment: the target of harassment, the alleged harasser, and the employing organization. A discussion follows regarding the current status of the rights and responsibilities of the relevant parties as well as opportunities for abuse of rights and abnegation of responsibilities.     

Parsing Work Environments Along the Dimensions of Sexual and Non-Sexual Harassment: Drawing Lines in Office Sand

Laws addressing harassment at work have evolved considerably since court systems first recognized that (sexual) harassment is illegal. Now, managers must worry about protected classes other than sex (e.g., race, age, etc.), and the effects of harassment on bystanders as well as victims (i.e., ambient harassment). Understanding these newer conceptualizations of workplace harassment is critical for mangers dealing with an increasingly complex array of possible work environments, only some of which are illegal. Toward this end, we present a taxonomy of eight possible work environments, created by parsing the legal definition of sexual harassment (i.e., the first-recognized type of hostile work environment). The taxonomy illustrates the evolution of law in this area, and highlights the multidimensional nature of workplace harassment. Also discussed are potential complications arising from how a reasonable person and a victim might interpret behavior. Managers using the taxonomy may better assess whether their work environments have crossed the line, or facilitate movement from less- to more-desirable work environments.

Clarifying the Boundaries of Sexual Harassment and Employer Liability: Judicial Application of Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc.

Many had anticipated that Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc., the first significant Supreme Court ruling on sexual harassment since 1986, would clarify the boundary between merely offensive conduct and unlawful conduct, and would offer greater guidance on when an employer is liable for the creation of an abusive (or hostile) work environment. However, the Harris court handed down only a short, narrow decision that left these areas largely unresolved, and, accordingly, it was widely criticized for circumventing contentious issues and for perpetuating the vague framework under which abusive work environment claims are now analyzed. This article examines a representative cross-section of federal and state decisions that have interpreted and applied Harris to evaluate whether courts have achieved any consensus on what constitutes an abusive work environment and on when an employer is liable for this type of sexual harassment.     

Defining the Problem and Problems of Definition: Legal Standards for Expanding Issues in Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment has been a difficult area of legal interpretation. Legal frameworks used in other areas of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act have not been used in the development of standards by which to judge on the job harassment. Specific difficulties analyzed are the status of group versus individual protection, the notion that harassment is a correctable violation, problems of defining a hostile environment and determining harm, adverse effects on third parties, harassment without sexuality, and same sex harassment. Disagreements between the Circuit Courts and the EEOC are highlighted and effects on individuals and organizations are discussed. Suggestions for organization policy are made.     

Same-Sex Sexual Harassment: A Legal Assessment with Implications for Organizational Policy

The legal debate over sexual harassment (SH) has taken an interesting turn concerning the controversial issue of same-sex sexual harassment (SSSH). Disagreement among circuit courts' decisions propelled the U.S. Supreme Court to grant full review to the SSSH case of Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc., et al. (1996) [83 F.3d 118 (5th Cir. 1996) [online]. Available: http://laws.findlaw.com/5th/9530510cvl.html]. In a unanimous decision, the Justices indicated that (a) SSSH not only violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and (b) that the law does not exclude the idea that one heterosexual male can sexually harass another heterosexual male [Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc., et al., S. Ct. 96-568, Lexis 1599 (1998)]. This paper reviews the history of SSSH law and discusses the implications of the Oncale decision for SH policies and procedures.     

Racial harassment: Case characteristics and employer responsibilities

This article examines the socio-business issue of racial harassment in the workplace. For two decades, the federal judiciary has been defining and refining the elements of the offense within the parameters of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866. The Supreme Court’s decision to hear arguments for the first and only time on one of the important aspects of the developing doctrine focused considerable attention on this workplace problem in 1989. The Civil Rights Act of 1991 provides limited money damages to victims of discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, whereas Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 provides unlimited damages to the victims of discrimination and race harassment. The authors discuss the legislative and judicial foundations of race harassment with respect toPatterson v. McLean, provide a profile and analysis of racial harassment cases (1971–1987), and conclude with a discussion of employer liability and recommendations for management.     

