Same Sex Harassment
Imagine that you are in the shower of the gym at work and three co-workers enter, then hold you down to the ground while rubbing their genitalia across your bare skin. No matter what the circumstance you would find this behavior appalling and disgusting. Now think to yourself if every person involved had been a male. Would you say that they were just "horsing around?" I hope not.
The attitude of American society and legal culture regarding sexual harassment has changed over the last 35 years. Our progressive society has finally decided to look at the issue of whether harassment of a sexual nature by a member of your same gender is included in what Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was trying to protect employees against. Several courts have permitted same sex harassment; they were however, at odds over whether such claims were valid if the harassing individual were heterosexual. Claims have been found unlawful when one individual is homosexual thus the harassment involved sexual desire or interest. This was one issue at hand in the controversy over same sex harassment, whether or not both individuals could be heterosexuals. Although nowhere in Title VII does it say anything about sexual harassment or the conduct being based on sexual desire courts have interpreted the laws prohibition of discrimination based on an individual's race, color, religion, sex or national origin to include sexual harassment as a form of discrimination.
Title VII makes it, "an unlawful employment practice for an employer...to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex or nati...
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...ws the "equal opportunity harasser" who discriminates on both male and female employees to be beyond the scope of Title VII since the harassment is not because of sex.
Some concerns for the long-range effects of the Oncale decision have been voiced. Fears that the broadened scope of Title VII claims will allow, "a flood of sexual harassment claims from a class of people who have never faced barriers to gender equality in the workplace," and the ultimate result being lesser protection for those women and men the legislature was intending to protect.
The courts acknowledge the existence of a fine line between horseplay and flirtation that may be a normal part of the workplace, and sexual harassment as discrimination in the workplace. The opinion of the court was written in a way to only forbid objectively offensive behavior to protect against frivolous claims.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits most of the discrimination and harassment in the workplaces. The provision of the Title VII covers all the state, local government, private employees as well as educational institutions that have at least 15 employees or more. The Act prohibits any discrimination that may be meted against the individuals on the basis of the origin, religion, sex, color, race, and national origin (http://topics.hrhero.com/title-vii-of-the-civil-rights-act-of-1964/).
...iscrimination will not occur. It is also important to post some of the Title VII laws, so that employees will understand what to do in case they feel they have been discriminated against.
Sexual orientation discrimination is the unfair treatment of someone solely based on their sexual orientation. Unlike sexual harassment and gender discrimination, sexual orientation discrimination is not protected under Title VII. However, there are state and local laws that prohibit it (Moran,
Despite legislation for equal opportunities, sexism is still evident in the workplace. Women have made great advancements in the workforce and have become an integral part of the labor market. They have greater access to higher education and as a result, greater access to traditionally male dominated professions such as law. While statistics show that women are equal to men in terms of their numbers in the law profession, it is clear however, that they have not yet achieved equality in all other areas of their employment. Discrimination in the form of gender, sex and sexual harassment continues to be a problem in today’s society.
Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act states that it is unlawful for an employer "to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin…" 42 U.S.C. 2000e-2(a)(1). This law was enacted in an effort to set right the wrongs of the past and instill equity in the workplace; yet a new set of wrongs and social injustices have been created. This newly created set of wrongs and injustices are referred to as reverse discrimination. Reverse discrimination is discrimination against a majority class, and is ever increasing in public-sector employment.
...overlooked in the workplace. Title VII has changed the pre-employment process in that the interviewer must be careful in the questions that are posed to the interviewee. The interviewer should not ask questions that can be deemed discriminatory. A rule of thumb is to limit questions that have to do with a person’s private life. As an employer, it must be made clear that discrimination will not be tolerated in the workplace. Employers and employees need to become familiar with what constitutes discrimination. Employees need to be informed of the employer’s position as it relates to workplace discrimination. An employer should adopt policies that address this issue in the form of employee handbooks and/or in house training for all employee levels, including what steps will be taken for violations. If the employer and employee work together to prevent these forms of discretions, it can help curtail some of the litigiousness surrounding this issue.
According to legal dictionary (2013), sexual harassment refers to any form of unwelcome sexual behavior or advances, appeals for sexual errands, and other form of physical or verbal conduct or behavior that portrays sex nature and tends to make the working environment offensive or hostile. Any behavior or remarks that take such forms constitute sexual harassment when: Compliance to such conduct happens either implicitly or explicitly based on employment of an individual, rejection or compliance to such conduct is used to make decisions during employment and when such conduct interferes or affects performance of a person at the workplace. Sexual harassment ta...
