Harassment and Hostile Work Environments
Identifying and Dealing with Workplace Harassment
Oct 17, 2009
The most pragmatic definition for understanding what is harassment is if an average person on the street were approached and subjected to the activity, would he be offended by it? Again, the subjectivity of this matter is prevalent. If he happens to be a priest or she is a Sunday school teacher, this person is no longer the average person.
Types of Harassment- Sexual Harassment
This can involve the use of profane language, sexual comments, innuendo or even looking at another person inappropriately. If the activity is welcome and the jokes are considered funny by all the people in the group, there is no harassment. However, no one really knows what will or will not be offensive to someone else until it is too late. It is better to refrain from racy jokes or stories in mixed company or confined to a group where the joke teller knows the people well enough to judge their probable reaction. If someone objects in any way to this kind of activity, the person involved must stop, or risk a sexual harassment charge.
Quid Pro Quo Harassment
This form of harassment is the same as tit for tat. You give me sex and I will give you a raise, promotion or preferential assignment. This is the clearest form of harassment and when properly documented, will normally result in the complainant winning the day in court. When this situation involves the supervisor or manager and his or her subordinate, it is a more serious situation since the company can be held responsible and can be fined for allowing the behavior to occur, whether or not they had knowledge of the situation.
Many companies have training programs for managers and supervisors so they understand what the consequences are to them if they are foolish enough to get involved with relationships with their direct reports. In some states, this is now mandated by law. This will provide some protection in a lawsuit, but will not excuse the company from responsibility for a situation that the court will likely decree that they should have know about what was going on in their workplace.
Hostile Environment Workplace Harassment
This might include girlie posters hung up in the backroom of a factory. Most companies have taken action to remove any potentially sexually orientated materials from their work sites. But hostile environment is more than pictures or posters.
If the employees are subject to unwanted profane language on a regular basis, this can be a hostile environment, particularly if employees have lodged complaints, and the language has not changed. This can also be the result of very intimidating tactics by a overbearing manager. Anyone who yells or berates employees publicly is subject to a possible hostile workplace charge.
Emails that are circulated around the office that are offensive, insulting, insinuated or crude can also be considered as creating a hostile work environment. Again, if people complain and nothing is done to eradicate the problem, the chance that a suit will warrant attention from attorneys increases dramatically.
What Does Not Constitute Harassment
Behavior that is acceptable to the parties involved that does not effect others is not harassment. A supervisor who raises his voice to correct behavior on the job, is not necessarily harassing anyone. Employees who get disciplined for behavior that does not meet the standards of the company are not being harassed, they are being counseled. and this is appropriate.
A manager pressuring his subordinates to get the job done accurately and timely may become angry or demanding, but this is not harassment. However, if he pressures hourly workers to skip lunch and breaks to get the work done, this is a different kind of issue. In this case, the employee may consult with the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor in his state to see if violations need to be addressed.
An employee who is terminated for any reason that is not specifically illegal or retaliatory is not harassment. In many states, it is okay to terminate a person for any reason other than illegal reasons like discrimination. This is referred to as employment-at-will.
Harassment takes several forms. Sexual harassment, quid pro quo and hostile environment are the predominant categories. Victims of harassment should talk first to company management or the HR department. Failure to lodge an internal complaint could hurt any future lawsuit. If the situation does not improve, the EEOC through the state labor department is the next stop. After complaints have been processed, the victim may then choose to file a lawsuit if appropriate.
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