Sexual Harassment In the Workplace: Steps for SMBs to Avoid Liability Under Title VII
When an employee comes forward with a sexual harassment claim, they expect their employers to respond constructively to get justice served. However, several small business company executives often dismiss these cases, with little or nothing done to find a resolution.
And when senior managers ignore sexual harassment complaints in this manner, the following line of action for the victim is a costly and lengthy lawsuit.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination or harassment of any sort; thus, any litigation against your business will have you facing the law in its full wrath.
As a business owner, you want to avoid this scenario; as such, you should address sexual harassment in your workplace even before it rears its head. With that in mind, we provide you with some helpful tips to prevent sexual harassment in your business.
How to Address Sexual Harassment as a Small or Medium-sized Business
Sexual harassment cases are challenging to handle. Here are some constructive ways to deal with sexual harassment in the office:
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Set Internal Policies and Regulations
When there are no rules guiding employee conduct in your company, your staff can exhibit any form of inappropriate behavior because they feel anything goes. Thus, you need company policies and rules that define acceptable conduct within the office premises and prohibits sexual harassment or any discriminatory behavior. These corporate laws should also specify the consequences of harassing employees or clients sexually.
You should also have these regulations in print and ensure every employee has them, regardless of their role. New employees must get a copy immediately after employment, and you’ll need to have extensive training sessions with them on how workers should relate with and treat each other. Existing staff members should also receive regular training to re-emphasize the company’s stance on sexual harassment and the repercussions of such behavior.
1 Enforce the Rules
Don’t make laws and throw them out the window when the time comes to enforce them. Ensure you take every sexual harassment allegation in your company seriously, regardless of whether the offender is a senior staff or a junior employee.
Set up an HR committee or department to investigate these claims and take appropriate action when you discover the truth. When you show zero tolerance to sexually inappropriate behavior in the workplace, your employees will conform to their attitudes accordingly.
2 Cultivate a Work Environment of Respect and Equality
While sexual harassment isn’t gender-neutral, we can all agree that women are victims of sexually inappropriate behavior more than men. As such, it’s vital to establish a work environment where everyone is respected, regardless of gender.
Ensure that every staff member receives equal treatment and has the same opportunities to thrive. It’d help if you also addressed gender-limiting biases head-on.
For example, some stereotypes that define women sexually according to what they wear or their race play significant roles in the high rate of sexual harassment towards the feminine gender.
It would be best to ensure these prejudiced views aren’t found in your firm. You shouldn’t even tolerate them as workplace banter. Men also face some of these biases, so they shouldn’t be left out of the conversation.
Furthermore, there should be consequences whenever an employee is disrespected in any way.
3 Empower Your Employees
Often, the victims of sexual harassment face discrimination and abuse whenever they come forward, even from coworkers who should know better and treat them with empathy. On that note, ensure to create a work environment where your staff members can speak up without retaliation from anyone, including their offenders.
Make your staff know that they can trust the company to act in their best interest whenever they’re victims of any form of discrimination, regardless of their gender or social status. With so many sexual harassment cases swept under the carpet, your company should stand out and make a difference.
Conclusion
Sexual harassment is still prevalent in American workplaces, despite having more media coverage with several conversations to see victims get justice. That said, if you’re battling with a sexual harassment case in your workplace or would like to take proactive measures to prevent them, we recommend you seek legal representation to help you out. Reach out to us today at The Law Office of Sheri Oluyemi, and let’s bring our extensive experience in employment law to your aid.
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