Sexual harassment is making the news right now. From reports in the media you would think it is something new or that the issue has never been addressed. The news media is using the term sexual harassment to cover everything from flirting to physical assault.  Sexual harassment is a legal construct used to define a type of illegal employment discrimination in the workplace.  Illegal discrimination is defined in the 1964 Civil Rights Act and sexual harassment is one of many types of illegal discrimination.

At first sexual harassment was understood as “quid pro quo” cases or a “this for that” scenario. For example a supervisor tying an employee’s hiring, advancement, compensation, continued employment to requests for sex. Sexual harassment was broadened, by court cases and decisions, to also include “hostile work environment”. The so-called hostile environment occurs when an employee is made to feel uncomfortable by behavior of not only the supervisor but also co-workers, clients and even customers.  Almost anything could fall in this category. Common complaints are pictures, jokes, demeaning and even being left out of golf outings.

Professionals in the Human Resource Management field have been studying case law, educating themselves on employment law, writing policies, developing notification processes, training all employees, advising supervisors as well as investigating complaints, holding hearings and up to and including providing testimony in court.

It seems as though Hollywood and Washington D.C. just recently came online with the already decades of applied policies and practices dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace in the public and private sectors.  Welcome to the real world senators and movie moguls.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission offers the best advice and resources for understanding both employer and employee rights and best practices for dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace.