Gawley Case

The EEOC guidelines recommend that an employer's remedy should be "immediate and appropriate." Employers have a duty to "express strong disapproval" of sexual harassment, and to "develop appropriate sanctions." The EEOC explains that an employer's action is appropriate where it fully remedies the conduct without adversely affecting the terms or conditions of the charging party's employment in some manner (Ellison v. Brady, 1991).

Facts: Gawley was a police officer who worked for Indiana University for several years. She sued the college because she noted sexual harassment by a higher-ranking officer than she was. She also sued because she felt she was part of a hostile work environment and that officers in her department retaliated against her for filing a complaint with the college. Her final argument was that there was spoliation of evidence. The district court found in favor of the employer. The case did not go to trial because the district court granted summary judgment. Summary judgment is used to avoid trials. The decision was made based on two key decisions made by the Supreme Court in other cases and that the university was able to establish an affirmative defense. The university “may assert an affirmative defense that examines the reasonableness of the employer’s and the target’s conduct” (Kaplin & Lee, 2014, p. 167). Gawley then appealed to the United State Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit. This case brief will outline the question, holding, reasoning, and significance of this case as it was decided by the United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

To write a complaint of sexual harassment, the female involved would have to write a letter to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission within 12 months of the alleged incident. A complaint can be made by:

Sexual harassment is always a legal topic in the work environment because the ramifications are so severe, but at the same time very abstract to describe what can constitute sexual harassment. This paper will take into consideration different elements of the law including Employment Law and cases tried before the U.S. Supreme Court. It will also offer suggestions for corrective action pertaining to the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace.

They may develop psychological and traumatic symptoms that mirror those of victims of other crimes, particularly sexual assault. What would be the proper solution in resolving these matters? Is the punishment harassers have to face enough for them to stop what they started? Punishment for sexual harassment will range from informal counseling and apology to suspension, dismissal and legal, civil and criminal prosecution. The severity and frequency of the harassment will determine the extent of the punishment. Most cases are kept in the dark and not reported for many reasons. Most people don’t report such incidents, because they were threatened when they first were forced to face the attack. They would still have the same feeling after. They would live with the feeling of getting hurt if they tell anyone. Secondly, they take into account the possibility of not proving the action on the harasser, which is when the victim would rather commit suicide than live with fear of re-experiencing what they had experienced before. And even if the case proceeds the way the victim and lawyer hope, what will happen

Sexual misconduct, as a sub type of sexual violence, refers to the wide range of sexual act. As a general definition, according to World Health Organization (WHO) (2012) sexual violence is defined as: “any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, unwanted sexual comments or advances, or acts to traffic, or otherwise directed, against a person’s sexuality using coercion, by any person regardless of their relationship to the victim, in any setting, including but not limited to home and work.” On the other hand, this is quite broad definition and more detailed description is needed especially for the school, or institutional policies. For example, according to Yale University policies (2014) the sexual misconduct definition is: “a range of behaviors including sexual assault, sexual harassment, intimate partner violence, stalking, voyeurism, and any other conduct of a sexual nature that is nonconsensual, or has the purpose or effect of threatening, intimidating, or coercing a person.”

In the case of Varner v. National Super Markets, 94 F.3d 1209 (8th Cir. 1996), cert. denied, 519 U.S. 1110 (1997), Ms. Varner was severely harassed by a coworker and her fiance reported the harassment to the manger of the store (Walsh, 2013). Since it was stated in the company policy that the victim was report the harassment themselves to the human resource department, the manager did not do anything about the reports (Walsh, 2013). Sexual harassment is widespread and up to half of women in the workforce experience it at some point, but it is rare to have a formal complaint filed (Vijayasiri, 2008).

This article contends that although well intentioned, the mandates of the Dear Colleague Letter are not the best way to handle campus sexual assault. Universities should have a number of different options available, from mediation (as long as both parties agree) to a full blown adjudicatory hearing. When suspension or expulsion may result, the respondent must have the right to an adjudicatory hearing with robust procedural rights. More controversially, this article argues that Title IX allows universities to make these changes.

Henrick (2015) shares when the school finds out they must stop the behavior, prevent its recurrence, and remedy its effect on the victim. This means if needed actions against the accused harassers needs to be taken seriously for the victim and the accused. Just like any other statutory right, it can only be effective if everyone follows the rules and does the correct procedures to ensure the safety of the students. Rubin (1981) writes there is dual enforcement of Title IX which is if someone who claims to have been a victim of sex discrimination they can sue his or her educational institution directly in civil court and also file a complaint with the office of Civil

In accordance with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) situations that sexual harassment might occur can be verbal and/or physical in manner such as:

The external investigation will be difficult since there is actually no prove of the harassment.

Based on the findings of the company TNA it was determined that there was a need for sexual harassment training of employees and supervisors. In the training on sexual harassment the areas covered were how to handle cases of sexual harassment, knowing if you were sexually harassed, and how to report harassment. Organizational results are the changes in key outcomes for the organization that can be linked to the training (Blanchard 2013). Training provided to employees

Organizations have an obligation to create a harassment free environment for its employees. Harassment doesn’t have to be of a sexual nature. An organization is liable if the harassment is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in adverse employment actions such as the victim being fired, demoted, or transferred. Harassing a person based on their sex is illegal. Sexual harassment has a great impact on an employee’s productivity as well as poses a major impact on an organization’s finances in litigation.

The victims of sexual harassment describe this as being something horrible unpleasant, and hard to live with. Sexual Harassment is something ugly that must be stopped by pushing federal punishments for the crime, making it more known to the public of what it is, and allowing victims to know that they shouldn’t be afraid to reach for help when needed.

Sexual harassment can cause a working environment that can be stressful and difficult to work in. It can make individuals not perform their jobs well or at all. When someone is sexually harassed this makes an individual feel violated. No one should be in any situation, work or non-working environment and feel uncomfortable or made to feel like they are not respected by their coworkers or supervisors due to sexual harassment. It is very