It has recently surfaced that we are dealing with some rather serious Sexual Harassment allegations within and of our company. It is unfortunately that there was not an existing policy directive or information previous to these allegations this may have prevented or mitigated the liability of the company. These allegation are very strictly covered by the law. 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. The laws that cover this type of offence are very specific. It is the responsibility of the employer to ensure that the workplace is free of this type of discrimination as soon as it is known. (US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2014) 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. (US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2014) Both victim and the harasser can be either a woman or a man, and the victim and harasser can be the same sex. (CUT MUSE, 2014) 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 he employer, such as a client or customer (US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2014) It was alleged that the victim in this case made the incident known to a supervisor of this company a serious part of the allegation is that a supervisor who could be deemed an agent of this companies leadership failed to report the violation or act this could also be due in part to the fact that there was an absence of a policy that outlines or makes employees aware of sexual harassments their rights and responsibilities.
I will need time to investigate the exact circumstances and I will provide your office with a complete report hat will include information about the following. What parties were involved in the incident the actions taken by both the victim the accused and the actions taken by all involved parties. What the law states about the responsibility of the company and their obligation to mitigate and remedy sexual harassment situations. It company could face serious liability if it is decided that the company did not respond to a request to investigate and remedy the situation.
To prevent future occurrences the company should immediately and aggressively make every effort to train and inform all employees and staff of the pending policy ND provide the necessary awareness training to our employees’ staff and customers. The following is an outline of a proposed Sexual Harassment and Awareness Section that should be added to the employee handbook immediately and also provided to all employees by way of hand out, email and informational training. The elements that should be included are provided in the outline.
I would recommend that the sexual harassment policy include the following elements: Sexual Harassment Training Outline 1. Sexual Harassment Definition Sexual harassment is a form of illegal sex discrimination which refers to a wide anger of Inappropriate behaviors and/or unwanted conduct of a sexual nature, which has the net Effect of denying the victim of the harassment the opportunity to work and/or study in a Non-threatening, stress-free environment. It is important to remember that to be considered Sexual harassment, the conduct must be unwelcome and based on sex.
Awareness and prevention
- Victimizing
- Reporting
- Investigation
- Mitigation
- Assistance
I recommend that we immediately draft an official policy letter that covers the Americans with Disabilities Act (DAD) and also develop training to ensure our staff and supervisors are aware of the law and how we will become and remain implant. Employees with disabilities are a protected group, The Americans with Disabilities Act (DAD) states Federal and state legislation prohibits any business policies or practices that adversely affect designated protected minority groups. CUT MUSE, 2014)
The DAD defines a disability as follows; a condition caused by an accident, trauma, disease or genetics which may limit a person’s mobility, hearing, vision, speech, or mental function. A person may have one or more disabilities. Given the case that has been brought to our attention it is within reason to believe that the disability that is being claimed by one our employees fits the description of what is defined above and therefore is in fact considered a disability.
The employee who filed the sexual harassment claim has also indicated that she is currently suffering from anxiety and depression. As seen in the definition above mental health conditions are also covered by law and should be addressed as all other disabilities. She is classified under this condition as a person with a disability as the definition of a person with a disparity is person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits 1 or more major life activities. She could argue that her depression and or her anxiety limits these life activities.
If the employee stays with the company, Lore Jean & company can be required to make reasonable accommodations so that she may continue to work. Reasonable accommodations as defined by the DAD is any modifications or adjustments to a job or work environment that will enable a qualified applicant (or current employee) with a disability to participate in the application process or to perform essential job functions. (US Department of Labor, 2014)
This is a very intricate matter in which we will have to ascertain hat she is claiming her disabilities are and if the company can reasonably accommodate them without undue burden. This is further complicated by this literature found in the Equal opportunities act; Once you have hired an applicant, you cannot require a medical examination or ask an employee questions about disability unless you can show that these requirements are job related and necessary for the conduct of your business. You may conduct voluntary medical examinations that are part of an employee health program. (The U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2014)
This means that unless her job unction is impacted by her disease or disability then this is out of bounds for us to ask. The law focuses on whether we as a company have made reasonable accommodation more than it does what the disability is or if the disability in fact exists (Association of Corporate Counsel, ND) Undue Burden as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act is an action necessary to provide a reasonable accommodation that would cause the employer/owner significant expense or difficulty. (C TU MUSE, 2014)
In order to find out where the company stands with accommodating her disability e will have to understand the extent of her disabilities and if it meets the threshold discussed above. Does it impair one or more life functions, and is there a reasonable accommodation that can be made.
An example would be if the employee notifies us that she can work but needs an office in a secluded space, that is a request we may be able to reasonably accommodate, or since the employee is an IT specialist they are requesting that the be allowed to work from home, if they are capable of doing their work duties to standard we may be able to reasonable accommodate these types of requests. On the other hand if it requested that we provide a male/female free environment then that is obviously a request that we could not reasonably accommodate.
