OK, here’s the scoop. I’m looking for some good info to pass along to my clueless boss. We have a situation at work going on that he needs to address, and I would like to help arm him with some info.
A few months ago two females joined our staff. Over the months, there has been a strange air about the place, and over the last few weeks, some strange goings on.
Lots of female female kissing (on the lips), hugging, rubbing at work. At the company Christmas party, one married couple left because they were so shocked at the behavior going on (open mouth female female kissing, groping, neck kissing, etc). There is constant sexual innuendo and flirting among a group of 4 women (some married).
To make a long story short, it’s making one girl at work really uncomfortable- she’s very uncomfortable and the whole thing gives her the major creeps (actually it creeps me out pretty bad, too). My boss doesn’t seem to believe that someone could claim sexual harrasment unless they were being directly harrassed. I know that is incorrect- you can claim it by being in sexual situations that makes you uncomfortable-even if it isn’t directed at you. http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/fs-sex.html
My question is:
Does anyone have any plain english resources about sexual harrasment that I could show him? I went to him to give him a “heads up” about the situation, and he brushed it off. Our company lawyer was a little smarter, though and hopefully he’ll take some kind of action.
If this keeps up I really think one woman there will file a complaint. I wouldn’t blame her a bit.
Thanks for any info.
Love is like popsicles…you get too much you get too high.
Yeah, anything of a sexual nature that makes someone else uncomfortable falls under the category of harassment or misconduct. A risque calendar or cartoon is even grounds for question. Do you work for a large company? When I was with United Artists’ it was all spelled out in our company handbook. If your company has a handbook that would be the quickest place to start; if not, the various laws must be online somewhere. I think they may vary by state, so you could start looking on that level.
One week only! Special holiday sig line:
“HO! HO! HO! Now it’s time for me to get jolly on your naughty asses!” – Futurama Santa
Sexual harassment comes in many forms. There is quid pro quo harassment, which is where sexual favors are demanded in exchange for keeping one’s job, better pay, etc. (“casting couch”) sort of stuff.
What you have described is considered to be a “hostile work environment.” This does not require that sexual conduct be directed to the person who is uncomfortable with it, nor that it be heterosexual in nature. This can be a situation where a co-worker is constantly making sexual comments or passes at the victim, or where the entire atmosphere is sexually charged, thus creating an uncomfortable environment.
It sounds like, from what you said, that the company lawyer may be the person who will take it from here. Did you tell him/her that the boss doesn’t seem to get it? Larger companies generally have some kind of written policy on harassment in place – I know that as an insurer we require that before we will issue employment practices liability insurance. Lots of times all that is needed is a little education of management.
I’d keep on top of the lawyer – corporate types tend to be shy of getting the place sued and have both access to the information to convince your boss about what’s going on there as well as, most likely, the authority to convince the boss that something needs to be done about it.
I’ve never been in touch with the EEOC, but as someone else suggested, no doubt they will have pamphlets and such which might be helpful.
Just be sure it is the expression of sexuality in general and not just the fact that it is between members of the same sex that you are complaining about. Homophobia is not defensible, nor should it be.
Speaking personally, it wouldn’t bother me if it were male/female, male/male, or female/female, as long as the work gets done and nobody gets preferential treatment. I’ve worked around all those scenarios with no problems. But I realize that my views are not shared by many and that it depends on the work environment as to what is appropriate behavior.
Back in 1994, I heard that one court decision had ruled that it’s sexual harassment if you ask a coworker out, (s)he says (s)he’s not interested, and then you ask that same coworker out again at any time within the next three years. I was also called onto the carpet for sexual harassment, once in 1992 and once in 1993, for looking at female coworkers the wrong way.
I’m guessing this kind of over-the-top sexual harassment paranoia was fueled by that whole Anita Hill thing, as it seems to have died down somewhat in recent years.
The truth, as always, is more complicated than that.
