Supervisor’s Note: Because supervisors are in a position of power, they must be especially sensitive of the way their actions and interactions with employees are or could be perceived. A clear understanding of what constitutes sexual harassment is absolutely essential to a supervisor in terms of preventing harassment in their workgroup and staying free from claims of harassment against them.

Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. Unwelcome sexual conduct is unlawful when such conduct either (1) is made a term or condition of an individual’s employment or (2) has the purpose of effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment.

"Quid Pro Quo" (which means something for something): This kind of sexual harassment usually involves supervisors who use:

Threats - firing, blocking promotion, transferring, or giving a bad evaluation, if a person does not go along with sexual advances.

Rewards - hiring, promoting, or giving a raise if a person does go along.

For Example: A female secretary is told by her boss that her job will be upgraded if she goes along with his demands for sexual favors.

A male file clerk is promised a promotion to assistant office manager if he agrees to have an affair with the female office manager.

Hostile Environment: This covers regular and repeated actions, or things displayed around the workplace that "unreasonably interfere" with job performance or create an "intimidating, hostile or offensive" work environment.

Examples: Invitation for dates which do not stop when the response is negative; uninvited and deliberate touching or "accidental" brushing against a person’s body; uninvited "friendly" pats, squeezes, pinches, neck rubs, or other forms of physical contact; uninvited letters, phone calls or gifts, sexually explicit or suggestive materials such as pinups or sexually degrading cartoons posted in the work site; uninvited sexually suggestive looks, constant leering, ogling or gestures; uninvited sexual teasing, remarks or questions regarding an employee’s personal life.

Usually a single incidence of non-physical sexual conduct will not create an offensive work environment. Generally a pattern of offensive conduct is required when nonphysical sexual conduct is involved.

 

A person who is experiencing a repeated pattern of the above may feel like such behaviors make it almost impossible to be productive at work. If a case ever made it to court, the court would apply the reasonable person standards test asking "what would a reasonable person think is ‘out of bounds’ or interferes with work."

Case Studies #1 and #2, pages 10 and 11.