HR Law Research Paper - Essay Example

Running head: VII AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT VII and Sexual Harassment 14th June Introduction The performance of employees has significant impacts on the profitability of any organisation. In this regard, firms have taken initiatives to ensure existence of positive relationship among the male and female workers. However, sexual harassment is a major challenge that is affecting most organisations. According to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, companies are prohibited from discriminating their employees based on their sex, race, religion, origin and color. Two major aspects of sexual discrimination that Title VII covers include pregnancy discrimination and sexual harassment (Dromm, 2012). For example, the law prohibits the employers to discriminate an employee or deny him or her opportunity to benefits from the privileges of employment on the bases of sex, religion and color. This paper seeks to discuss Title VII and sexual harassment including Quid Pro Quo, Hostile Work Environment and Court Decisions. Current issues surrounding topic Title VII specifies that a violation is undertaken only when a sexual conduct is on the conditions of employment. One of the major types of sexual harassment is quid pro quo. This kind of harassment takes place when hiring, promotion, grading and salary increment among other aspects are based on the employee’s submission or rejection of sexual favors and advances. This implies that for a quid pro quo to occur, an employee is required to submit to sexual harassment from his or her seniors in order to be advantaged in the work places. In the same way, hostile work environment as depicted by Title VII occurs when harassment at the work place interferes with the duties of the employees thus altering their performance. It also occurs when the working environment is characterized by abusive and offensive language. To determine whether a working environment is hostile, Title VII depicts that an examination should be conducted to ascertain whether or not the conduct was physical or verbal. Secondly, it is imperative to examine if the conduct was done on regular bases. Thirdly, as a manager I should conduct an examination as to whether the conduct was patently offensive or hostile. Fourthly, it is vital to examine whether the harassment in instigated by a supervisor or a co-workers. Fifthly, as a manager I need to examine whether other employees or supervisors of various departments were perpetrated in the harassment. Even though Title VII does not explicitly differentiate between hostile work harassment and quid pro quo, the application and the distinctions between these two forms of sexual harassment are developed by the federal case laws. For instance, the case of Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Ellerth candidly specifies the element of quid pro quo (Kenneth, 2009). According to this case, an employment action must result due to submission or refusal to sexual demands from the co-workers or supervisors. Tangible employment action entails job loss, demotion or reduced benefits. In the case of Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Ellerth, there was unwelcome touching and verbal hazing as argued by Ellerth the plaintiff. However, according to the decision by the court, this did not tantamount to quid pro quo based on the fact that the plaintiff did not suffer any employment action in response to her refusal to submit sexual advances from her supervisor. The case of Barnes v. Costle portrays a good example of quid pro quo. According to this case, the supervisor solicited the plaintiff, Ms. Barnes to engage in sexual affairs to improve her position in the work place. However, when the plaintiff refused, her position in the agency was abolished and her duties terminated thus resulting to quid pro quo sexual harassment. Based on the case of Radtke v. Everett, the Supreme Court maintained that for a situation to be termed as a hostile work environment, five essential elements must exist. First, the worker belongs to a protected category. Secondly, the employee was exposed to unwelcome sexual communication and conduct. Thirdly, the employee was subjected to the unwelcome conduct on the basis of sex. Fourthly, the unwelcome conduct created a hostile work environment that interfered with the performance of the employees. Fifthly, the employee responded to the supervisor. One of the notable cases that depict a hostile working environment is the Lockard v. Pizza Hut. According to this case, the supervisor of Pizza Hut played an offensive music while working with his female colleagues in addition to ignoring them when they were physically harassed by male clients who visited the restraint. Analysis The implications of sexual harassment in a work place do not only affect the perpetrators and other employees but also it adequately affects the working relationship and the profitability of the entire organisation. For example, in their efforts to mitigate sexual harassment among their employees, companies have adopted initiatives of taking legal procedures against the perpetrators thus reducing the manpower leading to reduction on the total production of goods. In the same way, the performance of victims of sexual harassment is negatively affected due to lack of concentration and security in the work place. As mentioned earlier, sexual harassment as outlined in Title VII entails sexual advances imposed by the senior managers on other employees. Such sexual advances include sexual jokes, indecent propositions, sexual relations initiated under duress and offensive comments among other aspects. However, MacKinnon (1979) argues that supervisors and male employees are not always the perpetrators of sexual harassment. In some companies, men have been reported to sexually harass their male colleagues while female workers have also been reported to have sexually harassed their female and male colleagues. In the same way, non-employees such as customers and suppliers can also be perpetrators for example in the case of Lockard v. Pizza Hut, where female workers were being harassed by male customers. Examples of sexual harassment Visual incidents One of the major examples of sexual harassment is visual incidents. It is