01.25.10
Posted in Examples of Sexual Harassment at 7:17 pm by normarae2008
I was appalled over a broadcast I saw last week on ABC’s 20/20. They reported on the case of Kati Moore of Orange County, California, a 16 year old barista who was allegedly sexually harassed by her supervisor.
Miss Moore claims that her supervisor, Tim Horton, sent her numerous illicit and in many cases sexually explicit text messages indicating times and places where she was instructed to meet him to provide sexual favors. Mr. Horton plead guilty to criminal charges of having illegal sex with a minor and served 4 months in prison, but both he and Starbucks are now awaiting the outcome of the pending lawsuit.
I don’t know any of the parties to this lawsuit, nor do I know what really transpired between the under age employee and her supervisor. However, what disturbs me the most about this case is two fold: one, the supervisor already plead guilty to having sex with a minor. Starbucks should have a clear management training policy that includes sexual harassment training (Mr. Horton claimed in his deposition that he was only shown a manual on sexual harassment, but was not offered actual training). Starbucks had an obligation to protect their employees and provide managers with not only sexual harassment but with education on how to work with minors. Secondly, the Vice-President of Human Resources for Starbucks made an outrageous claim on 20/20, citing that Miss Moore’s parents did a poor job of raising her with proper values.
I’ve been a Human Resources Vice-President myself for 20 years, and I’ve never accused a family member of poor values training when my company was faced with potential litigation. The legal approach Starbucks is taking to defend its actions in the face of their own supervisor having sex with a minor, and destroying her credibility by basically interviewing all previous boyfriends (to make her look like a whore) is disappointing.
This case makes me want to reconsider where I buy my latte’s in the morning. I will try to follow the trial when it begins and provide updates to this website.
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07.13.09
Posted in Examples of Sexual Harassment at 3:32 pm by normarae2008
Sexual harassment and other workplace violations continue to raise questions for employers and employees alike. Although progress has been made, there is considerable evidence that further education and promotion of harassment-free workplaces are required not just in California, but across the nation.
Before I discuss a recent case that was presented to me, let’s establish a common framework for the definition of sexual harassment as provided by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission:
“Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitutes sexual harassment 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.”
Who can be a victim? The victim can be a member of either sex, and doesn’t have to be a member of the opposite sex. The harasser can be the victim’s supervisor or manager, an agent of the company, a supervisor from another part of the company, a contractor of the company, or a non-employee.
It’s important to note that sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
With a common framework established, I’ll review a case I recently received from a woman who works as a cocktail waitress. She wrote to me at my website at www.stopworkplaceharassment.com, and told me that she was quite distressed over the treatment she was receiving from her boss. He was allegedly touching her in sexually unwelcome ways, and he had threatened to terminate her employment if she didn’t provide sexual favors in return for her continued employment.
My initial reaction would be to quit the job, but this individual needed her job and was fearful of finding another job in a lackluster economy. She also expressed concerns that just because she wore revealing “cocktail” outfits to work, she was partly responsible for her dilemma and would not have a basis for a claim of sexual harassment. I’m not a lawyer, but I explained to her that I’ve had 28 years in Human Resources work. I would believe that her clothing had limited if any bearing on her case, because her clothing was her “work uniform” for that line of work. Although I didn’t have the opportunity to interview her boss and conduct a thorough investigation of all parties, I anticipate that she is entitled to the same protections under the law that all employees are entitled to, regardless of what she wore to work. Her boss’s actions, requiring an alleged “quid pro quo” form of sexual harassment, if found to be true, could very well be a form of sexual harassment and a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. I strongly encouraged her to prepare her notes and file a complaint with the owners of the restaurant, and if that didn’t work to talk with legal counsel for further evaluation of her case.
Harassment is an unfortunate occurrence that creates hostile feelings, disappointment, and a breach of trust. It has a painful way of severing the most positive of work relationships, and it can prove costly in many ways. Providing a harassment-free workplace is a key to promoting a positive company culture. Every employee should work towards these ideals, but senior management should exercise due diligence to provide moral leadership and send the message that discrimination in any form will not be tolerated.
Special thanks to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for their definition of sexual harassment.