A descriptive study of behavioral responses of sexual harassment targets: Implications for control theory

The problem of sexual harassment in the workplace can be viewed within the framework of personal control. In particular, sexual harassment can be viewed as an infringement upon employees' rights to control the conditions under which they work. Targets of harassment must tolerate sexual harassment to avoid negative consequences such as termination, demotion, distasteful remarks or jokes, and so forth. Previous research (Wortman & Brehm, 1975; Greenberger & Strasser, 1986) into personal control has drawn upon two theories—reactance theory and learned helplessness theory—to explain behavioral responses to infringement upon personal control. The purpose of this study is to investigate the efficacy of personal control theories in explaining responses of targets who file discrimination suits.     

Legal Protection From Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation: Findings From Litigation

Since 1964 with the enactment of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the courts have held that although Title VII prohibits discrimination because of sex, sex has been construed to mean gender, but gender and sexual orientation are different. Traditionally sexual discrimination has been interpreted to protect women in male/female encounters. Thus protection for homosexuals based on sexual orientation has not been covered. However, there are some interesting aspects to the concept of discrimination due to sexual orientation, including defining same-sex harassment as being harassment, equal opportunity harassment, and sexual stereotypes. In addition, how homosexuals may be protected under state laws, unions, company policy, and the constitution is discussed as well as protection for public sector employees. An analysis of 98 litigated cases alleging discrimination based on same sex or sexual orientation harassment led to the development of a logit model predicting future case outcomes based on case characteristics. These are type of harassment, physical contact, type of employees, and whether there was equal opportunity harassment. Implications from the study are that the issues of protection from discrimination are complex and one cannot necessarily assume that this type of discrimination is not protected. Recommendations for more effective managerial actions are provided.     

Protecting the Rights of Alleged Sexual Harassment Perpetrators: Guidance from the Decisions of Labor Arbitrators

Recent evidence indicates that sexual harassment in the workplace continues to pose a problem for organizations. Using published arbitration awards, the current study examines the critical issues involved in discipline decisions of alleged sexual harassment perpetrators. Content analysis of 92 cases enabled the examination of critical judgment factors considered by arbitrators examining the disciplinary penalties imposed by management. Elements of the arbitrator's judgment including the just cause standards, mitigating circumstances, severity of harassment, and length of harassment were examined. The results of the analyses are discussed with an emphasis on the lessons provided for effective management practices.     

Assessing Liability for Sexual Harassment: Reactions of Potential Jurors to Email Versus Face-to-Face Incidents

This paper investigates reactions of potential jurors to sexual harassment incidents. Email and face-to-face incidents are compared to determine the importance of context on decision-making. The paper considers juror decision-making for both guilt and level of award to randomly assigned scenarios involving multiple levels of harassment. Results found that email harassment was perceived more harshly, consistent with a context-based hypothesis. The paper concludes with organizational implications for better handling sexual harassment awareness training as well as Internet usage guidelines.     

Preventing Sexual Harassment: The Effect of Multiple Training Methods

Subjects were presented with multiple training methods to determine their effect on sensitivity to possible sexual harassment situations. The training methods used were case analyses, commercially produced videotape episodes, and an open-ended questionnaire. Subjects were found to be more sensitive to incidents of possible sexual harassment when videotape episodes were combined with case analysis. The pattern of gender differences supported previous research showing perceptual differences in ambiguous cases. Research-based suggestions for sexual harassment training programs are offered.     

