Page 1 of 3 Page 1 of 3 Audio Script for Sexual Harassment Take a moment and answer the following four questions. Click the correct answer. When you are done, click the “Next” button to continue. [Beginning of HR593_SH_006] Female: My name is Brittany Murphy and I was referred to your law office by my good friend Michelle. I wanted to consult with you about things that have been taking place at my job where I work as an Executive Secretary. Male: Nice to meet you, Brittany. Why don’t you tell me what has been taking place and we will go from there? I will interject if I have any questions as you explain what has been taking place. Be sure to start from the beginning and to tell me everything that has taken place to give rise to your concern. Female: Sounds good. Here we go. I was hired by a company called Personal Connections Are Us, Incorporated as a receptionist in February 2002. My immediate supervisor was Dwayne Miller. Dwayne was in charge of all support staff. Because I answered calls for all 20 employees I was constantly interacting with everyone on a regular basis. There was no formal dress code so I was able to wear whatever I wanted to work. I typically wore jeans, sandals and tank tops. In my work area I had photos of myself and my boyfriend in bathing suits from one of our vacations. I also had other pictures of my friends and family. One of the other employees, Robert Singer, would constantly stand in my work area and stare at the photos. It seemed that he was staring at the photo of me in the bathing suit. Twice he made comments about my chest that made me really uncomfortable. Male: Do you recall specifically what he said to you? Female: Not exactly, but he said something like, “Your [beep] are amazing. I would love to see you in even less than what you are wearing in that photo.” I laughed at that moment but then went into the restroom and threw up because the comment made me so sick. The next time he made Page 2 of 3 Page 2 of 3 a similar comment I told him to stop because it made me very uncomfortable. In early 2006 I was looking for my picture, the one of me in my bathing suit, it was missing for a day. It appeared the next day back in my work area. I thought nothing of it at the time, then when I walked by Robert’s computer I saw that my photo of me in my bathing suit was loaded as a screen saver on his computer. When I went into his computer I found a file with my name on it. In that file he had computer altered my photo and the upper part of my body was exposed. I could not function. I called Robert a pig and told him to stay away from me. Robert in turn complained to Dwayne that I was not timely giving him his messages which was totally untrue. I told some of my coworkers what I saw in Robert’s computer and the things that he was saying to me. But I was afraid to tel ...

1. Page 1 of 3
Page 1 of 3
Audio Script for Sexual Harassment
Take a moment and answer the following four questions. Click
the correct answer.
When you are done, click the “Next” button to continue.
[Beginning of HR593_SH_006]
Female: My name is Brittany Murphy and I was referred to your
law office
by my good friend Michelle. I wanted to consult with you about
things that have been taking place at my job where I work as an
Executive Secretary.
Male: Nice to meet you, Brittany. Why don’t you tell me what
has been
taking place and we will go from there? I will interject if I
have
any questions as you explain what has been taking place. Be
sure
to start from the beginning and to tell me everything that has
taken
place to give rise to your concern.

2. Female: Sounds good. Here we go. I was hired by a company
called
Personal Connections Are Us, Incorporated as a receptionist in
February 2002. My immediate supervisor was Dwayne Miller.
Dwayne was in charge of all support staff.
Because I answered calls for all 20 employees I was constantly
interacting with everyone on a regular basis. There was no
formal
dress code so I was able to wear whatever I wanted to work. I
typically wore jeans, sandals and tank tops.
In my work area I had photos of myself and my boyfriend in
bathing suits from one of our vacations. I also had other
pictures
of my friends and family.
One of the other employees, Robert Singer, would constantly
stand
in my work area and stare at the photos. It seemed that he was
staring at the photo of me in the bathing suit. Twice he made
comments about my chest that made me really uncomfortable.
Male: Do you recall specifically what he said to you?
Female: Not exactly, but he said something like, “Your [beep]
are amazing.

3. I would love to see you in even less than what you are wearing
in
that photo.”
I laughed at that moment but then went into the restroom and
threw
up because the comment made me so sick. The next time he
made
Page 2 of 3
Page 2 of 3
a similar comment I told him to stop because it made me very
uncomfortable.
In early 2006 I was looking for my picture, the one of me in my
bathing suit, it was missing for a day. It appeared the next day
back in my work area. I thought nothing of it at the time, then
when I walked by Robert’s computer I saw that my photo of me
in
my bathing suit was loaded as a screen saver on his computer.
When I went into his computer I found a file with my name on
it.
In that file he had computer altered my photo and the upper part

