When it enacted Title VII in 1964, Congress did not define sexual harassment as a form of discrimination or even mention the term in the statute or the legislative history.
In 1980, the EEOC issued guidelines declaring sexual harassment a form of sex discrimination in violation of Title VII. This established criteria for determining when unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature constitutes sexual harassment, defined the circumstances under which an employer may be held liable, and suggested affirmative steps an employer should take to prevent sexual harassment.
The flood of litigation on this subject commenced in 1986, when for the first time, the Supreme Court construed the Title VII prohibitions against sex discrimination to include sexual harassment.
Does your organization have a policy and prevention program regarding sexual harassment? The EEOC reports that over the last seven years, the agency has received close to 14,000 complaints annually. These cases have resulted in monetary benefits of close to $50 million annually. And that does not include benefits obtained through litigation.
There is an excellent article written by Patti Perez, an HR consulting expert, that appeared in the February 12th issue of the San Diego Business Journal. It's entitled, Five Steps to Updating Sexual Harassment Prevention Training, and it is worth reading. Ms. Perez's very first step may be the most important - Train Supervisors On Sexual Harassment. Sexual harassment is serious business and if not understood by those who manage employees, can result in serious consequences.
You might also like to re-read the October 2nd post that appeared in this blog that outlines the EEOC recommendations for an anti-harassment policy and complaint procedure.
The bottom line is that if you don't have a sexual harassment prevention and training program and if you don't have a clear policy that is communicated to and understood by all employees, now is the time to take action.
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