Principal of Business Workforce Legal

Principal of Business

Workforce Legal Boundaries

The situation that took place in the break room between Frank and Mary can be characterized as a sexual harassment attempt. Sexual harassment is considered to be a form of sex discrimination that is prohibited by the Civil Rights Act. Sexual harassment refers to unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that if rejected, affects a person's employment, work performance, or determines a hostile work environment.

Sexual harassment is characterized by a series of factors. For example, the victim and the harasser may be woman or man, or have the same sex. The harasser can occupy any work position, or it can be someone that is not employed in the same place as the victim is. Even more, the victim does not necessarily need to be directly harassed, but offended by the conduct in case (EEOC, 2002).

In the situation that Frank and Mary find themselves in, there is no explicit and direct sexual offense. However, the tone of the dialogue, the implications of Frank's words lead to the conclusion that Frank is trying to make certain offensive proposals to Mary. In addition to this, the advances made by Frank interfere with Mary's work. In other words, Frank is threatening to create problems for Mary at work or to not help her with the expense account.

There are several actions that can be implemented by Frank, Mary, and the company in order to correct and to discourage such offensive behavior. In accordance with the recommendations of regulations that prohibit discrimination and sexual harassment, Mary should have a conversation with Frank where she explains that she is offended by Frank's behavior and that she wants Frank to stop behaving that way.

If Frank continues to behave in an offensive manner, Mary should report him to a supervisor. As practice has revealed, the victim is sometimes blamed for the harasser's behavior. In such cases, it means that the company is characterized by a hostile work environment.

Therefore, there are several actions that the company can take in order to discourage such practices. The company's rules of conduct must seriously take into consideration sexual harassment. The company must make sure that all employees are aware of what sexual harassment means, and of the punishments that are associated with such conduct.

The state and federal laws regarding employment establish very clear aspects that define sexual harassment, what the victim should do, and how the harasser should be punished. The problem is that in sexual harassment cases that go to trial it is difficult to make the proof of such conduct.

In this case, it is obvious that Frank abuses his position of power, authority, and trust. Frank is Mary's supervisor, which means he has the ability to influence her work performance. Also, being her supervisor, it is difficult for Mary to report him to their superiors. This is where the HR department interferes.