Tenn,
point well taken. For myself, it’s not so much the homosexual/bi-sexual fact, it’s the overt constant touching and kissing- the innuendo and such. The women now call themselves the “kissing club”…very, very strange, believe me. We work in a small office of only 30 people so you can’t help but see what’s going on. It makes the other women in the office uncomfortable because they’re always talking about “sleepovers” and such. They don’t want to be alone with them because they WILL overtly come on to you- invite you over to “hang out” with them, sneak gropes, etc.
So it’s actually mostly the overt sexual tones that have now cropped up that really bother me. I’ve actually stumbled in on a few very weird circumstances.
Love is like popsicles…you get too much you get too high.
Not much meaningful to contribute that hasn’t been touched on already: check with your company’s counsel, find out what policies are in place, consult with your local EEOC. And it sounds like the goings-on in your office are far from normal, not conducive to work ot productivity, and downright offensive.
That being said, I worked for an EEO in the Army my first year out of college. He used to joke (or not joke) that he was given the post because he was so good at it (sexual harrassment).
It may be that when an ornithologist says the Water Ouzel walks under the water, he only means that he has seen a Water Ouzel or some other bird sitting on a stone in the general vicinity of a body of water.
–Will Cuppy
I dont see how that happening at the party would count as harassment. Maybe actually at work, yes I could see that. Producing a hostile work environment is grounds for suing.
The company is liable for whatever happens at the office party. Having said that, I think folks who get upset just because of some Lesbian kissing going on at a party should relax and take it easy. On the other hand, ‘sneaking a grope’ in the office sounds pretty actionable. If your boss is aware of this and does nothing to stop this, I bet he makes other bad business decisions.
Things that go on at the party could potentially be actionable. Although company parties are supposed to be social, anyone who believes that they are not really business is fooling themselves. These days business socializing is seen as a requirement. People often feel that they have to go to parties, etc. or they will not be seen as “team players.” So under EEOC guidelines, companies still have the responsibility to maintain a professional atmosphere at social functions they are sponsoring.
Keep in mind that the definition of “workplace” includes anyplace where a company sanctioned event occurs. This would include a party, an outing to a ball game, the company carpool van, and so on. If these oversexed employees were making out at a company party, it would be considered as happening at work.
In an ideal world (where I’d get to decide what’s ideal) consenting adults would be free to make out an an office party w/o fear of reprecussion. Of course, RW works differently. The office party stuff alone would be trouble even if nothing happened in the workplace proper. However Zette wrote:
I wish somebody did this to me in the workplace, because then I’d happily sue them and the company and collect lots of money.
Take it from someone who has been there, you would NOT want this to happen to you. A female co-worker sent me presents, called me at 2:00 a.m. in the morning drunk, sent me love notes, etc. At first I thought I could handle it myself and tell the co-worker that I wasn’t interested. She still made inappropriate comments to me whenever I dressed up and continued to leave little presents on my desk. I finally reached my breaking point when she wrote me a letter that she loved me.
At that point I contacted my boss and we went down to Human Resources. After a bunch of meetings where she claimed I did this or I did that to lead her on, I felt like I was the one that had done something wrong. I went to 5 different meetings and had to tell a total of 7 people how I was harassed. I was afraid to go home because she got my address and telephone number from the staff directory. Her live-in girlfriend was a police-woman and I was afraid they’d come after me for filing a sexual harassment charge against the woman.
Then, when it was all over. My work asked me if I would still feel comfortable working with the lady. I said NO! And they reassigned (not fired…reassigned!) her to another building. She said that she liked working where she was and didn’t want to go to another school. So after all that…she quit.
Trust me. You don’t want to go through it. It’s just not worth it. It’s humiliating and every conversation is picked apart to try to see if you did something wrong.
I appreciate everyones input…I e-mailed him some info today that was full of information.
For the record, my husband and I work at the same company, and we’re so discrete that new employees only know we’re married because they’re told so. We refrain from kissing, hugging and ass grabbing, just because it’s not appropriate at work. I hope this new crew learns the same lesson.
Thanks again, all!
Zette
Love is like popsicles…you get too much you get too high.
and have both access to the information to convince your boss about what’s going on there as well as, most likely, the authority to convince the boss that something needs to be done about it.