Skip to main content

What I've Been Reading This Week: Sexual Harassment Edition


I have wanted to dedicate a post to sexual harassment issues in the workplace for a few weeks, but first I wanted to find a few articles that covered a broad scope on the topic.  (Given the recent sexual harassment allegations made yesterday about a sitting Senator, I think this post is all the more timely.)  Starting with Daniel Schwartz's article on his prediction of a likely rise in sexual harassment claims (and settlements) all the way through how sexual harassment allegations are prevalent in not only conservative workplaces (such as Fox News) but also organized labor, no workplace is immune from sexual harassment allegations.  Employers take note, as many of the below articles imply, there is no sure fire way to avoid sexual harassment allegations in today's work environment.  Perhaps just as important, there is no "guaranteed" way to eliminate sexual harassment allegations either.  As Daniel Schwartz writes, it is quite possible we are on the cusp of a new wave of sexual harassment claims.

As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week.


Are We On the Cusp of a New Wave of Sexual Harassment Claims?

Daniel Schwartz often writes good articles over at The Connecticut Employment Law Blog and in recent weeks, he surmised that we are likely to see a new wave of sexual harassment claims in the coming months.  In his opinion, after the Anita Hill - Clarence Thomas sexual harassment allegations in the 1990's and subsequent mandatory sexual harassment prevention training required in many states, employers cannot now claim they did not know they needed to train employees (in regard to sexual harassment) or that they did not know they needed to investigate allegations.  In an effort to give employers a bit of a guideline to utilize, Schwartz provides three suggestions on what employers can do when a sexual harassment allegation comes to light in the workplace.  While these three suggestions are not surefire (or all encompassing), it gives employers a framework to implement if needed.


As Congress Considers Implementing Anti-Harassment Training, It Begs the Question: Would It Actually Work?

A few weeks ago, Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (a leading Republican Senator from Iowa) pushed for all employees of the Senate complete online or in person sexual harassment training.   However, as Julia Belluz at Vox explains, research seems to suggest that these anti-harassment training programs do not actually stop or prevent abuse.  As Belluz explains, far too often, it appears that these anti-harassment programs simply educate employees about harassment but do not actually change their behavior.  With that being said, Belluz points to an EEOC task force study which seems to provide employers with a few points of emphasis for combating sexual harassment issues in the workplace.



Nellie Bowles at The New York Times wrote a thought provoking piece last week in which she examined how men in the workplace are rethinking how to interact with females in the workplace...after sexual harassment allegations in a wide range of industries have come to light.  As the article notes, some males are practicing avoidance or adopting the "Pence rule" (named after Vice President Mike Pence who commented recently that he does not eat alone with women who are not his wife or attend an event without her if alcohol is being served).  Others are instead being more direct and asking females in the workplace if they have been harassed there or worry about harassment "invading" their workplace.  Regardless of what approach males in the workplace are taking, many employers are wary that with upcoming holiday parties (that often involve alcohol), sexual harassment allegations are likely to spike in the coming weeks.  While this article does not provide a "sure fire" solution for avoiding sexual harassment allegations, I highlight it so readers can see the wide range of options some employers and employees are choosing to take.


Sexual Harassment Claims Plague Organized Labor

Sexual harassment allegations have not only confronted conservative outlets such as Fox News but appear to have become a more prevalent concern for organized labor.  Back in October, Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO, opened a national convention by reading a passage from a code of conduct and subsequently gave out contact information for two people designated to field complaints about sexual harassment and other discriminatory behavior.  This comes on the heels of Trumka's assistant (and AFL-CIO chief budget officer) resigning after allegations of sexual harassment.  As well, the Service Employees International Union has recently been besieged by sexual harassment allegations as of late which resulted in four senior staff members leaving.  I think it is likely that organized labor can weather this "crisis", but as Josh Eidelson at Bloomberg Businessweek writes, these recent allegations have put organized labor in a precarious position, given labor's "tradition" of advocating for workplace dignity/equality and seeking out protections against exploitation and harassment.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NLRB: Discussion Among Employees About Tip Pooling is Protected Concerted Activity

  This Advice Memorandum from the National Labor Relations Board’s Associate General Counsel, Jayme Sophir, addressed whether employees which discussed and complained about tip pooling at work constituted protected concerted activity. In relevant part, an employer in New York operated a chain of steakhouses.  While tip pooling was in place at these steakhouses, some of the employees objected to it on the grounds that it was not transparent and improperly divided tips among the workers.  Employees were told not to complain or talk to each other about the tip pool and were told that doing so would endanger their jobs.  Despite the employer later attempting to provide some clarity as to how the tips were being divided, rancor still existed among some employees.  At one point, the employees were told by a general manager that some employees that had been talking about the tip pool were “cleared out” and the employer would continue to do so. In the Advice Memorandum, it was noted that emplo
Post a Comment
Read more

What I’ve Been Reading This Week

A few years ago, I remember when the “Fight for $15” movement was taking off around the country.  Lo and behold, it appears that a $15/hour minimum wage is not the stopping point, which should be no surprise.  As the below article notes, New York is aggressively moving to ramp up hourly wage rates even higher.  While all the  below articles are worth a read, I called particular attention to that one. As always, below are a couple article that caught my eye this week. Disney World Workers Reject Latest Contract Offer Late last week, it was announced that workers at Disney World had rejected the most recent contract offer from the company, calling on their employer to do better.  As Brooks Barnes at The New York Times writes, the unions that represent about 32,000 workers at Disney World reported their members resoundingly rejected the 5 year contract offer which would have seen workers receive a 10% raise and retroactive increased back pay.  While Disney’s offer would have increased pa
Post a Comment
Read more

Utah Non-Compete Bill Falters in House

Last month, a non-compete bill sponsored by Representative Brian Greene (Republican from Pleasant Grove) & up for vote in the Utah House failed to make it through the Legislature.  The bill sought to ban enforcement of non-competes if they came after a worker was already employed, given no compensation (such as a bonus or promotion) for signing the non-compete, and laid off within six months.  However, by a 22 - 49 vote, the bill was resoundingly defeated after some business groups lobbied to kill the non-compete bill.  One group in particular, The Free Enterprise Utah coalition, argued that the Utah State Legislature should hold off on any changes to non compete laws in the state until a survey about non competes was done among Utah businesses.  Representative Greene had countered this claim and argued that a survey was not needed to show that the current non compete laws in the states allowed many businesses, including some small high tech companies in the state, to per
Post a Comment
Read more