Presenters: Dana C. Shaw-Arimoto, Founder & CEO, Phoenix 5 Diane Geller, Partner, Fox Rothschild LLP With heightened awareness of harassment brought about by the #metoo and #timesup movements, it’s more important than ever to maintain a safe and professional environment for your entire team. Failure to do so can have a devastating impact on both a business and personal level. In this session, you will learn how to implement an effective preventative approach to sexual harassment, discrimination and workplace bullying without discouraging desirable behaviors that contribute to your company’s success. This session does not replace legal consultation and should not be considered legal advice. We highly recommend you discuss all of these issues with your own legal counsel.

1. 1
Dana Shaw-Arimoto
CEO and Founder
Diane Geller
Partner
No More 'Business as Usual'
Creating a Safe Work Environment and
Avoiding Liability in the #MeToo Era

2. 2
This Session
With heightened awareness of harassment brought about by the #metoo
and #timesup movements, it’s more important than ever to maintain a safe
and professional environment for your entire team. Failure to do so can
have a devastating impact on both a business and personal level. In this
session, you will learn how to implement an effective and preventative
approach to sexual harassment, discrimination, and workplace bullying
without discouraging desirable behaviors that contribute to your company’s
success.
This session does not replace legal consultation and should not be considered legal advice. We
highly recommend you discuss all of these issues with your own legal counsel.

3. 3
To Start
How does your company provide sexual
harassment training?1
• In-Person
• Via Video
• Via Website
How often is the training?2
• Annually
• Only when a new employee starts
• Periodically during the year

4. 4
What is
Harassment?

5. 5
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT
DISCRIMINATION AND HARASSMENT?
TRUE/FALSE
True False
☐ ☐ It is illegal to treat an employee who is a member of a protected
classification differently than other employees.
☐ ☐ Conduct which occurs off-duty and off-premises can be considered
harassment.
☐ ☐ Even if you had a consensual relationship, you can be guilty of
sexual harassment.
☐ ☐ If you do not intend to offend someone, you cannot harass him/her.

6. 6
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT
HARASSMENT?
TRUE/FALSE
True False
☐ ☐ Asking a co-worker for a date cannot be sexual harassment.
☐ ☐ Employers can be held responsible for the harassment of their
employees by outsiders.
☐ ☐ If most employees like a working environment, it cannot be
hostile.
☐ ☐ The decorations employees have in their cubicle are no one’s
business but their own.
☐ ☐ Sexual harassment can only occur when the harasser’s actions are
sexual in nature.

7. 7
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT
HARASSMENT?
TRUE/FALSE
True False
☐ ☐ You should honor an employee’s request not to do anything about
the harassment he or she just reported to you.
☐ ☐ You should put an employee in a room together with the person
he/she is complaining about to resolve any misunderstandings.
☐ ☐ If the victim does not want the accused harasser to be terminated,
The Company will not do so.
☐ ☐ You should keep an allegation of harassment to yourself until you
determine whether or not it has any merit.
☐ ☐ The victim of harassment should always be transferred away from
the harasser.

8. 8
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT
HARASSMENT?
TRUE/FALSE
True False
☐ ☐ Your prompt remedial action may relieve The Company from
liability even if harassment has occurred.
☐ ☐ If an employer is not aware that an employee is being harassed by
another employee, it cannot be held liable.
☐ ☐ If an employee does not complain of harassment until after he/she
quits, The Company cannot be held liable.

9. 9
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT
HARASSMENT?
TRUE/FALSE
True False
☐ ☐ Employees who have had too much to drink are responsible for the
things that they say or do.
☐ ☐ If no one has complained, harassment is not a problem in your
work environment.
☐ ☐ Only the victim of a harasser’s actions can file a harassment claim.

10. 10
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT
HARASSMENT?
TRUE/FALSE
True False
☐ ☐ If you comment on someone’s appearance, it may impact his/her
reputation or performance.
☐ ☐ Allegations of harassment by an employee can cloud whether
discipline taken against that employee was warranted.
☐ ☐ Managers are responsible for the prevention of hostile working
environments.

11. 11
Harassment
Definitions and
Types

12. 12
What is Harassment?
DEFINITION
• Unwelcome
• Unsolicited

13. 13
Conduct:
• Of a sexual nature; or
• Because of one’s sex (including pregnancy),
race, color, religion, national origin, age,
disability, ancestry, marital status, domestic or
civil union partnership, gender identity,
genetic information, sexual orientation, or
other protected classification
What is Harassment?

14. 14
EXAMPLES OF HARASSMENT
• Physical assaults or attempts
• Unwanted sexual advances
• Visual displays of inappropriate pictures of
any kind, and gestures
• Recognizing a situation with consultants
What is Harassment?

15. 15
EXAMPLES OF HARASSMENT
• Vulgar, suggestive, offensive or racist
comments or jokes
• Sending inappropriate e-mails or accessing
pornographic web sites
• Behavior that makes others feel
uncomfortable
What is Harassment?

16. 16
WHO CAN COMMIT HARASSMENT?
• Managers
• Co-workers
• Vendors or consultants or customers
• Men or women
• People with whom you have a business interaction,
regardless of level of authority, race, color, sex
(including pregnancy), religion, national origin, etc.
What is Harassment?