This article reprinted from www.examiner.com
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06.28.09
Posted in Examples of Sexual Harassment at 4:19 pm by normarae2008
HR World just published a list of history making sexual harassment cases which are quite interesting to review. The list includes President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky; Bill Clinton and Paula Jones; Kobe Bryant and a Colorado teenager; Anita Hill versus Clarence Thomas, and several other landmark as well as somewhat creepy cases.
Each case includes a brief description of the matter including the allegations and their final disposition. The review covers many years of sexual harassment case law and interpretation of sexual harassment behavior, and demonstrates the impact harassment has had on our social and corporate behaviors.
Reviewing these cases is a good source of education, and helps us remember past mistakes in an effort to prevent further harassment in the future.
I encourage our readers to visit www.hrworld.com and enter “top sexual harassment cases” in the search feature.
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06.03.09
Posted in Examples of Sexual Harassment at 8:21 pm by normarae2008
I began this blog last December, and since then we’ve received over 5,000 visitors. I’ve also received private e-mails that I’ve responded to with (hopefully) helpful advice and coaching for women who have been victims of alleged sexual harassment. Here are some highlights of their stories. I’ve protected their anonymity at their request so I will summarize their experiences and will not use their real names:
“Susie” worked in a hospital and was being touched inappropriately by a male co-worker. She shared her entire story with us and wanted help with approaching her Human Resources department so that she could manage her complaint on her own. We provided information, coaching, and help with her preparation for that HR meeting.
“Sandy” works in a cocktail restaurant/bar and was subject to frequent fondling and sexual demands by her superior. He also held her job over her head unless she returned sexual favors to him. We provided comparative analysis of her situation against a hostile work environment and quid pro quo harassment as identified in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. We discussed her options to file a complaint with restaurant management or other options.
“Sally” was complaining about being docked in pay, and was quite upset about it. She was concerned about being told to “calm down,” and was wondering if such a reference was harassment. After we explored her situation further, we assured her that it probably wasn’t a case of harassment, but that the wage mistakes needed to be corrected in a timely basis and she should consult with her union representative and/or the labor board if the situation persisted. As it turned out, the wage issue was an error and was supposed to be corrected.
“Two teenagers” wrote to me about problems being stalked by older men. In one case, a considerably older man was doing lewd and sexual acts over the internet, and in the second case, and older man was doing lewd acts over his cell phone. In both cases I encouraged the young women to stop all conversation with the men, and report the incidents to their parents even though it would be a hard thing to do. I also told them to contact the police and file complaints about the men’s behavior. I was assured that both of these women were going to follow this advice.
I’ve met other women in the past six months, but these cases represent the kinds of issues that I’ve received. If you have a question, or problem, no matter how large or small, please contact me at normarae2008@gmail or at this blog site. My goal is to help as many women as I can as we sort out the questions and challenges of sexual harassment.
Thanks for reading and writing – Normarae
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05.21.09
Posted in Contact Us, Examples of Sexual Harassment at 8:47 pm by normarae2008
I encourage you to read an e-mail I received from a reader today. It’s listed in the “comments” section following “A Reader’s Question Regarding Sexual Harassment Training.” Her e-mail presents several allegations of workplace harassment, including unwanted touching, and retaliation. The sexual harassment was directed at other women besides herself, and she complained that her company culture does not work to investigate and resolve such complaints with a clear human resources policy and practice, but rather appears to hold the victims accountable and blames them for being trouble makers.
In her letter, she complained that another victim was forced to sign an Arbitration Agreement after she filed a sexual harassment complaint. When she refused, she was allegedly fired for being a trouble maker ( this occurred after the company slowly cut back her hours). This type of company response may appear to be retaliatory, and certainly was causing our reader to think twice about filing a complaint about the hostile work environment she was working in.
What complicated matters was that the Owner of the Company was also the Acting Head of Human Resources. So, where does one go to file a complaint in such a situation? As I told the reader in my comments back, if you can’t file a complaint internally, you can always contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, but that must be done in a timely basis. Secondly, it is wise to consult a local labor attorney who specializes in workplace harassment. No one should suffer any form of discrimination, and Title VII was designed to protect all of us from any form of discrimination and workplace harassment. If you believe you’ve been unlawfully treated, get legal advice and protect your civil rights. No one should have to work in a corporate culture similar to the one my reader described. No one.
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