If you haven't been living under a rock for the past decade,
you know that fondling, making lewd comments, demanding sexual
favors and other such conduct in the workplace is a one-way ticket
to a sexual harassment lawsuit. Yes, employers know all about the
perils of male-to-female harassment at work, and most have set up
preventive measures accordingly. However, the latest data shows
that men are starting to bring more sexual harassment claims
against other men. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
reports that in 2000, a full 13.6 percent of all sexual harassment
charges were brought by men, and that figure has been steadily
rising since 1992.
"I have seen a great increase in complaints by men about
men committing sexual harassment," says Julie Crane, an
attorney with the Fair Measures Corp. in Santa Cruz, California.
"There has also been a great deal more interest in this topic
at [employer] trainings I've conducted."
The Supreme Court ruled in 1998 that sexual harassment by a
person of one sex against a person of the same sex is actionable
under Title VII, and complainants have since won judgments into the
seven figures. What may once have been considered "locker-room
behavior" can now be cause for a serious lawsuit. While there
seems to be no concrete reason for the shifting attitudes, Crane
speculates it has to do with companies becoming more educated as to
what's appropriate workplace behavior, and men becoming less
likely to tolerate offensive behavior, even from other men.
Content Continues Below
Steve Gerber, an attorney with Gerber & Samson LLC in Wayne,
New Jersey, warns employers to take definitive measures to combat
same-sex sexual harassment. "You have no defense other than to
train your supervisors and provide employees with a viable
mechanism to [bring complaints]," he says. "You can't
just put a sign on the wall."
To protect your employees from harassment and your company from
lawsuits, develop gender-neutral policies and provide specific
examples of same-sex sexual harassment. "Same-sex sexual
harassment should be treated as seriously as other forms of
harassment," says Crane. "Everyone must be told it is not
acceptable behavior."
Contact Sources
- Fair Measures Corp.
(800) 458-2778 - Gerber & Swanson LLC
(973) 256-9000
Originally published in the November 2001 issue of Entrepreneur Magazine