The #MeToo movement is two years old this month, and what a profound cultural shift it has been. Workplace conduct that just a few years ago was tolerated, ignored, overlooked, and even condoned, has now been forbidden. The list of top executives, journalists, celebrities and others whose careers and reputations have been decimated gets longer
Sexual Harassment
Sexual Overperception Bias and Workplace Harassment
By Jeffrey D. Polsky on
Posted in Advice & Counseling, Harassment
Humans are not unbiased observers and decision makers. I’m not talking here about prejudice based on protected categories. I’m talking more generally about systemic flaws in how our brains interpret and act upon information. Take for example the Ebbinghaus Illusion. There are two red circles in the image below. While people consistently see the left…
Litigating Sex Harassment in the #MeToo Era
By Jeffrey D. Polsky on
The #MeToo movement started more than a year and a half ago. Somewhat surprisingly, the number of sexual harassment cases filed has not increased significantly. However, we’ve seen significant changes in how those cases get handled and resolved. For one thing, more claims get resolved before litigation gets filed. Employers who want to avoid…
Holiday Party Tips for the #MeToo Era
By Nancy Yaffe on
Posted in Advice & Counseling, Harassment
The trend is to move away from holiday parties. Some companies are opting for a family picnic in the summer instead, or a party in January after the holiday season is over. If your company is still planning a holiday party this season, given the heightened attention to harassment issues, here are some tips to…
#MeToo Hasn’t Led to More Harassment Litigation … Yet
By Jeffrey D. Polsky on
It’s been five months since the #MeToo movement burst onto the scene. Since then, the headlines have been dominated with accusations of grossly inappropriate behavior by prominent politicians, entertainers, business people, and others. So it’s somewhat surprising that, according to acting EEOC Commissioner Victoria Lipnic (as reported in Law360 (subscription required)), the number of…
Does Your Harassment Policy Meet These 12 Requirements
By Jeffrey D. Polsky on
Posted in Discrimination, Harassment
When an employer gets sued for sexual harassment, the focus is not on what the alleged harasser did. It’s on what the employer did to provide its employees a harassment-free work environment. This includes both steps taken before anyone complains and steps taken in response to the complaint. So if your goal is to prevent…
Even in the #MeToo Era, There Are Limits on How Employers Can Treat Office Romances
By Lee Szor on
Posted in Harassment
The #MeToo movement has understandably made employers more concerned about sexual relations between coworkers. An office romance may seem consensual, but is it really? This is especially problematic when there’s a power differential – such as a supervisor-subordinate relationship.
So what can employers do to prevent coworker relations that they fear may end in a…
Make Your Next Sexual Harassment Prevention Training a “Wow”
By Nancy Yaffe on
Posted in Advice & Counseling, Harassment
More than ever before, the topic of sexual harassment is dominating the news (and this blog). It’s time to make sure that your company’s sexual harassment prevention training is up to the task.
Fox Rothschild’s skilled team of attorney trainers will tailor a program to meet your company’s needs. Take a break from the…
5 Steps to Prevent Third-Party Harassment Claims
By Jeffrey D. Polsky on
Posted in Harassment
Koko the Gorilla, who turned 46 last month, has quite a following. Much of that has to do with the fact that she purportedly has a vocabulary of over 1000 words that she communicates through sign language. If this were a blog about linguistics, primate behavior, or how the Planet of the Apes movies…
New Harassment Checklists from the EEOC
By Jeffrey D. Polsky on
Posted in Discrimination, Harassment
A year ago, I wrote about a report from an EEOC Task Force on risk factors for workplace harassment. Well the Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace continues studying away and has issued some new materials. They consist of:
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