training for managers and supervisors on sexual harassment. What is it, how to handle. Includes scenarios to practice what was learned in the training class.
2. Areas of Discussion
• What is sexual harassment?
• What types of behavior are we talking about?
• Who can be a victim of harassment?
• What is my responsibility as a Manager/Supervisor?
• What do I do (and not do) if an employee tells me about
harassment?
• What are the consequences of harassment at work?
• What is retaliation and how do I prevent retaliation
charges?
3. What is it?
• Harassment in the workplace occurs when an individual
or group of people is treated inappropriately because of
their membership (or perceived membership) in one or
more protected groups.
• The following examples of groups are protected under
Federal Law: age, religion, race, national origin, gender,
and disability.
• Review of TMOSI policy
4. Two types
• Quid Pro Quo (this for that): when a supervisor,
manager, or other employee in a superior role promises
an employment benefit or makes continuing employment
depend on another employee’s acceptance of
unwelcome sexual behavior.
• Hostile Environment: No specific employment benefit
need be gained or lost. Hostile environment exists if
conduct of an offensive nature has the purpose or effect
of unreasonably interfering with an employee’s work
performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or
offensive environment.
5. Types of behavior
• Harassing behavior can be verbal, non-verbal or
physical.
• What is “offensive” is in the eye of the beholder or the
recipient of the behavior. What is not offensive to one
person may be offensive to another, despite the intent of
the alleged offender.
• Sexual harassment may occur without economic injury to
or discharge of the victim.
• Intent is irrelevant. What is relevant is the impact of the
behavior on the recipient.
6. Example of behaviors
• Some examples
o Unwelcome sexual advances with physical touching.
o Sexual advances without physical touching.
o Sexual epithets, jokes, references to sexual conduct.
o Display of sexual objects, pictures, items.
o Leering, whistling, brushing up against, gesturing.
o Inquiring about or making comments about other’s
sexual activity or experiences.
7. Harassment in the high
tech age
• Employees who send lewd jokes around the office could
be guilty of violating the harassment policy.
• Even when the email is not sent directly to one
employee, but is circulated to others in the workplace, it
can constitute harassment.
• So can viewing pornographic or other inappropriate
images on your computer next to a colleague who finds
them offensive.
8. Victims of Harassment
• The victim as well as harasser may be a man or
woman. The victim does not have to be the
opposite sex.
• The victim does not have to be the intended
focus of the behavior, rather could be anyone
affected by the offensive conduct.
• The harasser’s conduct must be unwelcome.
9. Your Responsibility
• To keep the workplace harassment free.
• It is your obligation to address all suspected
unprofessional conduct and report sexual
harassment to Human Resources.
• To exercise reasonable care to prevent and
promptly correct any harassment you know
about.
10. How to tell?
• The incident/behavior/environment should be viewed
from the perspective of a typical, reasonable person.
• Was the behavior or innuendo sexual in nature?
• Was the behavior unwelcome?
• Have sexual favors been demanded, requested or
suggested?
• Does the behavior create a hostile work environment?
11. Receiving a Complaint
• If an employee comes to you and says, “I don’t want you
to do anything about this. I just want you to listen to me
and be aware of what’s going on.”
• How should you respond?
• Can a supervisor “just listen and be aware”?
Never promise an employee that you won’t do anything
about what they are telling you. Stop conversation
before it starts to let employee know you can’t promise
that. Supervisors can’t just listen and be aware.
12. Receiving a Complaint
• What should you do?
o Demonstrate your willingness to hear and objectively discuss
complaints.
o Inform the employee that you must report all complaints to the HR
Director.
o Tell the employee that confidentiality will be respected as much as
possible but cannot be assured in order to investigate fully and properly.
o Do not object in an employee prefers to or actually does bypass the
standard chain of command.
o Tell the employee that retaliation against them for filing a complaint will
not be tolerated.
• Complaints do not have to be in writing. A verbal complaint is
sufficient to begin liability to address.
13. Receiving a complaint
• When responding to a complaint, be careful these words
don’t come out of your mouth:
o It’s just teasing – no big deal
o Employees at The Marshes would never do that
o I know he or she didn’t mean anything like that
o It’s your fault for dressing that way
o You need to learn to handle these things
o Just ignore it, he puts his arms around everyone
o Why can’t you just learn to accept a compliment?
o It’s just a prank that got out of hand
• It is essential that the complaint be dealt with
professionally and quickly.
14. The costs of ignoring the
behavior
• James Stevens – Laura Marko – Female co-worker making
inappropriate comments to him on a daily basis. He complained and
company transferred him rather than dealing with situation. He was
then fired without warning or cause. Stevens sued and a jury
awarded him $18 million.