17. 17
QUID PRO QUO SEXUAL HARASSMENT:
“SOMETHING FOR SOMETHING”
• Unwelcome sexual advances or requests
for sexual favors or any conduct of a
sexual nature when:
• submission to such conduct is explicitly or
implicitly made a term or condition of
employment; or
• submission or rejection of such conduct is used
as the basis for employment decisions affecting
such individual.
What is Harassment?

18. 18

19. 19
• HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT HARASSMENT
• Conduct that has the purpose or effect of
unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work
performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or
offensive working environment.
• The conduct is taken because of the individual’s
protected classification or sex.
What is Harassment?

20. 20
The conduct must be severe or pervasive enough
given the totality of the circumstances so that it alters
the conditions of victim’s employment and creates an
abusive environment.
The reasonable victim under like circumstances would
perceive, and the victim actually did perceive, that an
abusive working environment has been created.
What is Harassment?

21. 21
REMEMBER: Behavior acceptable in some
settings can be abusive in a work context.
Personal Relationships With Subordinates.
What is Harassment?

22. 22

23. 23
Handling
Harassment

24. 24
Not
Confident
Somewhat
Confident
Neutral
Very
Confident
Completely
Confident
If I feel I am being
harassed by someone,
internally or externally, I
know that my company
has my back.
I feel confident that I have
the right to say STOP or
NO when someone I
encounter makes me
uncomfortable.
I feel equipped to handle
myself and/or others I
manage in a harassment
situation.

25. 25
Not
Confident
Somewhat
Confident
Neutral
Very
Confident
Completely
Confident
I have the tools and the
"how" to stop
uncomfortable situations
as soon as they start.
Although working in
sales/marketing/recruiting
may lead to unwanted
attention and potentially
open a door to
harassment, I know how
to adjust my approach to
keep things professional
yet relatable.
I have recently reviewed
my company’s code of
conduct.
Yes No

26. 26
Key Facts and
Use Cases

27. 27
Key Facts
Out of 1000 people surveyed by Huffington Post:
• 1 in 5 women said they’d been harassed by a boss
• 1 in 4 women said they’d been harassed by another co-worker
• 6% of men said they’d been harassed by a boss; 14% by a coworker
• 21% said they’d witnessed someone being sexually harassed at work; only 33% of
those people said they’d reported it
The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
• USEEOC says nearly 1/3 of 90,000 complaints in 2015 included harassment
allegations; they also estimate that 75% of all workplace harassment goes
unreported
• A 2016 USEEOC study statistically predicted that one in four people are affected
by workplace sexual harassment
• The VEIL IS LIFITING with the #metoo movement: Harvey Weinstein, Kevin
Spacey, Louis CK, Charlie Rose and Matt Lauer…who is next? Which industry?

28. 28
The Blazing Fire Sparked By Misconduct &
Harassment
• There is a simple formula that we are all taught as small
children, where there’s smoke, there is fire. And when
you’re in a fire, you must STOP, DROP, and ROLL
• “Stop is stop. No is no.”
• Stop Harassment before it starts – ASSESS THE
SITUATION, TRUST BUT VERIFY BY GIVING BENEFIT
OF THE DOUBT
• Address harassment head on – SPEAK YOUR TRUTH
• Get help fast when it’s at the line – ESCALATE AT THE
LINE

29. 29
Survey Results
and Real
Scenarios

30. 30
These Are Real
Example 1: SVP expenses a night out with a client for
$2000…they went to a strip club.
Example 2: At an industry event, a frontline sales person feels
uncomfortable when a client “gets close” on the tradeshow
floor.
Example 3: A prospect emails an account executive to spend
the weekend together after a sales pitch meeting and
continually opens their emails with terms like “Hey, beautiful.”
These may be extremes, but situations of this nature happen
at smaller degrees all the time.

31. 31

32. 32
Excuses and Rationale
Excuses/Rationale/Unconscious Choices for NOT addressing innuendo –> full-on
harassment and predatory behavior:
• Fear of Retaliation, Prohibition of Future Work, Losing Deal/Client
• Embarrassment and Bargaining
• Lack of Confidence
• No Support at Work or at Home
• Denial
• Minimizing of the Issue(s)
• Fear of Ruining Someone’s Life/Livelihood
• Normalization – “It’s our culture to flirt.” “That’s just sales.”
• Believability
• Other? – Let’s discuss

33. 33
Practice It to Access It
5 Keys To Self Empowerment
1. Zero Tolerance: Your company HAS your back
2. Role Play & Practice: (by yourself and with those you trust), Take A Self
Defense Class, GET INTO THE MINDSET AND STAY THERE!
3. Stop Harassment before it starts (CONDUCT YOURSELF PROFESSIONALLY
YET RELATABLY and EXPECT THE SAME)
4. Address harassment head on (STOP IS STOP and NO IS NO even when it’s a
grey area)
5. Get help fast when it’s at the line (ESCALATE before it crosses the line,
YOUR PERSONAL line is BLACK AND WHITE)

34. 34
The Male
Perspective

35. 35
Q & A

36. 36
T h a n k y o u f o r y o u r b r a v e r y ,
o p e n n e s s , a n d w i l l i n g n e s s !
@Danatothe5th
Dana Shaw-Arimoto
Founder and CEO
answers@phoenix5th.com
www.phoenix5th.com
Diane Geller
Partner
DGeller@foxrothschild.com
561.804.4469
www.foxrothschild.com
Dana Shaw - Arimoto