1. Yes or no? A female subordinate mentions casually over
dinner that a co-worker once grabbed her chest from behind. This occurred three years ago,
and the offender no longer works at your location. Is this something that should be
reported?
2. True or false?
The first step in a case of alleged sexual harassment is to privately interview the
offender.
3. True or false?
Your (and the employer’s) responsibility for a sexual harassment incident
begins with the initial complaint.
4. True or false?
You could be ordered to pay damages out of your own pocket for a sexual harassment
incident – even if you were not the original offender.
5. Yes or no?
You should also consider the case of female harassment of a male since that can happen.
6. Yes or no? A
customer requests that a female subordinate of yours not call on him because of the
compromising situation during entertaining or traveling to trade shows. You send a male
subordinate instead. Is this sexual harassment?
answers
1. Yes. Sexual
harassment is not a like a criminal charge with a Statute of Limitations. As a manager,
you are required to make a “best effort” investigation of any complaints brought
to you. You also have a moral obligation. With offenders, harassment is typically a
recurring pattern of behavior. If the individual harassed someone at your location in the
past, there is an strong likelihood that he is harassing someone at the new location now.
2. No. Call
Personnel first! (We have attendees chant this at our seminars.) Investigating a
harassment complaint is not something to jump into alone and without specialized
expertise. The Personnel or Human Resources department has professionals who can guide
line managers through the proper steps depending upon the details of the complaint.
3. False. Several court
rulings have established the “should have known” principle. In these cases, the
environment/situation was so obviously wrong that the employer and manager should have
been able to predict problems and change the situation.
4. True. There have
been serious cases where offenders and managers who did not act to correct the situation
have been personally liable for their actions and their employer ordered not to
pay any fines for them.
5. Yes, with a qualifier.
This is a commonly asked question, often from men. According to federal government
statistics, this is the least likely form of harassment to occur. Nearly all cases are
male offender-female target.
The next most likely harassment is male offender-male target and female offender-female
target.
6. No. There is no
harassment taking place. Instead, the female sales representative is being discriminated
against due to her gender.
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