...What is a hostile work environment and how to prevent it? What is a hostile work environment and how to prevent it? Many people have a misconception about what a hostile work environment really is. They feel that if they have a boss or co-worker who yells, teases or causes a high stress work day that it is a hostile workplace. That is a true statement in a literal sense but it is not illegal, this becomes illegal is when there are comments about race, gender, disability or age. When the workplace becomes intimidating to one of these classes is when there is more likely to be problems or even a lawsuit. There are different state and federal laws that will apply for each case of hostile work environment. The hostile workplace laws fall under the following federal laws: * The Civil Rights act of 1964 Title VII * Equal Pay Act of 1963, Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 * Rehabilitation Act of 1973 * Civil Rights Act of 1991. * The Michigan law is The Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights act of 1976 (ELCRA) A hostile work environment can be anything from sexually oriented jokes, posters, age comments, race comments, discrimination because of a disability. That being said in Michigan there are five requirements that have to be met for a hostile work environment claim to be filed: * The employee belonged to a protected group; * The employee was subjected to communication or conduct on the basis of sex; * The employee was subjected to...
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...exchange or substitution of goods or services. English speakers often use the term to mean “a favour for a favour” and the phrases with almost identical meaning include “give and take”, “tit for tat”, “this for that”, and “you scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours”. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quid_pro_quo Hostile work environment sexual harassment “refers to a situation where employees in a workplace are subject to a pattern of exposure to unwanted sexual behavior from persons other than an employee’s direct supervisor where supervisors or managers take no steps to discourage or discontinue such behavior. It is distinguished from quid pro quo sexual harassment, where a direct supervisor seeks sexual favors in return for something within the supervisor’s powers, such as threatening to fire someone, or offering them a raise. Quid pro quo has been recognized as actionable for decades, but courts have only recognized hostile environment as actionable behavior since the late 1980s as they made findings that the loss of employment or constructive dismissal has been caused by such behavior. Some situations that have been ruled to constitute such a hostile work environment are: ➢ Posting pictures of pornography in employee’s cubicles ➢ Consistently telling...
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...Pollard by not being responsible and assuming just as much responsibility as she had in the situation. Per the EEO guidelines: An employer is always responsible for harassment by a supervisor that culminated in a tangible employment action. If the harassment did not lead to a tangible employment action, the employer is liable unless it proves that: 1) it exercised reasonable care to prevent and promptly correct any harassment; and 2) the employee unreasonably failed to complain to management or to avoid harm otherwise An individual qualifies as an employee's "supervisor" if the individual has the authority to recommend tangible employment decisions affecting the employee or if the individual has the authority to direct the employee's daily work activities. A "tangible employment action" means a significant change in employment status. Examples include hiring, firing, promotion, demotion, undesirable reassignment, a decision causing a significant change in...
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...sexual harassment? Sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome sexually determined behavior as physical contact and advances, sexually colored remarks, showing pornography and sexual demands, whether by words or actions. Such conduct can be humiliating and may constitute a health and safety problem; it is discriminatory when the woman has reasonable ground to believe that her objection would disadvantage her in connection with her employment, including recruitment or promotion, or when it creates a hostile working environment. With this it is also considered to be that submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment; submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual; or such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment. Is there still sexual harassment with woman? In the article “SEXUAL HARASSMENT VERSUS WORKPLACE ROMANCE: SOCIAL MEDIA SPILLOVER AND TEXTUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE,” written by Lisa A Mainiero, and Kevin J. Jones; reviews the relevant literature on workplace...
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...You Decide ES Review the Virginia Pollard case information located at the beginning of this project: You Decide ES. (If you click here, you will return to the face-sheet of the project area. To return to this page, click the Beginbutton again. You can do this all week.) To do well on this project, study the readings for this week and consider the work we did in Week 5. You may want to do some outside research for this project as well, reviewing recent case law on discrimination and harassment and including that in your answers to the project. Do not discuss this project with your classmates. You should do the work on your own. This project is "pooled," meaning your classmates may have different questions than you do. This project is worth 100 points toward your final grade. You can access this area all week and continue updating your answers until the end of the week – be sure to hit "save answers" before leaving each time! When you are done working on the project, hit "Submit for grade," and then it will be available in the gradebook for grading. Your role in answering the questions: You are the independent human resources consultant hired by Teddy's Supplies to help explain to the company what the case against them will entail. You have gleaned the facts from your investigations into the situation to date. You have never talked with Virginia Pollard. The case is currently in the appeals stage and the company executives have some questions for you. Answer them using the...
