Sexual Hassmeant

Sexual harassment is morally wrong and legally actionable. Most sexual harassment claims are made under Title VII of the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. (Rights and Respect pg. 4) It provides that it will be an unlawful employment practice for an employer, to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Employers are frequently held liable for acts of harassment committed in the work place. (Sexual Harassment pg. 56) Even when they do not know such act are taking place and prevention is the best tool to eliminate sexual harassment on the job.

Although, each year many people first become aware of sexual harassment when they or their children are harassed in the workplace or in school. There still seems to be a need for general information about sexual harassment. Quid pro quo harassment may be as undisguised as a direct solicitation for "sleep with me or else" (Sexual Harassment pg.19). It may take the form of more oblique sexual propositions or dating invitations for discuss your project over a glass of wine at my house (Sexual Harassment pg.19). The law does not require a showing that the supervisor actually made good on his or her demands or insinuations to impose liability. If an employer is aware of a hostile environment, and has not taken any appropriate action to correct the problem, then the employer may well be held liable for the harassment. (Sexual Harassment pg. 32) However, whether it was supervisors, co-workers, or customers who created the hostile environment, if the employer is not made aware of the situation, the employer should not be held responsible for hostile environment harassment.

However, the Supreme Court on June 26,1998, made employers more liable for incidents of sexual harassment. Ruling on two sexual harassment cases, Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, and Burlington Industries Inc. v. Ellerth, the Supreme Court basically stated that the employer is responsible for the actions of the supervisor, even when the employer is unaware of the supervisor's behavior. (Rights and Respect pg. 12) An employer can no longer claim that they did not know about the sexual harassment because the employee did not inform them, nor can they claim