The issue of sexual harassment in the workplace is not news of yesterday, but for many years there no alternatives or policies existed for such victims. Gratefully, those employed are beginning to get more motivated to speak freely and have thorough actions taken against their harassers. In the US, the groundwork for coming up with a policy that safeguards sexual harassment in the labor market and eventually illegalizing sexual harassment at workplaces was put in place by the civil rights act (Abramovitz, 2017).
This particular Act illegalized the discrimination of sex and other social factors that were looked down upon in the labor market. Even though sexual harassment is a practice of discrimination of sex, it took longer for the US to define it and come up with the policies that would protect workers, more so women. For a fact, the leading sexual harassment circumstances did not get a listening ear till the mid-1970s, and the supreme court of the U.S. till more than ten years later (Wilson, 2018).
Once the issues got to the point of decision-making and then exposed to the public eye, the wheels got set into action for the development of how the idea of sexual harassment at a workplace at the moment gets viewed. Today, the commission of equal employment opportunity of the United States, which aims at enforcing federal discrimination policies, sees sexual harassment as "unasked for sexual advances, desires for sexual favoritisms, including spoken or physical advances that get geared towards the abuse of sexual nature" (Naff, 2018).
Despite the extensive exposure of the dangers of sexual harassment, study shows that most of those in the businesses and companies have not yet addressed the problem in the US. More so, current statistics demonstrate that sexual harassment has shot too high standards of management. The fact that these companies know that they take place and women are at higher risks; they seem to be in doubt of how to address them. This act results in the continuous threat of sexual harassment in workplaces (Abramovitz, 2017).
When this issue fails to get addressed and policies put in place, the women employee lose the morale to work, and some even opt for resignation and lack opportunities in the labor market. It also leads to a decrease in the rate of productivity and public image of the company too gets tarnished. This idea proves to be as costly as the numbers of such threats have significantly increased over the years. In the year 1991, the US Congress set a policy where a sexual harassment victim would recover damages including those that are corrective under its federal law. Furthermore, the Supreme Court stretched this policy through making it easier to prove such injuries. Due to this, women sexual harassment at workplaces poses a significant danger to the business (Wilson, 2018).
The sexual harassment policy addresses the aims of the United States to provide a labor market that is free of sexual harassment. It focuses on the providence of more extensive protection of women from abusive sexual activities within the frameworks of the US laws. A study in Boston found that 9 out of 10 women reported that they got exposed to sexual harassment at workplaces (The Boston Globe, 2017). Due to this reason, the federal government took a survey and found out that forty-two percent of their employees had got subjected to such, private sectors survey also proved the same. Some of these cases up to now do not get reported, as many as eight out of ten of such incidences fail to be brought out to the open due to many reasons including fear and stigma (Abramovitz, 2017).
Even though the victims incur so much cost, the US business cost cannot get overestimated as it. The initial survey on sexual harassment brought the realization that the government had lost so much money due to the effects brought about by sexual harassments. For instance, sexual harassment cases result in poor absenteeism morale, low productivity, and increased costs of health care. It also affects the personal employee relationships not forgetting the lawsuit cost and awarded damages by the court and the poorly tarnished company's image. Such cases cost these businesses not just their reputation but also their clients and income (Branch, 2013).
In identifying the needs to strengthen the solutions of this peril, the civil rights act got amended, and the victims are now able to recover compensation apart from just back pay and have an opportunity of doing that through a jury trial. Accusers also are subjected to disciplinary damages, if at all they can show that the employers acted towards them unfairly or with callous indifference. The regulation, however, restricts the amount to be compensated for by the number of workers. Nonetheless, sexual harassment victims are urged to raise such claims to the legal authorities and acquire substantial recovery to done damages. Hence, stakes have drastically gone down for companies that operate in the United States (Naff, 2018).
This policy state that if in case of a quid pro quo, whereby a boss or one in authority asks for sexual favors from a subordinate to keep the job or get promotions, the aide is given the legal rights to take them to court. Since the court itself follows the policy of respondent superior, the company faces the charges even if it was not aware of such conduct. The company becomes responsible for the actions done by a supervisor or also an agent for that company.
This policy is again concerned with the work environment. Many women in the US have suffered the constant abuse by hostile working environs. Such environments rise when the engaging of a co-worker is unwelcoming, and inappropriate behavior that is sexually based renders the work environment hostile. Earlier on, the court of appeal grouped hostile environment cases into unfavorable three options where one had to endure the harassment, defend herself by opposing but that would just worsen the situation, and lastly, resign from the workplace. This act represented discrimination under the Civic Act and established grounds for legal actions. Later on, the Supreme Court placed a strong emphasis on the policies where it held such environments as prohibited, even if they were not directly linked to the company since it affects women performance (Naff, 2018).
Strengths
Having well-developed sexual harassment policy benefits women at large being that they are the majority victims. This policy enables employees to know what are required of them; for example, respect to standards of sexual behaviors towards women who are their co-workers. As a result, women in the labor market will enjoy an advantage of safe working environments and gain morale; this will result in high productivity too on the part of the companies or businesses in which they work.
