Sexual Harassment in the WorkplaceJoin now to read essay Sexual Harassment in the WorkplaceSexual Harassment in the WorkplaceDiscrimination in employment based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin are prohibited by Title VII, a section of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In 1986, the Supreme Court ruled in Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson that sexual harassment constituted a form of sexual discrimination under Title VII (Mello, 2006). Courts have identified many key factors that influence whether behavior constitutes sexual harassment or not.
In managing sexual harassment in the workplace organizations need to deal with four specific problems. First, many workers and managers are not aware of what sexual harassment is and what constitutes harassment. In order to rectify this, employers need to focus a large part of orientation on awareness and attitudes towards sexual harassment. Discussions need to be held on what sexual harassment is and clarification of certain perceptions needs to be addressed. The second problem that organizations face is that many employees are not aware of policies that the organization has in place regarding sexual harassment. Or, the employee knows of a policy, but does not know what it says. Management must provide their employees with training that focuses on procedures, policies, and processes regarding issues of sexual harassment (Mello, 2006). Management must also be consistent yet flexible in their decisions to handle specific situations. The third problem management face regarding sexual harassment is maintaining an open door policy. Many employees fear that reporting an incident will be detrimental to their job. To encourage an employee to report such activity, it is important to maintain a trustworthy working atmosphere. Employees also need to be assured that confidentiality will be maintained as well as some type of support in order to continue working in their current position (Mello, 2006). Lastly, management must investigate all allegations of sexual harassment immediately. The challenge to investigating the issue effectively is knowing that there are always two sides to every story. Therefore, one must seek out others that may have seen or heard the incident. If no evidence is supported, it is best for the company to notify the accused person in writing stating that if the conduct did occur, it would be considered sexual harassment and they would be in violation of company policy (Mello, 2006).
According to the article Policies for workplace sexual harassment should be in place to (2005), legal experts agreed that when it comes to sexual harassment in the workplace, it is important for employers and employees to abide by an established policy. This will in fact protect the employer from a costly lawsuit and the employee from any kind of harassment conflict. All organizations face liability for sexual harassment committed by supervisors unless they can demonstrate reasonable efforts to prevent or correct the actions (Larimer, 2005). Employers bear most of the responsibility for controlling harassment in the office (Larimer, 2005). According to the article Policies for workplace sexual harassment should be in place to (2005)
The Employment Law of Professional Standards: How the Law of Professional Standards (Larimer, 2003) examines the various fields of professional development and the needs of employees and employees. The article (2007) examines the work environments. These include, but are not limited to, a group training facility and a workplace review system (Larimer, 2007). The article (2007) considers all of the aspects related to professional development:
the degree to which employees need the support that their responsibilities of supervision will provide (Larimer, 2007);
how employees can engage the responsibilities of supervision (Wincom, 2008);
what standards are important in providing that professional development (Larimer, 2007);
how professional development in the workplace in general is defined (Larimer, 2007, 2008). Additionally, all major issues related to professional development are discussed in chapter 4, “Practice and Standards of Work” of the International Association of Professional Journalists, published in 2005.
Employees’ Legal Rights: What Does the Employment Law of Professional Standards (Larimer, 2003) Say About the Work Environment and How to Prepare Employers for the Law: What Are the Legal Consequences of Employers Taking on Professional Development?
Professional Development (Larimer, 2003) identifies a range of issues relating to professional development. This includes legal issues, including issues concerning the right to compensation, compensation in work, and how it is recognized within the law (Levine et al., 2008). The key to identifying legal issues around professional development in the workplace is a thorough and fair examination of the legal principles.
As with any important regulatory issue, professional development should be an important element of every working relationship between employees and the employer. But the employment law is especially complex in this area and is only one problem a worker might face when dealing with workers on a consistent basis.
Employees’ rights: the Employment Law of Professional Standards (Larimer, 2003) says, for each individual workplace, that all of the rights and responsibilities of the employer and employee should be honored (Levine et al., 2008). It also adds that the law as is often recognized on a state or regional level should be interpreted with a heavy regard for the right of individuals to make and enforce their rights at all times on the basis of the needs involved.
Workplace Development
Employees’ rights: the Employment Law of Professional Standards (Larimer, 2003) says that all employees should be protected and entitled to equal treatment. While it is true that workers are employees under a different definition of employee, employers have a duty to maintain their employees’ rights and obligations consistent with that of employees of the same employer. Workers in the job setting are also allowed equal protection under the statute for all situations where they are needed the most, including harassment.
In general, employers have many rights that apply to employees. All workers have many other rights that must be satisfied