Overview of Sexual Harassment:
Types & Legal Considerations

Overview of Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is not a joke. While to some it may seem like harmless jokes or horseplay, it deprives others of dignity and equality. Victims of sexual harassment have well-established rights under federal law and, in several cases under state law as well. Sexual harassment includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature in the workplace or learning environment, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission EEOC. Sexual harassment does not always have to be specifically about sexual behavior or directed at a specific person. For example, negative comments about women as a group may be a form of sexual harassment. Although sexual harassment laws do not usually cover teasing or offhand comments, these behaviors can also be upsetting and have a negative emotional effect.

The harasser can be either a man or a woman, and the victim can be the same sex as the harasser. The harasser can be the victim’s direct supervisor, a supervisor in another area of the company, a co-worker or even a person who is not employed by the victim’s employer, such as a customer. Sexual harassment is of two types: “quid pro quo” harassment and “hostile environment” harassment.

Quid pro quo sexual harassment ...... This for that

The typical case of quid pro quo sexual harassment involves a supervisor making continued employment or employment-related benefits, such as raises or promotions, contingent on obtaining sexual favors. The threats can be either implicit or explicit.

Hostile environment sexual harassment

Can be a result of Quid pro quo

To be actionable, hostile environment sexual harassment must be frequent and severe such that it results in a hostile work environment. In other words, it must typically be more than an isolated incident or teasing to be illegal employment discrimination.

Sexual harassment can come in many forms. Common types of conduct that appear in hostile environment cases include:

Sexual innuendoes or remarks
Offensive or unwanted/unwelcome touching, up to and including sexual assault
Sexual advances or rude gestures
Posting of obscene, sexually explicit, pornographic or suggestive pictures or images
Requests for sexual favors
Sending sexually explicit emails
Watching co-workers in bathrooms or dressing or locker rooms

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Sexual harassment includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature in the workplace or learning environment, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission EEOC.

Overview of Sexual Harassment:
Types & Legal Considerations