Creating A Safe Work Environment

14 Pages 3605 Words

You wouldn’t think that giving someone a compliment, like “Hey you look sexy today”, would be considered harassment. However, in today’s world anything is possible. Sexual harassment has become a big issue in society and sometimes a person can take it to the extreme. There are many things that can be considered harassment, there are many ways to prevent it, and there are things you can do to help yourself if you are a victim. Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitutes sexual harassment. Moreover, when giving in to or rejection of this conduct openly or perfectly affects an individual’s employment, unreasonably interferes with an individuals work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment. Sexual harassment can occur in a variety of circumstances, including but not limited to the following: The victim as well as the harasser may be man or woman. The victim does not have to be of the opposite sex. The harasser can be the victim’s supervisor, an agent of the employer, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or a non-employee. The victim does not have to be the person harassed but could be anyone affected by the offensive conduct. Unlawful sexual harassment may occur without economic injury to or release of the victim. The harasser’s conduct must be unwelcome. It is helpful for the victim to directly inform the harasser that the conduct is unwelcome and must stop. The victim should report the incident immediately after it happens. Do not hesitate; otherwise, your report may not be taken seriously. When investigating allegations of sexual harassment, EEOC looks at the whole record: the circumstances, such as the nature of the sexual advances, and the context in which the alleged incidents occurred. A purpose on the allegations is made from the facts on a case-by-case basis. Prevention is the best tool to elimin...