It seems like a no-brainer that sexual discussions, propositions and jokes have no place in the workplace and allowing them can lead to serious liability for employers. Still, the number of cases where boneheaded bosses decide to make bad jokes, request sex from their employees, or ignore similar bad behavior in others remains quite high.
In yet another recent example of stupid workplace decisions involving sex, a federal jury has awarded more than $20-million-dollars in damages to eight former employees of two travel companies, Four Amigos Travel and Top Dog Travel Inc., after male managers were accused of groping and sexually harassing female workers. Seven of the eight former-employees to sue the companies are women who were victims of the harassment. One is a man who was fired after reporting the harassment.
The suit accused an office general manager and eight sales managers of daily harassment that included asking female employees to have sex in the bathroom, making suggestive gestures, and leading meeting discussions on topics like “how to please a woman.” What manager ever thinks to himself, “Hey, there won’t be any problems if I mime the action for blow job while pushing my tongue against the side of his mouth”? To be clear, this is always a problem.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964makes it clear that sexual harassment in the workplace is unacceptable and illegal, and it is an employer’s responsibility to make sure employees know that sexual harassment will not be tolerated. Title VII also protects employees from being retaliated against if they complainabout sexual harassment or other forms of discrimination to a supervisor. Employers should provide meaningful training aimed at identifying and preventing harassing behavior, and inform employees of their rights. An employer who fails to guard against sexual harassment and does not take complaints about harassment seriously could end up paying thousands or even millions of dollars to employees who are victims of harassing behavior.
If you think your right to a safe, harassment-free workplace has been violated, call the right attorney with the knowledge to get results.
If you feel that you are being sexually harassed or are working in a sexually charged or hostile working environment, you should not wait to call the right attorney at 866-797-6040 to schedule a free and confidential consultation. At Spitz, The Employee’s Law Firm, you will meet with a sexual harassment lawyer/hostile work environment attorney to find out what your legal rights are and the best way to protect them. Sexual harrassment is a former of gender discrimination, and employers should be held accountable if they discriminate against female workers in any fashion – but particularly for sexual harrassment.
Disclaimer:
The materials available at this gender discrimination and employment law website are for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. It is best contact an Ohio sexual harassment attorney/hostile work environment lawyer to obtain advice with respect to sexual harassment/hostile work environment questions or any particular employment law issue. Use and access to this employment law website or any of the links contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship. The legal opinions expressed at or through this site are the opinions of the individual lawyer and may not reflect the opinions of Spitz, The Employee’s Law Firm or any individual attorney.