Through this policy, rules and guidelines are set in place for everyone so women will not continually go getting instructions from their seniors who might later ask for sexual favors, resulting in a quid pro quo. This policy assists in the adoption of consistency and clarity in response to the workplace to persistently get back to situations that involve the interactions of employees that may lead to sexual harassment.
A sexual harassment policy assures women that they will get treated in good faith at the workplace and none will be treated in favoritism when such harassments occur. Not by the court or the company in which they work (Lockhart, 2016).
Women who are the victims in most occasions are assured of protection in a working environment that is free of sexual harassment and where all members of their equal get treated with dignity and respect. They are made aware of their responsibilities and rights and given useful guidelines for complaints, which get built on the laws of natural justice. They have the assurance of being treated in sensitive and confidential manners when anything of that sort occurs or attempts to take place (Lockhart, 2016).
Weaknesses
The company or business set up is held liable for an act performed by its senior workers, putting the quid pro quo act into consideration. This is a challenge as it should only affect the individual that did the deed, not the whole company. As a result, the company at which the threat occurred faces the legal charges and compensation that leads to severe losses.
These policies limit interaction between male and female workers (Mainiero, 2013). Therefore, free workers relationship is at stake. Through close relationships and interactions, teamwork gets noticed, and a limitation to this may result in poor or low productivity in some cases.
Women lack confidence in their dress codes as the policies may hold them responsible for provocations that result in sexual harassments. Outfits that may expose them in one way or the other are considered to be prevocational, and this holds them liable when such acts occur. Due to this, women's freedom of dressing up in attires that they wish is restricted (Lockhart, 2016).
Role of Trade Unions in Shaping Sexual Harassment Policies
Most of the trade unions agree that employment contacts collective bargain is crucial equipment in the elimination of discrimination. International Labor Organization emphasizes the critical ways of action that promote zero tolerance to sexual harassment acts at workplaces. It has prepared rare materials for supporting policies that are against sexual harassments to women through collective bargaining (Abramovitz, 2017).
Trade Unionists in their book, "Stopping Sexual Harassment,” give suggestions and language samples that should be used in collective bargain agreements as far as sexual harassments are concerned, they indicate that it is of benefit having anti-discrimination clause when signing the contract so that women are not viewed as minors and subjected to such harassments. For instance, the union and the business come to an agreement that never shall they discriminate against any worker with regards to sex or color. They further take a step ahead to make an understanding of abiding by the requirements of the civil rights act of the US as far as sexual harassment at workplace is concerned (Abramovitz, 2017).
Sexual Harassment Policies at times may lack exact language in contradiction of sexual harassment; in its place, they may just put discrimination into consideration. These trade unions bring into attention that it is of benefit to set an exact language not only against sexual discrimination but also sexual harassment. The more precise it is, the easier it gets for the victims to emerge victors in grievances of sexual harassments (Naff, 2018).
Recommendations
Sexual Harassment Policies should make sure that employees who get sexually harassed when taking charges to court or higher institutions do not get exposed to retaliation. The policies should also safeguard the rights of those that are accused not only the accusers. They should allow for maintenance of accurate investigation records and outcomes. These policies should also make sure that immediate appropriate action gets taken when sexual harassments occur be it health care or investigatory efforts so that the victim does not face frustrations and depression. The company should not be held liable for actions done by one employee but instead, the employee himself should face thorough charges and compensate for tarnishing the company's image. Finally, the policies should cover not only harassments that occur at work environs but also third-party job related sexual harassments (Branch2013).
Conclusion
Sexual harassment in the labor market shows a continuous and arising threat to businesses that operate in the United States. It is the right moment to manage this peril more wisely. Prevention of such acts requires accuracy and attention of relevant personnel. In the end, the costs used for such investments will be compensated for by significant savings in health care funds and legal fees. From a business viewpoint, a company just gains if it takes a zero tolerance to sexual harassment acts. It is not just a right move, but the smartest move.
References
Abramovitz, M. (2017). Regulating the lives of women: Social welfare policy from colonial times to the present.Routledge.
Branch, S., Ramsay, S., " Barker, M. (2013). Workplace bullying, mobbing and general harassment: A review. International Journal of Management Reviews, 15(3), 280-299.
Globe, T. B. (2017, October 23). 9 in 10 Boston women report workplace sexual harassment is a problem, poll says. Retrieved March 22, 2018, from https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2017/10/23/9-in-10-boston-women-report-workplace-sexual-harassment-is-a-problem-poll-says.
Lockhart, L. (2016). Sexual harassment in the workplace. Nursing Made Incredibly Easy, 14(6), 55.
Mainiero, L. A., " Jones, K. J. (2013). Sexual harassment versus workplace romance: Social media spillover and textual harassment in the workplace. The Academy of Management Perspectives, 27(3), 187-203.
Naff, K. C. (2018). To look like America: Dismantling barriers for women and minorities in government. Routledge.
Wilson, J. Q., DiIulioJr, J. J., Bose, M., "Levendusky, M. S. (2018). American government: Institutions and policies. Cengage Learning.
