Sexual Harassment at Work Place

Topic of many high-profile court cases in recent years in the workplace is Sexual harassment, although the significant majority of cases are not reported in the press. Sexual harassment is that form of sex discrimination, which violates the Civil Rights Act According to the EEOC. Sexual harassment is a broad term and it includes a wide variety of behavior, which is in the workplace.

Few of the actions which constitute sexual harassment are: repeated sexual innuendo, obscene or off-color jokes, slurs, lewd remarks and language; content in letters and notes, faxes; displaying pornographic pictures, calendars, cartoons or other sexual material in the workplace; coerced or unwelcome touching, patting, brushing up against, pinching, kissing, stroking, massaging, squeezing, fondling or tickling; subtle or overt pressure for sexual favors and of course coerced sexual intercourse, e-mail and graffiti that is of a sexual nature or sexually abusive; sexual propositions, insults and threats; sexually-oriented demeaning names; persistent unwanted sexual or romantic overtures or attention; leering, whistling or other sexually suggestive sounds or gestures.

Sexual harassment may occur in diverse situations, including, but not limited to, these situation:

• The victim and the sexual harasser can be a woman or a man and does not require being of the opposite gender.
• The harasser may be the victim’s supervisor, a supervisor of some other area, an associate, or a non-employee, an agent of the employer.
• The sufferer does not include only the person harassed but could be anyone who is affected by the nasty behavior.

During the investigation of sexual harassment, the entire record should be accessed, including situations like the nature of the sexual advances and the situation in which the alleged incidents occurred. A determination on the claims is made from the details on an individual case-by-case basis. This includes determining whether sexual behavior is “undesirable”, evaluating proof of harassment, determining whether a work surrounding is sexually “aggressive”, holding employers accountable for sexual harassment by managers, and accessing protective and remedial act taken in return to claims of sexual harassment.

In all states, sexual harassment statutes are in effect in different types, usually modeled on the federal law. The basic difference is for remedies and damages which is given in successful sexual harassment claims. Monetary damages for personal injuries are allowed in few states, while others also permit punitive damages to be awarded.

13136 charges of sexual charges of sexual harassment were received by EEOC and males filed 15.1%. 37.1$ million were the monetary benefits. Monetary benefits through litigation are not included.