Sexual harassment in the workplace is being recognized heavily in the media, and albeit on the big screen, it’s nonetheless still these individuals jobs and day to day. Sexual harassment in the workplace has been considered a form of discrimination on the basis of sex in the United States since the mid-1970s. Sexual harassment in the workplace results in an offensive work environment or unreasonably interferes an employee’s work performance.

In a 2017 MSN poll, it was found that 31% of people in the U.S have been sexually harassed in the workplace; 45% of women said they were sexually harassed and 15% percent of men said they were

Harassment is a form of employment discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, (ADEA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, (ADA).

Harassment is unwelcome conduct that is based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. Harassment becomes unlawful where 1) enduring the offensive conduct becomes a condition of continued employment, or 2) the conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile, or abusive.

Anti-discrimination laws also prohibit harassment against individuals in retaliation for filing a discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any way in an investigation, proceeding, or lawsuit under these laws; or opposing employment practices that they reasonably believe discriminate against individuals, in violation of these laws.

What You Need to Know as an Employer

The employer is automatically liable for harassment by a supervisor that results in a negative employment action such as termination, failure to promote or hire, and loss of wages. If the supervisor’s harassment results in a hostile work environment, the employer can avoid liability only if it can prove that: 1) it reasonably tried to prevent and promptly correct the harassing behavior; and 2) the employee unreasonably failed to take advantage of any preventive or corrective opportunities provided by the employer.

The employer will be liable for harassment by non-supervisory employees or non-employees over whom it has control (e.g., independent contractors or customers on the premises), if it knew, or should have known about the harassment and failed to take prompt and appropriate corrective action.

When investigating allegations of harassment, the EEOC looks at the entire record: including the nature of the conduct and the context in which the alleged incidents occurred. A determination of whether harassment is severe or pervasive enough to be illegal is made on a case-by-case basis.

If you believe that the harassment you are experiencing or witnessing is of a specifically sexual nature, check out the EEOC’s information on sexual harassment.

It is unlawful to harass a person (an applicant or employee) because of that person’s sex. Harassment can include “sexual harassment” or unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature.

Harassment does not have to be of a sexual nature, however, and can include offensive remarks about a person’s sex. For example, it is illegal to harass a woman by making offensive comments about women in general. Although the law doesn’t prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that are not very serious, harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted). The harasser can be the victim’s supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or someone who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client or customer.

The EEOC

When a charge is filed against an organization, the EEOC will notify the organization within 10 days. The notification will provide a URL for the Respondent to log into the EEOC’s Respondent Portal to access the charge and receive messages about the charge investigation. For more information about how to use the EEOC’s Respondent Portal, you should review the Respondent Portal User’s Guide for Phase I of EEOC’s Digital Charge System and Questions and Answers on Phase I of EEOC’s Digital Charge System.

A charge does not constitute a finding that your organization engaged in discrimination. The EEOC has authority to investigate whether there is reasonable cause to believe discrimination occurred.

In many cases, the organization may choose to resolve a charge through mediation or settlement. At the start of an investigation, EEOC will advise both the organization and the charging party if the charge is eligible for mediation, but feel free to ask the investigator about the settlement option. Mediation and settlement are voluntary resolutions.

In cases involving intentional age discrimination, or in cases involving intentional sex-based wage discrimination under the Equal Pay Act, victims cannot recover either compensatory or punitive damages, but may be entitled to “liquidated damages.”

It is unlawful to harass a person because of that person’s sex. Harassment can include “sexual harassment” or unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature. Harassment does not have to be of a sexual nature, however, and can include offensive remarks about a person’s sex. For example, it is illegal to harass a woman by making offensive comments about women in general.

Both victim and the harasser can be either a woman or a man, and the victim and harasser can be the same sex.

Although the law doesn’t say you can’t undertake simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that are not very serious, harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted).

The harasser can be the victim’s supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or someone who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client or customer. An employment policy or practice that applies to everyone, regardless of sex, can be illegal if it has a negative impact on the employment of people of a certain sex and is not job-related or necessary to the operation of the business.

NAE Sexual Harassment Training

NAE’s training programs include structured training series, webinars, on-site training, special events, and panel discussions on a variety of relevant and timely topics for Nevada businesses. NAE also offers many free events as a benefit of membership with NAE. NAE focuses heavily on sexual harassment prevention and intervention. NAE will teach supervisors and staff members the guidelines to understand and prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. NAE arms employers with the tools to create a successful and safe business model.

NAE partners with employment and labor law experts, federal and state agency representatives and the like to offer free events on a variety of topics to keep you informed on topics of the day and other important updates to keep you and your business in the loop. NAE continually updates its current training programs as well as offering new training programs and events so you can get the most from your NAE membership.

NAE offers a variety of topics that can be delivered right to your location. Depending on the topic your company chooses, the on-site training can range from 1 to 4 hours. We are happy to accommodate your needs whether it is at our business or yours.

The Nevada Association of Employers is just that – Nevada. We cover the entire state, northern Nevada, and southern Nevada. As a benefit of membership, the Nevada Association of Employers provides you with unlimited access to its HR experts by phone and email to give you on-going and easily accessible support for your HR and employment-related questions and problems. Our HR experts can answer your questions and assist you in resolving any issues you may have in full compliance with the law.

Check out our Calendar for our latest training offerings and special events. For more information about our training programs, contact training@nevadaemployers.org.