Sexual harassment is a form of workplace sex discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e. Sexual harassment can take the form of unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. When submission to or rejection of this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, this is illegal discrimination. Note that sexual harassment is a product of the workplace, and as such, offensive conduct between two private parties in a non-work environment does not constitute sexual harassment, though it may violate other civil and criminal laws.

Sexual harassment can occur in a variety of situations, including but not limited to the following:

• The victim as well as the harasser may be a woman or a man. The victim does not have to be of the opposite sex. Often, the harasser is a man in a position of authority over the victim.
• The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, an agent of the employer, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or a non-employee. It is the work environment that influences the illegality of the harassment, not the job title of the parties involved.
• The victim does not have to be the person harassed but could be anyone affected by the offensive conduct. A hostile work environment is a form of harassment.
• There does not have to be economic injury or discharge of the victim for there to be unlawful sexual harassment.
• The harasser's conduct must be unwelcome.

Prevention is the best and first tool to eliminate sexual harassment in the workplace. Employers are encouraged to take steps necessary to prevent sexual harassment from occurring, and should do so in the forms of policy statements, workshops, establishment of a grievance or complaint process, and company communications that sexual harassment will not be tolerated. If you believe you are the victim of unwelcome advances or harassment, you can take steps to prevent the behavior or report the incident. The victim should directly inform the harasser that the conduct is unwelcome and must stop. The victim should also immediately make use of any employer complaint mechanism or grievance system available. The Employment Equal Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is charged with investigating allegations of sexual harassment. When investigating sexual harassment, the EEOC looks at the circumstances, such as the nature of the sexual advances, and the context in which the alleged incidents occurred. A determination on the allegations is made from the facts on a case-by-case basis.

Liability

Employers are responsible for the conduct of all employees, including supervisors and managers. Employers also have a responsibility to protect their employees from harassment by non-employees (e.g., customers, vendors, suppliers, etc). Employers must take action against sexual harassment once they are aware it is occurring. Employers are liable for sexual harassment between co-workers if they knew or should have known about it and took no steps to stop it. The existence of a company grievance procedure alone does not automatically insulate employers from liability.

Employer Policies

An effective sexual harassment policy stresses the illegality of sexual harassment and delineates a clear and appropriate complaint process while ensuring the confidentiality for the victim. Additionally, such a policy encourages witnesses or victims to report the behavior immediately and mentions that retaliation against persons reporting harassment is illegal and will not be tolerated. Once finalized, an organization's sexual harassment policy should be distributed to all employees and a copy posted in an accessible and prominent location. Employers should also consider scheduling seminars or workshops on sexual harassment to promote company-wide knowledge of the policy.

Remedies

You have several different remedies under civil law, as opposed to criminal law, for dealing with sexual harassment.

Filing your claim with the EEOC (under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act)

You must file a claim with the EEOC within 180 days of the last incident of harassment to begin the process for obtaining relief under Title VII. If you miss this deadline, you will not be able to file a claim for sexual harassment with the EEOC and may lose the opportunity to bring a suit against the employer in federal court. Title VII covers all public and most private employers in the United States, as well as U.S Citizens working for a U.S. company based in a foreign country. One major exception is that the Civil Rights Act covers only companies with 15 or more employees. State fair employment agencies (FEP) laws may be more generous and extend to smaller companies. An EEOC claim can be filed in a manner to protect the victim's identity, and can be filed through EEOC district offices located across the United States.

The EEOC conducts its own investigation of the company or organization where the alleged harassment took place. Through the investigation, the EEOC determines whether or not harassment occurred, whether harassment is provable in court, and whether other employees have suffered from sexual harassment as well. Upon finishing the investigation, the EEOC makes a determination. If the EEOC finds in the favor of the victim (agrees you were harassed), it can pursue (settle) the case for you (happens in less than 1% of cases filed) or issue you a 'right-to-sue' letter so you and your lawyer can file a lawsuit independently. If the investigation finds you were not harassed, you can appeal the EEOC's finding and/or still request a "right to sue" letter so that you can proceed. The EEOC's finding - whether in your favor or not - is not binding on any legal proceeding.

The EEOC investigation can be lengthy and take over a year. If you wish, you and your attorney can skip the EEOC investigation, but you must at least file a claim with the agency before you can obtain the right to sue letter that allows you to bring a lawsuit.

Victims who win sexual harassment cases can receive the following remedies: attorneys fees; reinstatement; compensatory and punitive damages; bak pay for lost wages and benefits; and injunctive relief (changes in workplace policy and practice to prevent future harassment).

Filing a common law tort suit

Filing a suit in state court for discrimination and harassment allows victims to claim compensatory damages (physical injury, emotional distress, lost wages, or health care expenses), and/or punitive damages (money awarded to the victim in order to punish company). This is significant as it is the primary reason for large damage awards in these types of cases. You may also file an assault and battery or wrongful discharge claim if such occurred along with the sexual harassment or as a consequence of it. However, in a tort suit, confidentiality is not guaranteed, nor is the woman protected from company retaliation and countersuits. Another advantage of including tort actions is the ability to bring an action based on negligence. Actions under an anti-discrimination statute generally require intentional acts. This generally requires a stricter standard of proof than negligence. As such, a negligence claim may be easier to prove in court than a claim requiring proof of intent. Furthermore, there may be insurance coverage for negligent acts and not intentional ones in many cases.

In all sexual harassment cases it is essential that measures be taken promptly to preserve evidence, investigate the incident in question, and to enable physicians or other expert witnesses to thoroughly evaluate any injuries. If you or a loved one is a victim of sexual harassment, don't delay! You may have a valid claim and be entitled to compensation for your injuries, but a claim must be filed promptly.