Sexual harassment training: Recommendations to address gaps between the practitioner and research literatures

Sexual harassment training is a common human resource activity, and the practitioner literature is replete with advice about how to implement it. Little research, however, has specifically explored what makes sexual harassment training effective. This paper uses what we know from general training research and theory and sexual harassment research to assess the extent to which the practitioner literature is making relevant and reasonable recommendations for sexual harassment training. We identify practitioner‐research gaps in the literature, including areas that academic research and theory suggest are important for training effectiveness but where the practitioner literature falls short. The practitioner literature may be silent, offer incomplete advice, make recommendations that do not directly link to research findings, or present recommendations that are inconsistent with research findings. We recommend that these gaps be bridged and we provide specific suggestions for how human resource managers can improve the quality of the sexual harassment training they provide. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Victims' and observers' perceptions of sexual harassment: implications for employers' legal risk in North America

The way in which victims and observers perceive potentially harassing behaviours and employers' responses to sexual harassment complaints significantly affect organizations' liability risk under sexual harassment law in North America. This article examines studies in the sexual harassment literature that focus on the perceptions of sexual harassment victims and observers, and identifies legal and extra-legal factors that influence their harassment judgments. The implications of research findings for employer liability and future research are discussed.     

Protecting expatriates in hostile environments: institutional forces influencing the safety and security practices of internationally active organisations

Abstract

The operations of internationally active organisations continue to encroach on hostile locations that are vulnerable to the negative consequences of crises such as political upheaval, terrorist attacks or natural disasters. Yet research into how firms ensure the physical and psychological safety and security of international staff in these locations is limited. This article reports an empirical study exploring the expatriate safety and security practices of 28 internationally active organisations from three industries that commonly operate in hostile environments. We unveil starkly different approaches across the three industries, and label these approaches ‘regulatory’ (mining and resources), ‘informal mentoring’ (news media) and ‘empowering’ (international aid and development). We use institutional theory to propose that these configurations reflect legitimacy-seeking choices that these organisations make in response to the various institutional environments that affect each sector. Our results provide a platform for initial theory building into the interrelated elements of organisations’ safety and security practices, and the institutional factors that shape the design of these.     

The Supreme Court Holds Class on Sexual Harassment: How to Avoid a Failing Grade

This article analyzes the three recent sexual harassment cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in its 1997–98 session. The purpose is to highlight the most common mistakes made by management as evidenced by the case history on this topic. Each mistake is described in the context of the cases and with reference to widespread business practices. The explanation of each error is followed by a brief practical directive to aid management in formulating appropriate policies and practices on that topic. A concluding section describes the desired result of each recommendation from the perspective of the employees. This article gives managers a quick checklist to ensure that their policies and practices avoid common problems and are up to date with the latest court interpretations on sexual harassment.     

The effects of diversity on sexual harassment: Some recommendations for research

This article speculates about some of the possible effects of increasing organizational diversity upon sexual harassment, and suggests some potential research opportunities and directions. Discussion and research recommendations center around the following aspects of sexual harassment: (1) antecedents of harassment; (2) behaviors exhibited; (3) perceptions of behaviors; (4) immediate reactions of harassees; and (5) longer-term individual and organizational outcomes of sexual harassment.     

Genetic testing: Your genes and your job

This article examines issues related to worker's exposure to substances in the workplace that may cause genetic damage and the use of genetic testing to assess and monitor such damage. The discussion includes the scientific principles of genetic testing and its accuracy and predictive value. The applicability of existing federal and state legislation to genetic testing is explored. Also analyzed are various legal and ethical issues, including union and nonunion employees' rights, workers' compensation, common law remedies, privacy and confidentiality, and an applicant's or employee's right to know test results.     

Test validation from a conceptual and legal perspective: Issues and trends

A little-explored issue in the psychological and legal literature involves test validation. This article discusses issues of test validation from both psychological and legal perspectives. Areas of inconsistency are noted and probable future directions are high-lighted.     

Drug testing in the workplace: An overview of legal and philosophical issues

This article examines a range of legal and philosophical issues related to the drug-testing debate. The discussion of legal issues includes potential litigation on constitutional grounds (for public employees), statutory and tort grounds, or on the basis of civil rights legislation. Arbitration standards are also examined for situations involving unionized employees. The article further highlights pragmatic issues including the accuracy and costs (economic and noneconomic) of drug tests as well as the distinction between a positive drug test and impaired performance. Finally, the article addresses the delicate balance between an employer's right to unimpaired performance and an employee's right to privacy.