4. of
my body was exposed.
I could not function. I called Robert a pig and told him to stay
away from me. Robert in turn complained to Dwayne that I was
not timely giving him his messages which was totally untrue.
I told some of my coworkers what I saw in Robert’s computer
and
the things that he was saying to me. But I was afraid to tell my
supervisor. Finally, after missing several days of work because
I
was so upset about what Robert was doing, I finally told my
supervisor.
Male: When was that? Who did you tell? And what did the
conversation
consist of?
Female: Things get really interesting here. It was about two
weeks after I
saw the photo on Robert’s computer that I went in to talk to
Dwayne Miller, my supervisor.
I told Dwayne everything that I told you. Dwayne did not react
in
any other way than to say, “Oh, no he is not up to the same stuff

5. again. I cannot believe he did not learn his lesson.”
Although Dwayne told me that he would take care of it nothing
happened to Robert. He is still working there and is still
making
comments that make me uncomfortable.
He did take the screen saver off his computer. I do not know if
the
file is still on his computer. I tried to look but there is now a
password on his computer. I told Dwayne about two months
ago
that things had not gotten any better. Dwayne told me that he
could talk more about it on a trip that he wanted me to go on. I
never had to travel as part of my work requirements before.
Page 3 of 3
Page 3 of 3
I told Dwayne that I preferred not to travel. Dwayne told me
that I
was expected to travel on the trip that was work related and that
he
and I would be sharing a room.

6. He went on to tell me that he could transfer me to another
division
of the office, which would be a promotion, if I would show him
my amazing breasts that Robert was making comments about
during the trip where we would be sharing a room.
I could not believe my ears. I told him no way. I thought that
was
the end of it. However, last week I was demoted to the
mailroom
and my pay was reduced. Things do not seem fair. Is there
anything I can do legally?
Based upon the scenario does the employee have a legal viable
claim for quid pro quo
sexual harassment and/or hostile environment sexual
harassment? What is the likely
outcome?
Analyze the legal factor for the potential claim or claims in the
context of employee
pursuing legal actions against the employer. Let’s shift gears.
Using the same scenario
assume you are in the HR Department of your organization and
you were just presented
with the scenario as a learning tool, as an example used to
explore policies and
procedures to avoid sexual harassment liability.
Your boss has asked you to make a preliminary suggestion
which will be presented to the
legal counsel as to sexual harassment protocol to avoid potential

7. liability. What would
your top five –
[Beginning of HR593_SH_007]
After viewing the scenario, completing the reading and
reviewing the lecture notes in
conjunction with the TCO, answer the questions that follow.
Based upon the scenario
does the employee have a legal, viable claim for quid pro quo
sexual harassment and/or
hostile environment sexual harassment?
What is the likely outcome? Analyze the legal factor for the
potential claim or claims in
the context of employee pursuing legal actions against the
employer. Let’s shift gears.
Using the same scenario assume you are in the HR Department
of your organization and
you were just presented with the scenario as a learning tool, as
an example used to
explore policies and procedures to avoid sexual harassment
liability.
Your boss has asked you to make a preliminary suggestion
which will be presented to the
legal counsel as to sexual harassment protocol to avoid potential
liability. What would
your top five suggestions be, and why?
[End of Audio]
Gender Discrimination
Prior to the 1960s, most women were not regular participants in
the workforce, especially not at the levels that they are

8. participating at today. When women began to enter the
workforce, there were challenges. Since women had
traditionally worked only in domestic roles, initially, they were
not well accepted into the work environment by their male
colleagues.
In the early years of gender discrimination, the perception was
that women might not be capable of handling the complex
commands of a work environment. Making assumptions based
on someone else's perceptions can produce discrimination. Early
gender discrimination may begin with comments like, "She can't
do that. That's a man's work." Such remarks are unfair to
employees and can be detrimental to a work environment.
As a human resources manager, you will want to do your part to
ensure a discrimination-free workplace, and you should consider
ways to protect your organization from discrimination and
claims. Many companies offer training, which can be beneficial
to offer once per year, as it helps to demonstrate a positive
attempt by the company to deliver a harassment-free workplace.
Human resource managers should focus on a preventative
approach by addressing issues that may result in a
discrimination claim if not dealt with early on. Many times, the
issues that are brought up are not likely to be seen as
significant if addressed early. However, if they are left to
develop, they can cause significant damage to an individual and
a company.
Equal Pay Act
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Discrimination that affects an employee's compensation can be
especially detrimental. Although the Civil Rights Act prohibits
discrimination, the Equal Pay Act protects individuals from
being paid differently because of their gender. The original
concept was equal pay for equal work, but this is difficult to
determine.
The Equal Pay Act typically looks at wages for similarly
situated individuals to determine if pay is being fairly
determined (comparable worth). A company can decide to pay

