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 parties prior relationship, the nature of the allegations against each individual in instances where incidents involved the participation of more than one person, and the complainant's expectations regarding how the alleged offender should be disciplined. The investigation then turns to getting the accused account of events. In some instances, the accused may be angry when confronted about a sexual claim; however, Ms. Murphy definitely has a claim against the company where she works.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) defines sexual harassment as follows: Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when: (1) Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment. (2) Submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individuals. (3) 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. But legal experts warn managers and business owners that definitions of sexual harassment extend beyond the above borders. Ms. Murphy's description of the events clearly meets the requirements for a claim. To avoid potential liability in the future, I would suggest the business develop a clearly worded document regarding the policy against sexual harassment at the firm. I would also educate both managers and employees on the subject of sexual harassment, and as a way of minimizing legal liability to the organization in hostile-environment sexual harassment cases, I would have the employees and leadership staffs attend a seminar series regarding harassment. The last two suggestions deal with how to limit the issues of a potential claim from going further. I would have an open door policy for managers so that employees may complain if a situation arises, and establish an internal procedure that address complaints promptly and thoroughly is an employee has a problem.

References

Reference for Buisness (2012) Sexual Harrassment. http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/encyclopedia/Sel-Str/Sexual-Harassment.html Last accessed January 23, 2012.