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...Review the Virginia Pollard case information located at the beginning of this project: You Decide ES. (If you click here, you will return to the face-sheet of the project area. To return to this page, click the Begin button again. You can do this all week.) To do well on this project, study the readings for this week and consider the work we did in Week 5. You may want to do some outside research for this project as well, reviewing recent case law on discrimination and harassment and including that in your answers to the project. Do not discuss this project with your classmates. You should do the work on your own. This project is "pooled," meaning your classmates may have different questions than you do. This project is worth 100 points toward your final grade. You can access this area all week and continue updating your answers until the end of the week – be sure to hit "save answers" before leaving each time! When you are done working on the project, hit "Submit for grade," and then it will be available in the grade book for grading. Your role in answering the questions: You are the independent human resources consultant hired by Teddy's Supplies to help explain to the company what the case against them will entail. You have gleaned the facts from your investigations into the situation to date. You have never talked with Virginia Pollard. The case is currently in the appeals stage and the company executives have some questions for you. Answer them using the most recent legal...
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...harassment and a hostile working environment and how it affects leadership, employees and the atmosphere in the work place. It will define the victim’s rights and the consequences the offender may face. Finally, it reveals methods that can be used to prevent harassment in the work place. History showed the need for legislatures to enact new laws to help employees and employers defend themselves from sexual harassment suits. When the federal law prohibiting sexual harassment in the workplace was enacted in 1964, it made certain that employers were responsible for preventing and stopping sexual harassment in the work place. The law, definition and preventive measures made it possible for employees to defend themselves and retain their jobs. Employers have defended themselves and employees alike by enacting policies and procedures that define and interpret sexual harassment and what constitutes an offense. Conclusions based on the research of literature regarding sexual harassment indicate that after years of defining harassment, creating laws and policies, evidence shows that harassment is still a factor in the work place. Sexual advances, and hostile work environments still exist and employees are looking towards management to provide them with better working conditions. As a recommendation employers and employees are encouraged to participate in sexual harassment training programs and seminars that serve to educate and deter sexual harassment in the work place. DEFINING...
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...Sexual Harassment in the Workplace 1)introduction 2)sexual harrasment in the workplace 3)types of sexual harrasment 4)EEOC 5)determine if you are sexual under sexual harrasment 6)possible solutions 7) the baker & mckenzie sexual discrimination case 8)Conclution INTRODUCTION Unwanted sexual behavior has been a serious dilemma in today’s society. It can take lots of forms like a request for sexual favors, undesirable sexual advances towards others, verbal, physical, or anticipated conduct of a sexual nature towards people. This illegal conduct occurs in houses, public places, hotels, restaurants, but it occurs more often in the workplace. Moreover, sexual harassment is a broad term and can be interpreted in a variety of ways. The National Organization of Women (NOW) defines it as "any repeated or unnecessary verbal or physical advance, sexually explicit disparaging statement, or sexually discriminating acts made by someone in the workplace which is offensive or objectionable to the recipient or which interferes with the recipient’s job performance." Before 1972, there was no penalty for sexual harassment of women at the workplace. Nowadays, this behavior violates Title VII of the Civil rights Act of 1964 as amended by the Civil Rights Act of 1991. SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE In the business world of today, sexual harassment against women in the workplace is one of the most offensive matters for an employer. It occurs everywhere in the world, so the employer...
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...individual's employment; or 2. Submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting the individual; or 3. The conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment. Key points to note in this definition are that sexual harassment involves: 1. Any action of a sexual nature, whether physical, verbal, or even non-verbal, may constitute sexual harassment if it is unwelcome, and… 2. Either amounts to a term or condition of employment (i.e., must be tolerated in order to maintain employment), or… 3. Is considered in making employment decisions regarding that person (e.g., promotions, performance ratings, assignments), or… 4. It creates an intolerable or hostile work environment that negatively impacts upon an employee's performance or ability to remain employed in that workplace. This definition has been used in identifying two primary types of sexual harassment: 1. Those behaviors that result in tangible employment actions; and; 2. Those behaviors that create a hostile work environment. Q. What is Tangible Employment Action Harassment? A. A tangible employment action is a significant change in employment status. Some examples of...
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...Question #1: Please read Problem 11 about credit cards and the kinds of debt being incurred by consumers these days, and answer the following questions: Are banks acting in a responsible fashion with their solicitations of consumers for credit cards and increases in credit card lines? I believe that the banks are not acting in a responsible fashion with their solicitation of consumers for credit cards and credit card lines. As mentioned in the article, the banks are advertising “promotions of credit card and debt to increase limits” in an attempt to gather additional consumers. I think by advertising these credit cards to college and high school students, and then providing them with higher credit limits and promotions, the banks are aiming to increase the number of irresponsible spenders in today’s society to make money. What responsibility do consumers have with regard to credit card debt? Consumers are held completely liable for credit card debt they have incurred. The consumer had the choice to use or not use the card and should be held responsible for the actual use. What disclosure rules apply in banks’ solicitations of credit card customers? In banks’ solicitation of credit card customers, the disclosures required sent out to the customer must have the following information: (i) what interest charge and APR for the charges on the credit card, (ii) when the bills will be sent, (iii) what to do about questions on the bills, and (iv) when payments...
