In a broad statement of support against harassment, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission earlier this month simultaneously filed seven lawsuits across the country claiming employers violated federal law through their employees’ actions of illegal harassment.
While the EEOC has stated that it has not seen an increase sexual harassment charges since the #MeToo movement, these seven lawsuits all have similar themes of outrageous behavior coupled with poor employer responses to the misconduct.
The allegations include same sex harassment of men harassing other men by using racial slurs and making sexual comments. Sexual harassment between same genders is actionable under federal law if the conduct is due to gender, even if it is not for sexual desire.
The EEOC also claimed that women in a New Mexico organization were subjected to “pervasive unwelcome sexual comments, including comments about their breasts and buttocks; referred to as ‘prostitutes’ and ‘sluts.’” The EEOC claimed they also were subjected to unwelcome touching.
A Dallas company’s vice president allegedly made “graphic, intimidating sexual comments” to a female worker.
A trucking company in St. Louis, with notice of a contractor who allegedly sexually harassed a trainee, allowed that same man to drive with a female employee, and failed to take corrective action, resulting in a female driver suffering six weeks of abuse and threats, the EEOC claims.
A supervisor in Los Angeles is accused of rubbing the back of female workers “while making comments about their underclothes and ‘accidentally’ graz[ing]their breasts with his elbows while they were working at the printing machines.” Women were referred to in derogatory terms by others in the company. The EEOC claims the company knew about, and failed to stop, the abuse.
An owner of a company in Cincinnati allegedly called a female employee at night suggesting a sexual relationship while touching her, ogling and making overtures while she was at work. She says she was fired after complaining.
Each of these cases show a disturbing pattern of abusive conduct that any reasonable person would find inappropriate.
Employers must create an environment where employees are not touched, disrespected or verbally abused.
While it should be common sense that people should not act like this at work, I frequently see these types of behaviors where leadership has failed to clearly establish the expectations of workplace behaviors and/or fails to model those expected behaviors.
According to the EEOC, more than 80 percent of individuals who experience harassment never file a formal complaint. This means employers need to prevent the behaviors from happening in the first place, and not wait for a complaint.
Any supervisor aware of improper behaviors occurring at work should take action to end the misconduct. See something – do something.
Ideally, organizations are more concerned with culture than lawsuits. Organizations that set the expectation for respect in the workplace, and then hold people accountable for compliance, will get the culture they create.
However, if it takes lawsuits to eradicate workplace harassment, then the EEOC is demonstrating with these cases that employers should be ready to litigate where harassment occurs.