Prince George’s County readers likely know that an employer who conditions performance evaluations, advancement opportunities, or other terms of employment on the receipt of sexual favors — such as asking for a date — might soon be facing a sexual harassment lawsuit.
However, employment discrimination on the basis of sex can take other forms, such as a hostile work environment. Employers in this predicament may be uncertain whether certain conduct crosses the line into prohibited practices. In that regard, a recent article offers advice.
First and foremost, the nation’s top federal watchdog against workplace discrimination, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, has published guidance on the sexual harassment. The EEOC defines a hostile work environment as conduct that unreasonably interferes with an employee’s work performance. The conduct may be intimidating, offense, hostile, or constitute verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. Under that definition, even behavior such as telling dirty jokes could give rise to a sexual harassment claim.
Yet victims of a hostile work environment may be afraid to report such discriminatory treatment out of fear of retaliation from their employer. Others may wonder how they could prove their claim, in the absence of physical evidence.
Many Maryland employers take a proactive approach to this issue by codifying their internal procedures for reporting sexual harassment. Such provisions, contained in employee handbooks or even employment agreements, can provide for a confidential reporting process that will protect both the victim and the accused until an investigation can be completed. Sexual harassment trainings are another way to ensure that employers don’t find themselves implicated by discriminatory behavior committed by lower level supervisors or other employees.
Source: huffingtonpost.com, “Sexual Harassment: Know Your Rights,” Jincey Lumpkin