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...A. Define sexual harassment, including both quid pro quo and hostile environment harassment. Which type(s) do you feel Pollard was a victim of (if either)? Provide law or a case to support your position. If you feel Pollard was not a victim of harassment in this case, explain why you feel that way, and provide law or a case to support your position. Sexual harassment is defined as, “Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that tends to create a hostile or offensive work environment.” Quid pro quo, “sexual harassment is the conditioning of employment benefits on an employee's sub-mission to unwelcome sexual conduct.” And, hostile environment harassment, “refers to a situation where employees in a workplace are subject to a pattern of exposure to unwanted sexual behavior from persons other than an employee's direct supervisor where supervisors or managers take no steps to discourage or discontinue such behavior.” In the Pollard case, I feel Teddy’s did allow for a hostile environment harassment to take place and took no means to enforce their “zero-tolerance” policy. Virginia’s direct supervisor (Mr. King) was just as culpable as her male co-workers with the unwanted verbal and sometime physical suggestions. However, her own account does not state that she received any type of benefit from King on behalf of the company for her allowance of said advances. In order to prove a sexual harassment case, the plaintiff...
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...whether the company is exposed to liability on all issues you feel are in play. Include in your memo any laws that apply and any precedent cases either for or against Teddy's case that impact liability. Include your opinion of the "worst case" of damages the company may have to pay to Virginia. (Points: 30) Answer: To: J. Doe, CEO From: William Outlar, Consultant Date: April 8, 2011 Re: Virginia Pollard Case After reviewing the case there is a glaring issue that you had with Mrs. Pollard. The guys she worked with created a very hostile work environment that led to where we are now. Coupled with the supervisor being in on these activities and not being disciplined will be a hard sell to a judge or jury. Below I listed several elements that classify a hostile work environment; Hostile Work Environment – Sexual Harassment Five (5) general elements are classified as a hostile work environment 1.) The employee belongs to a protected class 2.) The employee was subjected to unwelcome harassment 3.) The harassment was based on gender 4.) The harassment was severe or pervasive enough to affect a term or condition of employment 5.) The employer knew or should have known about the harassment and failed to take prompt and effective...
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...Sexual Harrasment There are two types of harassment: quid pro quo and hostile environment sexual harassment. Based upon the scenario, Mrs. Murphy has a legally viable claim for both quid pro quo and hostile environment sexual harassment against Personal Connections Are Us, Inc. Quid pro quo harassment occurred when the manager Dwayne Miller told Mrs. Murphy to accompany him on a trip in which they would share a room. He offered her a transfer to another department and a promotion if she exposed her breasts to him. She refused and was then demoted to the mailroom and took a pay cut. Hostile environment harassment occurred when Robert Singer, Mrs. Murphy’s co-worker, made comments about her picture in which she had a bathing suit top on. He took it a step further by taking the picture and putting it on his screensaver on his computer and made obscene edits of the picture. The likely outcome will be that Mrs. Murphy would win her sexual harassment case against People Connections Are Us, Inc. Every claim should be treated seriously, no matter how unusual or seemingly frivolous it might first appear, until an informed decision can be made. The first step in an investigation usually involves an in-depth interview of the complainant. Areas that should be pursued during this interview include: the cultural background of the complainant, a detailed reconstruction of the incident(s) that prompted the complaint, the context and circumstances in which it occurred, the involved...
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...do that if an individual whether they are a prospective or current employee and are abusing drugs than they should not be employed especially if there impairment could be a hazard. However, I do feel that current employees should be offered some type of drug treatment to help them with any drug issue that they might have. I don’t feel as if this should be offered to prospective employees because they are not yet a part of that employer’s workforce and haven’t contributed to the company. I do believe that all individuals should be given some type of help regarding treatment just not that it will always come from the same source. Describe the four elements that a plaintiff must show in order to establish a prima facie case of hostile environment sexual...
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...Misplaced Affections: Discharge for Sexual Harassment The most commonly found sexual harassment in a workplace is, quid pro quo harassment and hostile environment harassment. In the case of Gilbury and Lewiston, hostile environment harassment was claimed by Mrs. Gilbury. At the district’s Advanced Learning Program, Mrs. Gilbury, a fifth grade teacher, claimed that Mr. Lewiston, who was a senior maintenance employee, his behavior was odd, and felt he was paying more attention to her in an inappropriate manor. On May 25, 2007, Mr. Lewiston told Mrs. Gilbury he was very fond of her, and she had very beautiful eyes. As time went on, Mr. Lewiston became more aggressive and manipulating on how he was approaching Mrs. Gilbury. First, the roses and a card when the new school year started. Second, asking her out to lunch when she replied, “No, we need to remain just friends”. She even made the statement to him that she was happily married. Which is quite obvious she was not interested and he made her feel very uncomfortable, creating an intimidating, hostile working environment. The final straw was when he approached Mrs. Gilbury at her vehicle and stroked her hair. Even though, he claims he was just going to pat her on the shoulder to try and calm her down. Finally, on June 9, 2008, Mr. Lewiston left another card on Mrs. Gilburys desk explaining that he was wrong, hopes they could still remain friends, and wished her happiness with her family and job. With this being said, Mrs. Gilbury...
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