Sexual Harassment Grievances Are Never Easy

Sexual Harassment Takes Many Different Forms

Many different kinds of behavior can be termed sexual harassment.

Supervisors are engaging in sexual harassment when they tie a company reward to any kind of sexual conduct. The clearest form is the boss who says he'll give you that promotion you've applied for if you slip into his office and satisfy him. This kind of offer is often called a quid pro quo, a Latin phrase meaning "this for that."

Sex does not have to be directly mentioned for this kind of offer to be sexual harassment. For example, if your boss says he'll move you to a better shift if you'll have dinner with him, he is making a quid pro quo offer. He has linked your going on a date with him to your gaining an advantage at work.

Another kind of sexual harassment does not involve a quid pro quo offer, but arises when a supervisor or a co-worker engages in sexually inappropriate conduct with a worker. Examples would be a boss who exposes himself to one of his employees, or a worker who touches a co-worker in a sexual way.

Sometimes this type of harassment can be difficult to discern, such as the supervisor who brushes against female employees when he passes them in the line. Is his motive sexual, or does he just need to lose a few pounds so he can fit through the space?

Workers do not have to tolerate unwanted sexual advances or put up with a sexually oppressive work environment. For example, if the boss loves to tell dirty jokes, even though he knows that some of the people under him are offended by them, he is creating an oppressive environment.

The sexually oppressive atmosphere is a gray area. People like to have a good time at work, so sometimes jokes and casual conversation can get pretty spicy. It also isn't unusual for a worker to ask another one for a date. That raises the question, how do you know when someone has crossed the line from acceptable behavior to unacceptable?

The answer is that each person creates his or her own line, and when someone crosses it, he or she says so. If the person has been warned but continues to cross that line, then the behavior becomes sexual harassment.