According to Webster’s online dictionary, it is believed that the phrase “sexual harassment” was coined at Cornell University in 1974 ("Sexual harassment," 2011). The phrase wasn’t, however, really used in common language until the testimony of Anita Hill against Clarence Thomas in 1991. Sexual harassment can take many different shapes and forms. According to a Fox News article, the sexual harassment claims made by men have increased twofold in the last twenty years ("Sexual harassment claims," 2010). Because sexual harassment is illegal both on a federal and state level in many states, there are steps that an individual and employer should take to prevent sexual harassment.
Rather, it was added to the law by the opposition in an attempt to prevent the law from gaining the necessary vote to be instated. The little discussion concerning the matter of gender discrimination left courts with very little information to assist them in interpreting the law. (BL 348) Today courts generally “have determined that gender discrimination also includes discrimination due to pregnancy and sexual harassment, but not because of affinity orientation or being transgender.” (pg.348) Given with the passing of time, it is also natural for individuals to imagine just how prevalent gender discrimination is in our society but as stated by EEOC’s chairman in 2009, “sex discrimination against males and females alike continues to be a problem in the 21st century.”(pg. 338 – EEOC press release.) Gender itself plays a prominent role in our lives in the form of stereotypes, customs and ideas which are often discriminatory in nature, whether intentional or not. Of the two genders, women continue to be the most affected by gender discrimination and even as the number of woman in high positions continues to grow, they are still a proportionately large number of filled claims. (pg.338-339). According to a report released by the EEOC in 2010, “gender suits account for the second highest percentage of substantive claims brought under Title VII, behind race.” (#9, EEOC
What comes to mind when you think of sexual harassment? Most people picture an individual grabbing another individual unwillingly in attempt of committing nonconsensual sex. However, sexual harassment can be something as insignificant as being called something negative. It is anything that makes a person feel uncomfortable about his/her sexuality. According to the law, sexual harassment is anything from unwelcome sexual advances and requests for sexual favors to verbal statements of a sexual nature. It violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Sexual Harassment Policy, which is currently in place in all schools and work places, is aimed at providing an educational and work environment free of harassment. This includes sexual harassment and every form of intimidation or exploitation.
Solomon, Robert C. "The Right to Dignity: Harassment and Sex in the Office." It's Good Business: Ethics and Free Enterprise for the New Millennium. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 1997.
Cheryl, sixteen, trainer for her high-school girl's volleyball team and photographer for the school newspaper, arrived at the gym at about 9:00 Saturday for a volleyball tournament. She left her purse and equipment with friends while she went to the restroom. When the game started and she hadn't returned to the team's bench, her friends went to look for her. Her raped body was found behind some stage backdrops on the balcony of the school auditorium(Booher 12). Sexual harassment and rape are prevalent in all aspects of society.
Anderson, W. L., & Bouravnev, A. (2011). Sexual Harassment: the Good, the Bad, and the
Workplace harassment is unwelcome actions that are based on a person’s race, religion, color, and sex, and gender, country of origin, age, ethnicity or disability. The targets of the harassment are people who are usually perceived as “weaker” or “inferior” by the person who is harassing them. Companies and employers can also be guilty of workplace harassment if they utilize discriminatory practices against persons based on ethnicity, country of origin, religion, race, color, age, disability, or sex. These discriminatory practices have been illegal since the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Civil Rights Act of 1964), and have been amended to be more inclusive of other people who experience discrimination by the Civil Rights Act of 1991 (The Civil Rights Act of 1991), and most recently, President Obama’s signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 (Stolberg, 2009).
In today’s workplace, sexual harassment is a growing problem. The legal definition of sexual harassment is any unwelcome sexual advance or conduct on the job that creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment. Another definition is the making of unwanted and offensive sexual advances or of sexually offensive remarks or acts, especially by one in a superior or supervisory position. Women and men of all ages, backgrounds, races and experience are harassed on the job. Sexual harassment encountered in workplaces is a hazard across the world that reduces the quality of working life, jeopardizes the well-being of women and men, undermines gender equality and imposes costs on firms and organizations.