Sexual Harassment

Under Title VII, sexual harassment generally refers to harassment on the basis of sex when such conduct has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with a person’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. In one recent year, the EEOC received 11,717 sexual harassment charges, about 15% of which were filed by men.

Under EEOC guidelines, employers have an affirmative duty to maintain work-places free of sexual harassment and intimidation. CRA 1991 permits victims of discrimination, including sexual harassment, to collect compensatory damages for pain and suffering and punitive damages, where the employer acted with malice or reckless indifference to their rights.

EEOC guidelines define sexual harassment as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that takes place under any of the following conditions. Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment. Submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual.

Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.