When Flirting Goes Too Far:
Analyzing Holes in the Legal Definitions of Sexual Harassment and when to take “Actionable” Measures
On their first meeting, Peter Fellows winked at Oksana Bihun and lightly brushed his hand against hers. Later that month while Bihun was working after hours, Fellows walked in with his shirt unbuttoned and his pants unzipped. He pressed his body against her right shoulder… After several unsuccessful attempts to seduce Bihun, Fellows told her a major reorganization of the company was going to take place soon and if she "played her cards right" she could have any job she wanted.
Bihun v. AT&T Information Systems, Inc. (1993)
Before Amaani Lyle was hired, she was forewarned that the “Friends” show dealt with sexual …show more content…
For others, any sexual reference, any type of touching and any unwanted advances is sexual harassment. Unquestionably, a person’s experiences, attitudes and beliefs have more influence on their feelings toward sexual harassment than any legal definition. Unfortunately, the vast majority of what employees personally consider "harassment" bears little resemblance to the kind of harassment that is legally actionable.
Legally, sexual harassment in the workplace is a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination, which is how it violates the Civil Rights Act. The title applies to employers with fifteen or more employees and includes employment agencies, labor unions and the federal government . Sexual harassment is defined by the Code of Federal Regulations as the following:
Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work …show more content…
During an undergraduate internship, I worked for a company where employees were encouraged to take special interest in each other. Up until that time, I had always told that if you were interested in dating someone that you worked with to practice the “business-as-usual” concept as much as possible while at work. However, at this particular company, dating another company employee was not only acceptable, but encouraged. As odd as it may sound, I believe that culture was beneficial to the company as well as employee morale simply because of how the organization was
Analyzing Holes in the Legal Definitions of Sexual Harassment and when to take “Actionable” Measures
On their first meeting, Peter Fellows winked at Oksana Bihun and lightly brushed his hand against hers. Later that month while Bihun was working after hours, Fellows walked in with his shirt unbuttoned and his pants unzipped. He pressed his body against her right shoulder… After several unsuccessful attempts to seduce Bihun, Fellows told her a major reorganization of the company was going to take place soon and if she "played her cards right" she could have any job she wanted.
Bihun v. AT&T Information Systems, Inc. (1993)
Before Amaani Lyle was hired, she was forewarned that the “Friends” show dealt with sexual …show more content…
For others, any sexual reference, any type of touching and any unwanted advances is sexual harassment. Unquestionably, a person’s experiences, attitudes and beliefs have more influence on their feelings toward sexual harassment than any legal definition. Unfortunately, the vast majority of what employees personally consider "harassment" bears little resemblance to the kind of harassment that is legally actionable.
Legally, sexual harassment in the workplace is a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination, which is how it violates the Civil Rights Act. The title applies to employers with fifteen or more employees and includes employment agencies, labor unions and the federal government . Sexual harassment is defined by the Code of Federal Regulations as the following:
Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work …show more content…
During an undergraduate internship, I worked for a company where employees were encouraged to take special interest in each other. Up until that time, I had always told that if you were interested in dating someone that you worked with to practice the “business-as-usual” concept as much as possible while at work. However, at this particular company, dating another company employee was not only acceptable, but encouraged. As odd as it may sound, I believe that culture was beneficial to the company as well as employee morale simply because of how the organization was