Sexual Harassment And The Human Resources Department At Your Company

Coming from a country in a part of the world where being misogynistic is incredibly prevalent and often encouraged, I have witnessed and been around many acts of sexual harassment as well as victims of it. At a very young age, I learned that my first cousin was sexually harassed by her husband’s brother when they were alone and that is when I learned the true horrors of the world. Everyone knew the truth about what happened, but no one helped my cousin, not her husband, her father, or her brothers. Sadly, Where I’m from, a third world country, is not the only place things like this happen. There are acts of sexual harassment even in countries like America in big corporations such as Hollywood. We’ve learned about these many acts through recent

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.

I am very interested in a career field in Human Resources. For this paper, I interviewed Lillian Mannino who is a Human Resource and Personnel Manager at the UC San Diego Graduate School of Global Policy and Strategy. As a manager, Lillian serves as the link between the graduate school’s management and its employees. She is in charge of overseeing recruitment, employee relations, policy development, payroll, and benefits. Personnel management is a special branch of management that is focus on the concerns of employees at work and their relationship with the organization. Her educational experiences consist of a bachelor degree at UC San Diego in Management Science and a professional Human Resources certificate from UCSD Extension. She has been working in the academic administration for almost ten years and earned her current position as manager through climbing up the ladder. She started off working in this field as a student affairs officer then was promoted to an administrative specialist. Her prior work experience paved a path for her to build up professional experience as well as a solid network within the UCSD administrative system.

This is a sexual harassment claim. The supervisor must follow the company’s policies. An investigation must be conducted and in the end it must be made clear the company’s standards for this type of behavior.

Does the phrase “That’s what she said.” sound familiar? The phrase is from the popular hit television series The Office. The guy behind this popular quote is none other than Dunder Mifflin’s Michael Scott. This quote is not only inappropriate but it is also a form of sexual harassment and Michael Scott is the king of sexual harassment. Unfortunately sexual harassment is a problem that is occurring in the workplace. In another popular movie, Horrible Bosses, sexual harassment is one of the main points in the story. The best example of this is when Charlie Day’s boss, Jennifer Anniston, constantly makes sexual gestures and inappropriate statements at him. However, in The Office and Horrible Bosses, sexual harassment is taken to an extreme. What is unfortunate about sexual harassment is that most people do not realize that it is illegal in the workplace. However, it is possible that a few comments slip out every now and then but they should not be taken lightly. Unfortunately in these situations, there is nothing done to prevent it in the workplace, which I have decided to look into the problem of preventing sexual harassment in the workplace.

Workplace bullying/ non- sexual harassment needs to be addressed in the same manner that sexual harassment would be dealt with. Sexual harassment needs to be reported to the human resources office, and if the issue is not properly handled or it’s dismissed, a harassment claim needs to be filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

I seek to understand what the problem is, analyze the major issue and all parties involved, I would then start to develop several courses of action, then I would decide on the best course of action, and lastly, I would render my decision to my supervisor for approval and implementation. My decisions will be based on laws such as the National Labor Relations Act, the Whistleblowers Protection Act, and the in house policies and procedures just to name a few. If the situation requires outside help in the form of advice or law enforcement, I will not hesitate to get them involved also. Each employee deserves the right to work in an environment free from sexual harassment and sexual assault. It is the responsibility of the employer to provide that environment at no cost to all

Sexual harassment in the workplace is a huge problem in recent history. It can happen to anyone and it can happen everywhere. It can affect all types of races, gender and age. Statistics today shows that more and more sexual harassment has become an issue due to the large number of cases presented. Mainstream media becomes consume covering sexual harassment because of the high profile cases. Sexual harassment becomes a topic on various TV shows, and on some major morning radio talk shows mostly everyday. Sexual harassment laws must be strengthened in order to fix what has become a serious problem today in the workplace.

Remember, if harassment is not reported, it is likely to continue. Talk to others. By talking with others, you may discover that the person who is harassing you has harassed or is currently harassing other people you work with. By learning that you are not alone, you may feel more confident as you prepare to report the harassment. Research. Take the time to become more aware of your rights and how sexual harassment violates your rights. Read through your company’s literature to learn how sexual harassment is dealt with internally. If you have questions, seek out a professional who can address your concerns, such as an experienced Employment Law attorney.

Sexual harassment is an issue that has to be addressed by employers. Employers should have a program in place where employees are able to report sexual harassment, have the steps in place to resolve the issue, and ensure that there is not any retaliation for the report. Employers are subject to heavy EEOC fines and subject to harsh reprimands if the organization is found guilty of not investigating allegations quickly and thoroughly.

Sexual harassing behavior includes requests for sexual favors, physical sexual involvement and unwelcome sexual advances which affect the productivity of the work. The numbers of sexually harassed women in the workplace is staggering. Most women who experience sexual harassment in the workplace, who are afraid of speaking out. They also feel ashamed of telling anybody and fear of losing their jobs if the same deed is bring into the notice of higher authority.

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.

As seen in the case study, a court decision may be one way for any company to legally define what constitutes sexual harassment in the workplace, but there are many ways to define sexual harassment. Everyone has different views and tolerance levels towards sexual harassment. When a case of sexual harassment occurs in a workplace, however, it comes down to how the courts define sexual harassment. The Supreme Court defines sexual harassment to be unlawful in two ways. “The first type involves sexual harassment that results in a tangible employment action;” this is referred to as quid pro quo. For example, if an employee complies with the harasser’s request, then she will get a raise. This unlawful act is usually presented in the workplace by a person who has an upper hand, such as a manager, to ensure that s/he will get what s/he wants. Employees are often victimized by fear that they will not get promoted or that they will get fired. They also dread that if a complaint is filed, it will not be handled correctly. “This instance of sexual harassment always involves another violation of employee rights; [sic] wrongful termination.” This would occur, for instance, when “a supervisor . . . tells a subordinate that . . . she must be sexually cooperative with [him] or . . . she will be fired, and who then indeed does fire the subordinate for not submitting” (“U.S. Supreme Court Defines”). [schwinlaw.com]

In this research paper I would fully discuss what sexual harassment. I will start on the origin of sexual harassment and how it came into law. I will discuss what environment of sexual harassment looks like in the work place. The reader should be able to discover the different types of sexual harassment: Quid pro quo and Indirect. I will show you illustrated trends of sexual harassment in the work place over the years. I will discuss how sexual harassment affect both parties, meaning the employer and the employee. I will back up theses affects by laws that are set in place to protect the employee and hold the employer responsible. I will give an analysis on recent litigation involving sexual harassment in the workplace. In my conclusion I will give a recommendation on how to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace and what management can to protect their employees.

To work in the Human Resource management field you must maintain and improve the company by planning, implementing, and evaluating employee relations and human resource policies, programs, and practices. It is a challenging and yet rewarding field to work in. However, just like every business field, people who work in the human resource department face many challenges when it comes to discrimination.