Sexual Harassment at workplace



Sexual Harassment at workplace

Introduction

Coercion or bullying of a sexual nature is sexual harassment. It is the inappropriate word of rewards for an exchange of sexual favors. Sexual harassment in a legal and modern context is considered illegal. It is defined by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), as an act that is unlawful, (Russell, 1984).

It is considered as such because it is not right to harass a person because of his or her sex. Sexual harassment consists of sexual advances that are not at all welcomed and any physical or verbal harassment of sexual nature. However, the laws regarding sexual harassment don't ban teasing or comments, and even incidents that are minor in nature. Harassment is not considered legal at a workplace. It may lead the management to take severe steps that may include demoting or terminating the employee, for that matter.

A victim's co-worker, supervisor or a person who might not be an employee of the employer, can be a harasser. The victims of harassment or the harassers themselves can be both male and female, (Fitzgerald, 1993). Sexual harassment comprises of various actions from carnal abuse to carnal assault. It is considered as a form of employment discrimination that is illegal, in many countries. For organizations and businesses, avoiding this harassment and defending the employees from such charges have gained great attention and have become important goals for a legal decision making. In our discussion, we will be focusing on a certain case to see whether the management was able to make the right move in protecting the rights of the employee or not.

Discussion

The case that is under discussion is that of a former corrections officer at Kane County, Erma Rodriguez. According to her, there was a male officer at her work place who used to harass her sexually. She was scolded and warned when she first filed up her EEOC complaint, somewhere in 2001. In 2003 she received the help of an employment lawyer, (Steven, 2010). She accused her male colleague for making suggestive gestures and remarks and for physically touching her.

She also claimed that he did not stop doing what he did, regardless of a warning from the plaintiff. Further she also said that all the female officers and workers at the correctional institute were treated differently from their male co-workers. What led to her law suit was that she was accused of violating the policies of the workplace. She also claims that the harasser went too far, when he placed an object shaped like a male's penis on her desk.

The court named Sheriff Ken Ramsey as a defendant, who was claimed by her as a constant source of harassment for the female employees. Her claims were not entertained; they were dismissed, which led her to be terminated from her job, with a denial of reinstatement. The damages claimed by Ms. Rodriguez were not clear. It included the court costs and the back pays. It was publically stated by the ...