worth to note that some incidents in the work places may result to sexual harassment to workers but some perpetrators may not be aware of this. In the contemporary business arena, firms have embarked on the use of computers and internet to streamline the communication system within various departments. Based on the large volume of e-mails that circulates in the work places, flaming has become frequent among the employees. In this regard, workers are fond of sending images and jokes to their colleagues that may seem harmless by some of their colleagues while they are sexually offensive to others. As a HR manager, I note that offended employees can claim for sexual harassment thus the need to undertake an intensive education of the employees on the matters pertaining to sexual harassment in a work place. Roberts S. (2009) depicts that managers should implement policies that cover electronic communication to mitigate issues that may cause sexual harassment thus creating a sense of respect and dignity in the work places. Physical Sexual harassment is also depicted by the way perpetrators physically behave towards other employees. Being one of the easily identified offensive behaviors, physical sexual harassment entails placing hands on other employee’s shoulders, kissing in the work places, rape, fondling among others. Just like in the case of sexual visual incidents, the perpetrators may not be aware that their behaviors are not welcomed by their colleagues and that they are sexual harassment. Physical sexual harassments are serious offenses that can result to severe disciplinary measures such as jail term or dismissal from the work. One of the challenges that face the victims of physical harassments is that it is difficult for them to prove since the perpetrators make them when they are alone with the affected party. Agreement on the topic In my perspective, I agree with the topic of sexual harassment. In this arena when companies are focused at facing off their competitors in the local and international markets, employees regardless of their sex must be treated in an equal way. It is worth to note that do to their need to improve performance in work places and acquire a higher level as compared to their male counterparts, female employees have embarked on acquiring more training and competency (Watson, 1994). As a result, majority do not tolerate any kind of sexual harassment and incase it occurs, there is a high chance of leaving their current employer to join other companies that they feel they are secured. This is similar to male employees who are aggrieved by sexual harassments that deprive their dignity and self-esteem. Impact on Human Resources Regardless of the level of skills possessed by employees, sexual harassment can have adverse effects on human resources. One of the key implications is increased conflicts among the team members. Additionally, job dissatisfaction may result to reduced motivation among the employees thus resulting to poor performing human resources and reduced company profitability. As mentioned earlier, most victims of sexual harassment look for secured working environment. As a result, companies loose skilled and qualified human resources thus reducing their competitiveness. Another significant impact on human resources is increased absenteeism. Lack of regular reporting in work places may as a result create a negative relationship between the employees and the supervisors thus affecting the performance of the human resources. Current challenges One of the current challenge facing companies is that most employees are hesitant to report sexual harassment to human resources managers. As a result, human resources managers are not aware of the existence of such vices that result to poor performance of the employees. Secondly, some cases of sexual harassment may involve human resources managers and other employees. In such a scenario, employees are in a dilemma on where to report since this may result to dismissal from their employment. The third current challenge is that victims of physical sexual harassment have no adequate skills on how to prove their case. This makes it easy for perpetrators to continue with their behaviors thus affecting the long-term performance of other employees. Recommendations In case of a sexual harassment or a hostile work environment, an offended employee should inform the perpetrator that his or her conduct is offensive. In this way, the offending party may stop the behavior to avoid disciplinary action from the company management. Additionally, employees should follow the procedure as outlined by the company policies on matters of sexual harassment. This entails reporting the case to supervisors. If the supervisors are the perpetrators, it is vital for the offended employees to report to the senior managers or the management. It is fundamental for employees to report cases of hostile working environment to the top management. In the same way, employees who feel their complaints are not effectively handled by internal procedures; they have the right to seek for the intervention of federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). An employee can also seek for litigation either for sexual harassment or hostile working environment with key remedies being damages for distress, reinstatement, fringe benefits lost and back pay. To minimize the risks of sexual harassment in the work place, HR managers should establish anti-harassment policy that will ensure proper mechanism of handling grievances from the employees. In addition, organisations should ensure an effective mechanism of reporting cases of sexual harassment. To ensure security of the victims, complaint process should remain anonymous. References Dromm, K. (2012). Sexual Harassment: An Introduction to the Conceptual and Ethical Issues. Peterborough: Broadview Press. Kenneth L. (2009). Current Issues in Sexual Harassment Law: SPECIAL PROJECT May, 1995 48 V and. L. Rev. 1009. MacKinnon, C. (1979). Sexual Harassment of Working Women: A Case of Sex Discrimination. New York: Yale University Press. Roberts S. (2009). Sexual Harassment In The Workplace. London: Sage. Watson, H. (1994). Red herrings and mystifications: Conflicting perceptions of sexual harassment. Rethinking Sexual Harassment. Colorado: Pluto Press. Read More