Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination, and as such is prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act which applies to any employer with fifteen or more employees. A frequently asked question is what constitutes sexual harassment.

Sexual harassment comes in many forms. It includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and any other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature if the conduct affects a person’s employment, unreasonably interferes with an employee’s work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. It does not matter whether the victim and the harasser are the same or opposite sex. It is not necessary that the harasser be the victim's supervisor – the harasser can be the employer’s agent, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or even someone who is not an employee. In the same vein, the victim may not be the target of the unwelcome conduct, but instead may be anyone that the conduct affects. Further, it is not necessary that the unlawful sexual harassment cause economic injury to or discharge of the victim, but it is necessary that the conduct be unwelcome.

When it occurs, the victim should tell the harasser to stop the unwelcome conduct. Next, the victim should report the conduct to the employer. The employer should then begin an investigation, and, if it determines the complaint is well founded, implement appropriate disciplinary action against the victim.

Employers should be proactive and take steps to educate its employees that it will not tolerate sexual harassment. The employer should adopt policies that clearly state its anti-tolerance policy and that put in place reporting procedures to be used by an affected employee to bring the unwelcome conduct to the employer’s attention. Additionally, the employee should establish a procedure to investigate complaints and take appropriate disciplinary action when the claim is substantiated.

An employer’s best method of combating sexual harassment is to implement effective training programs to educate both supervisors and employees as to what constitutes sexual harassment, so the conduct can be prevented from occurring. The training program should also educate supervisors and employees on the reporting and investigation procedures so that any violations can be contained and the adverse repercussions minimized.

The policy, procedures, and training should also make it clear that the employer will not engage in nor tolerate any form of retaliation against an employee for reporting or opposing sexual harassment, filing a discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any way in an investigation, proceeding, or litigation regarding such claims.

Employers have an economic self interest in preventing sexual harassment. In the last two fiscal years, the EEOC has recovered more than $98 million in damages, not counting any recoveries obtained through lawsuits.