Hrm 320 Employment Law

Sexual Harassment Paper

Sexual harassment affects all people who work within an organization, whether is in regards to creating a hostile work place, making a claim against a supervisor who threatens employment for sexual favors, or consistently having to view unwelcome images of sexual nature. Sexual harassment comes in many different forms and just because something may make someone uncomfortable or someone uses gender as a determining factor doesn’t necessarily mean that is sexual harassment.

Sexual Harassment

“Sexual harassment encompasses the request for sexual favors as well as touching, joking, commenting, or disturbing material of a sexual nature that an employee has not consented to and finds offensive,” (Moran, 2008, p. 261). For an incident to be considered sexual harassment it must meet 6 requirements as follows. The person being harassed must belong to a protected class; either male or female. They accuser must prove that their gender was the reason they were harassed. The accuser must not create a hostile work environment, nor accept any form of sexual advances or persuasion. The harassment must be of a sexual nature, and have an effect on the employee’s ability to perform their job. As well as the harassment had to have transpired while the employee was employed with said company, also known as the employee’s scope of employment.

Gender Discrimination

Gender discrimination is different then sexual harassment as it deals with gender issues but does not include harassment of a sexual nature. Gender discrimination happens when standards, expectations, exemptions, employment, compensation, promotion, hiring, etc are not equal between men and women. Also to retaliate against someone who has brought forth a claim of sexual discrimination is also a form of sexual discrimination. In order for one to claim gender/sexual discrimination they must be able to establish a prima facie case of discrimination. The person was in a protected group, that...