Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Sexual harassment is unwelcome behavior of a sexual nature that makes one feel uncomfortable, fearful or powerless, and interferes with work. Sexual harassment can happen to anyone; male or female, student or adult employee. Sexual harassment has been at the forefront of businesses for years whether it has been brought to court or settled under mediation, it is a constant in our society today.

In 1964 Title VII was established in order to prohibit sex discrimination in employment, this didn’t include sexual harassment. After four cases of “non-sexual harassing” acts deemed sex discrimination sexual harassment was finally recognized in 1986. In the Meritor Savings Bank, FSB v. Vinson case the Supreme Court saw it as a violation of Title VII and established the standards for analyzing whether the conduct was welcome and levels of employer liability. Finally in 1988 the first-class action sexual harassment lawsuit was filed on behalf of a Minnesota mining employee who described a pattern of harassment and abuse beginning when she went to work there in 1975 in the case of Jensen v. Eveleth Travonite Co. From then sexual harassment would be disputed and fought in court under the Title VII in order to protect the character and capacity of others.

The constitution of sexual harassment include the submission to unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors etc. either explicitly or implicitly as a term or condition of an individual’s employment, submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual used as the basis for employment decision affecting such individual or such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or of...

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...). European Union Commission Recommendation of 27 November 1991. the protection of the dignity of women and men at work, (p. (L49) 1.).

Psychology's voice in sexual harassment law, American Psychological Association (August 1998)

Antecedents and consequences of sexual harassment in organizations: A test of an integrated model, Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 82, 578-589 (1997); Fitzgerald, L.F., Swann, S. & Magley, V.J.,

But Was It Really Harassment? Legal, Behavioral and Psychological Definitions of the Workplace Victimization of Women, in W. O'Donohue (Ed.),

Sexual Harassment: Theory, Research and Treatment (1997); and Schneider, K.T., Swann, S. & Fitzgerald, L.F.,

Job-related and psychological effects of sexual harassment in the workplace: empirical evidence from two organizations, Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 82, 401-415 (1997)).