The Civil Rights Act Of 1964

In corporate America, sexual harassment is a huge concern amongst many organizations. The matter of sexual harassment is an issue that needs to be immediately attended to in

The first lawsuit claiming discrimination because of refusal of sexual advances by a coworker was filed in 1974. Although the term was never specifically used in the case, “Barnes v. Train (1974) is commonly viewed as the first sexual harassment case in America” (Fenelius, 2010). Paulette Barnes was hired as an administrative assistant in the Equal Employment Opportunities Division of the Environmental Protection Agency at grade GS-5 with a promise of “a promotion to grade GS-7 within ninety days” (“BARNES v. COSTLE”).

Harassment, specifically sexual harassment, is one of those challenges faced by businesses and employers as of a result of workplace diversification. Inappropriate conversations, unwanted advances and uncomfortable physical contact are some of the ways sexual harassment can occur. According to Hellriegel and Slocum, “Sexual harassment refers to unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.” (p.52). To be clear, sexual harassment can, and has, affected both women and men over the years however up to half of all working women have reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment in the career (Vijayasiri, 2008, p.1). It wasn’t until 1986 though that the Supreme Court recognized sexual harassment as a violation of Title VII in the case of Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson (O’Brien, 1994, p. 1). Before the high court’s ruling, however, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had begun to address the issue by drafting hostile work environment guidelines that included sexual harassment (O’Brien, 1994, p. 4). These guidelines would serve later to guide the high court’s decision. There are many more cases like this one we could look at. In 1991, sexual harassment became a household term as Anita Hill testified before congress stating she was sexually

It is somewhat surprising that employers continue to violate employment laws dealing with discrimination. One case, Catterson v. Marymount Manhattan College, litigated and settled in 2013, was especially egregious. According to the EEOC (2013), the college had refused,

The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission states that prevention is the best tool to eliminate sexual harassment in the workplace. In 1997, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Knabe v Boury that companies must take action that is reasonably calculated to prevent harassment ("Facts Sheet" 2001). However, the responsibility also falls on victims to do their part to prevent harassment. This does not mean that the actual harassment is the fault of the victim, but rather that the victim has certain responsibilities in how they handle and respond to incidents of sexual harassment. These responsibilities include reporting the incident or incidents through proper

In regards to the criteria constituting cases hostile environments as sexual harassment and sex discrimination, it is important to perceive the level of the alleged hostility in order to analyze whether or not it is a form of sexual harassment and sex discrimination. There are several elements to examine in order to determine the level of the alleged hostility within the workforce. The first element used to determine the level of hostility, as explained in Harris v. Forklifts Systems, is the severity or pervasiveness of the comments or behavior from the alleged offender. This element is essential to help determine what path the case will commence to take. The standard for this element is that in order to claim sexual harassment and/or sex discrimination,

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.

A third issue in the discrimination of women in the workplace is sexual harassment. Sexual Harassment is described as a form of gender discrimination that is in violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Even though it is a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 there is still sexual harassment in the workplace today. The majority of sexual harassment complaints in the work place come from woman.

For example, in the case of Lois Robinson co-workers would post pornographic pictures and make suggestive comments when they noticed her pass by. Although, this did not affect her pay or the terms and conditions of her job she was subjected to a hostile work environment. Lois Robinson filed a suit against Jacksonville Shipyards Inc., for sexual harassment. However, the challenge for the court is to determine what is considered discomfort. The judge ruled that the display of pornographic pictures and pinup calendars was a visual assault on the emotional response of female workers due to the conditions sexual harassment under the “hostile working environment” provision. (Boatright 2007) Keep in mind that the court decision did not state that the display of pictures always constituted sexual harassment. The problem was the scarcity of women workers in a shipyard, and the lack of women in authority and the occurrence of verbal harassment including explicit sexual remarks. Jacksonville Shipyards Inc. (JSI) were federally contracted to repair U.S. Navy ships, therefore, they are required to have an affirmative action plan. In the company policy it stated that any violation should be reported to the Equal Employment Opportunity Coordinator in the facility. Unfortunately, supervisors at the shipyard were unaware that such policy existed and it was not included in the standard JSI

Sexual Harassment comes in many forms and weather spoken, verbal, written or the behavior itself, it makes the person uncomfortable and the end results is all same, Sexual Harassment is unwelcome and unwanted behavior. Sexual Harassment discrimination is illegal. It is the employer obligation to make sure their organization and employees have protection from discrimination. This paper will show that Jacksonville shipyard acted unethically by failing to protect one of their employees Lois Robinson. Jacksonville Shipyard was well aware that Ms. Robinson faced sexual harassment on a daily basis by her male co- workers. Once Lois complained to Management that she objected to the co-workers behaviors , instead of helping her they made

Over the years, many people have believed that the issue of sexual harassment should not be discussed in public. Sexual harassment was to be discussed behind closed doors. In spite of this, the social and political systems have changed instantaneously. This social problem has affected men and women throughout time; however, it seems that the women of our society more closely look at this issue. This social topic has encouraged women to establish organizations in order to help them discuss the issues more openly and to demand equality including fairness and justice throughout the workplace and in their social lives as well. In recent years, sexual harassment has been one of the most serious and widespread problems

Cates, S., & Machin, L. (2012). The State of Sexual Harassment in America: What is the Status of Sexual Harassment in the US Workplace Today? Journal of Global Business Management, 8(1), 133-138.

It is proven that males tend to have a way of disregarding laws and rules, which makes sexual harassment more common towards females. According to Gutek and Morasch’s article on Sex-Ratios, Sex-Role Spillover, and Sexual Harassment of Women at Work, approximately 31.5% women working in male dominated workforce have been sexually touched, opposed to the 15% of women working in general, in the conducted data (Gutek,1). Studies show that a larger percent of men have the upper workforce positions, which means that they are usually in charge or are the boss of a select few. Women need to be informed about what is considered sexual harassment, and how to define what it is. Also, understanding that when this occurs, obtaining help is crucial and beneficial not only to the women but the job in general.

Prevention training is another helpful solution when dealing with sexual harassment complaints in an organization. Each organization should hold educational seminars that are mandatory for all employees; both upper and lower level employees; to ensure that everyone knows what to do if they see, hear, know or are a victim of sexual harassment. One major component of this training is to explain what sexual harassment is and what behaviors are considered sexual harassment. Most people have different definitions of what is considered sexual harassment so creating a universal definition within the organization will prevent any misunderstandings in the future. Another step that should be taken in

According to the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC), workplace sexual harassment is defined as an unwelcome sexual advances or conduct of a sexual nature which unreasonably interferes with the performance of a person's job or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. Sexual harassment can range from persistent offensive sexual jokes to inappropriate touching to posting offensive material on a bulletin board. Sexual harassment at work is a serious problem and can happen to both women and men. Both state and federal laws protect employees from sexual harassment at work. Under Title VII of the Civil Rights of 1964, Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination. While Title VII is the base level for sexual harassment claims, states have sexual harassment laws may be even stricter. [1].