9. employees whatever it wants, but if wages are based upon the
employee's gender, it is illegal. A company can determine pay
for a number of reasons, such as seniority and performance,
some of which provide an easier defense against discrimination.
The Question
Mary comes to the Human Resources Department stating that
she believes her rate of pay is lower than men doing the same
job. She has heard from the men in the department what they are
getting paid and she has determined that they are all earning $7
- $10 more per hour than she is currently. Mary indicates that if
you do not correct her rate of pay to equal that of the men in her
department, that she is going to the Department of Labor to file
a complaint. Mary reminds you that she is a strong performer
and there is a pay for performance philosophy at your place of
employment. After investigating further, you find that Mary is
correct about earning less than the others earn. What would you
do to determine if there is an Equal Pay issue?
Your Answer
Compare Answers
In addition to the Equal Pay Act, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay
Act of 2009 extends the provisions of the Civil Rights Act to
allow for further review of a claim of discrimination. This
ability provides an additional timeframe of six months from
each act of discrimination rather than looking at the first act as
setting the discrimination statute of limitations. It gives the law
more power for protection against pay discrimination.
Pregnancy Discrimination Act
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As women entered the workforce, additional concern was voiced
about women and their commitment to work. Companies also
questioned if women would be able to work and raise a family.
This can still be seen as an issue today.
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act protects women against
discrimination on the basis that they may choose to have a
child. In addition, the act makes it illegal to refuse to hire
women because they are pregnant. This helps make the

10. workplace a more fair environment. When hiring, having human
resources involved in the process can be helpful. Doing so can
help address the issue of a woman not being hired because she
is pregnant. How often do you feel that this scenario is an issue
today? Do you think that the state of the economy and the
demand for jobs could impact this topic?
One thing to note with this law is that it protects women from
adverse employment actions due to their pregnancies. However,
it does not prohibit actions of employment even though an
individual is pregnant. An individual can still be disciplined
based upon other actions not related to the pregnancy. The key
here is to treat everyone equally.
Sexual Harassment
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Sexual harassment is one of the most difficult items to address
in the workplace. Individuals who are being harassed are
reluctant to come forward due to fear of retaliation or that
others in the workplace may look negatively upon them. This
type of retaliation is illegal. However, since the individual is
under so much stress from the harassment, even guaranteed
protection from retaliation offers little comfort.
Sexual harassment comes in two forms: quid pro quo and a
hostile work environment. Quid pro quo translates to this for
that and generally means that the harasser in these situations is
promising a benefit or threatening someone's position if he or
she does not perform certain sexual functions. The harasser may
threaten an individual's job unless the person agrees to date him
or her outside of work hours. On the other hand, the harasser
could promise the person that he or she will be promoted if
sexual favors are performed. This is illegal, but it is also a very
difficult situation to investigate.
The more common form of sexual harassment is a hostile work
environment. A hostile work environment is a difficult scenario
because it is often considered part of the workplace culture. If
this is the case, an individual who complains may be subject to

11. additional harassment even though it is illegal. As a human
resources manager, look for signs and situations that may create
a hostile work environment. Signs can include pictures of
women dressed in immodest clothing, flirting, or making jokes
or comments that are sexual in nature. These should be
addressed quickly to prevent potential claims. A company
should conduct regular training to prevent harassment.
It is often the human resources professional’s job to
investigate a sexual harassment complaint. When looking into
this type of situation, the HR professional should be objective
and non-accusatory. The HR professional should explain the
requirement to report complaints, based on the company’s
sexual harassment policy and legal regulations. HR should
follow the appropriate policies, which could include
investigating the complaint by speaking with the accused and
any witnesses to identify the next steps in the process.
Now, let's turn our attention to the tutorial on sexual
harassment.
Sexual Harassment Tutorial
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Sexual Harrassment Tutorial
Sexual Harassment
Click on the above Sexual Harassment link to view the Tutorial
related to quid pro quo sexual harassment and hostile
environment sexual harassment in conjunction with our TCO.
Submit your assignment to the Dropbox located on the silver tab
at the top of this page. For instructions on how to use the
Dropbox, read these Step-by-Step Instructions or watch this
Tutorial Dropbox Tutorial.
Conclusion
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Gender discrimination and sexual harassment still occur in the
workplace. It can be difficult to detect and address based on the
different scenarios that can arise. A company should be
proactive and ensure that internal processes help minimize the
likelihood.

12. Now, let's move to our Civil Rights Laws and Sexual
Harassment. See you in the discussion!