• Jensen v Eveleth Taconite Co. – Class action sexual harassment
lawsuit filed by women enduring sexual harassment, abusive
language, threats and intimidation. Complaint filed by Jensen to
company regarding the behavior. Case was settled before appeal -
$2.5 million.
• Griffin v. City of Opa-Locka – Griffin reportedly sexually harassed
by her supervisor, including unwanted touching, comments to co-
workers and badgering to be his girlfriend. She complained several
times but was simply laughed off. (added component of rape). Jury
awarded $500,000 for harassment and $1.5 million for rape.
15. More about liability
• The Marshes will always be responsible for harassment
by a supervisor that results in tangible employment
action (quid pro quo).
• In hostile environment cases, The Marshes may still be
automatically liable unless:
o We exercised reasonable care to prevent and promptly correct any
harassment AND
o The employee unreasonably failed to complain to management or to
avoid harm otherwise.
• Increasingly there is a risk of individual liability for
company employees in management/supervisory roles.
You can be personally named in any lawsuit filed by an
employee.
16. Retaliation
• Retaliation is defined as an adverse action taken against
employee because he/she complained.
• Adverse action includes demotion, discipline, termination,
salary reduction, negative performance appraisal, change in
job duties or shift assignment.
• To succeed in a retaliation claim an employee must prove
o That he/she engaged in protected activity
o That he/she suffered an adverse employment action
o That the protected activity and adverse action are linked
• To avoid retaliation charges: document the reason for any
adverse employment action and make sure it shows no
discriminatory reason for the adverse action.
17. In Summary
• Your responsibilities are:
o Know and comply with our policies and procedures.
o Immediately report any complaints you receive or incidents you witness
to the HR Director.
o Handle complaints from your employees professionally and in
accordance with policy.
o Never retaliate against an employee who complains of sexual
harassment.
o Assist with investigations and disciplinary action when necessary.
o Assure that victims are not adversely impacted.
o Make sure that sexual harassment stops and does not recur.
18. Questions in Review –
Hot Potato
• True or False – A single incident or isolated incidents of
offensive sexual conduct or remarks can create a hostile
environment?
• True or False - After work, a group of employees get together
for drinks at a bar. While at the bar, one employee makes
unwelcome sexual advances to another employee. Such
conduct is permissible because it is outside of work?
• True or False - A female employee who laughs at lewd jokes
at work and who uses sexually explicit language may not later
bring a claim of sexual harassment due to hostile work
environment?
19. Questions in Review –
Hot Potato
• True or False – A male employee tells his male co-worker a
sexual joke within the vicinity of a female co-worker. This
conduct is okay because he did not tell the joke to his female
co-worker and the joke was welcomed by his male co-worker?
• True or False - A supervisor must take action when an
employee complains of sexual harassment even if there is no
witness to the incident?
• True or False – One male employee you supervise is
frequently referred to by his co-workers as a “her” or “she”,
and even “bitch”. This is not sexual harassment because
everybody is of the same gender?
20. How would you handle
this?
• 3 different scenarios will be handed out.
• Work with your team to determine how you would handle
the situation in the described role.
• One person per team should be available to discuss how
you would handle as we go around the room.
21. Scenario One – Let’s have
a drink after work
• Mark (male supervisor): Brooke, It’s Friday and you’ve
worked hard all week. How about you and I go for a drink
after work.
• Brooke: No thank you. I have plans with my fiance Joe.
• Mark: Oh, come on. You’ll have a good time. You know,
if you’re not nice to me I’ll have to remember that when
we interview for promotions. Heh heh.
• Brooke comes to you as a supervisor at The Marshes
and tells you she is concerned that her job is in jeopardy
because of Mark’s comments.
22. Scenario Two – He said
She said?
• You are having a meeting with some of your team
members, a male and female employee who often work
together and have problems getting along.
• Beth says: Oh, it was so scary yesterday. When I got in
the elevator, John got in the elevator behind me and
when the doors closed he touched me inappropriately.
• John: No way that happened. Beth has been after me
for weeks since I turned her in for falsifying her time. I
stayed as far away from her as I could in that elevator.
23. Scenario Three – You can’t
tell anyone
• Jenny: Hi Kelly, Do you have a minute?
• Kelly: Sure
• Jenny: Well, something really bad happened today. But if I tell
you, you can’t tell anyone else.
• Kelly: Ok, but what in the world happened?
• Jenny: I was sitting at my desk and Tom came up to talk to
me. He put his arm around my shoulder and asked me to go
to the staff meeting with him. I felt very uncomfortable, but I
didn’t say anything because I thought he would get angry.
• Kelly; Oh don’t worry about it. That’s the way he is with
everyone.
• You are the HR Director at The Marshes and hear about this
exchange. FYI – Kelly is a supervisor at The Marshes but is
not Jenny’s supervisor.
