Review the Sexual Harassment tutorial, which is found in the lecture.

After viewing
the Sexual Harassment tutorial, completing the reading, and reviewing the lecture
notes in conjunction with the TCO, answer the following questions about the tutorial
scenario and facts.
Based upon the scenario, does the employee have a legally viable claim for quid
pro quo sexual harassment and/or hostile environment sexual harassment? What is
the likely outcome?
Analyze the legal factors for the potential claim(s) in the context of the employee
pursuing legal action against the employer.
The employee does have a legally viable claim for both quid pro quo sexual
harassment and hostile work environment sexual harassment. The employee
informed her supervisor of the harassment by her coworker to which he indicated
that the employee had participated in similar behavior in the past. The supervisor
later propositioned the employee to go on a trip with him to secure a promotion.
The hostile work environment harassment is created when the coworker makes
inappropriate comments about a photo on the complainants desk. The quid pro quo
harassment is satisfied by the facts that the employee is a female and the fact that
her supervisor made an offer of a promotion in exchange for sexual favors. The fact
that the employee was later demoted because she declined the encounter further
proves that it is indeed quid pro quo sexual harassment. It is likely that the
employee will win her case if she is able to show that she was in good standing prior
to the demotion. Also, if the supervisor was already aware of the hostile work
environment that was created by the male employee it is likely that others were
witness to it as well and they would be able to corroborate the female employees
case.
Let's shift gears. Using the same scenario, assume that you are in the HR
Department of your organization, and that you were just presented with the
scenario as an example used to explore policies and procedures that will avoid
sexual harassment liability. Your boss has asked you to make preliminary
suggestions (which will be presented to the legal counsel) regarding sexual
harassment protocol that will avoid potential liability. What would your top five
suggestions be and why?
One way to avoid sexual harassment liability is to avoid a culture that
promotes or encourages sexual harassment. Steps should have been taken before
this incident to avoid the potential for sexual harassment. Based on this scenario I
would suggest that employees be asked to refrain from having possibly
inappropriate photos on their desks. Although the photo was intended as nothing
more than a reminder of a loved one, it became the basis for a sexual harassment
through a hostile work environment. Another way this behavior was promoted
through culture is that the male employee was obviously not punished for his past

instances of harassment. Not responding to claims of harassment leave the

employer vulnerable to law suits.
Another suggestion would be to have an open door policy in regards to
reporting sexual harassment. Employees should not fear that there will be
retaliation if they are sexually harassed. The claimant should not feel as though the
unwelcomed behavior is somehow their fault.
In order to avoid liability in the case of supervisor quid pro quo harassment, it
is necessary to have specific procedures outlines to deal with sexual harassment. It
is also necessary for the employer to follow those policies to the exact detail and to
take the claim seriously in order to avoid liability. The complaint should be
thoroughly and quickly investigated so the claimant cannot say the employer
hesitated thus lessening the likelihood of employer liability.
The employer should provide periodic sexual harassment training that
reviews the policies set in place. If employees are reminded of the policies there is
no chance of them attempting to pass on the responsibility for wrongdoing on to the
employer by claiming they were not aware of the rules.
After all is disclosed the employer should make a reasonable effort to correct
the issues and to discipline the offending employee. Any employee who makes a
claim of sexual harassment would also be aware that they should not fear
retaliation as a result of coming forward.

References
Bennet, Alexander, Hartman. Employment Law for Business, 7th Edition. McGrawHill Learning
Solutions, 40878. VitalSource Bookshelf Online.