Harassment

1
Harassment

• Definition
• Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Sexual Harassment/Environment
• RxTRAs Nina Numbers

2
HarassmentDictionary Definition

• to annoy persistently
• to create an unpleasant or hostile situation for
  especially by uninvited and unwelcome verbal or
  physical conduct
• to worry and impede by repeated raids

3
Title VII, the Civil Rights Act of 1964

• Outlaws discrimination in employment by
  prohibiting discrimination based on race, color,
  religion, sex, or national origin.
• This later became the legal basis for early
  harassment law
• Definition has broadened to include sexual
  discrimination

4
Sexual Harassment

• Quid Pro Quo- first kind of harassment to be
  prohibited
• Does not matter if the employee submitted to the
  harassment
• Requires the reasonable fear of employee that job
  depended on that submission

5
Sexually Harassing Environment

• Employer creates or tolerates a work environment
  so sexually charged that it fundamentally alters
  the terms and conditions of employment

6
Hostile Work Environment

• There is no employee defense when the employers
  harassment results in a tangible employment
  action such as
• Discharge
• Demotion
• Undesirable Reassignment
• Employers Policy must be disseminated and
  conduct must be monitored

7
RxTRA and Harassment

• Male employees start blog considered hostile and
  offensive to female workers
• RxTRA is aware of the blog, but takes NO ACTION
• Female employee, Nina Numbers, files a claim with
  the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and
  starts similar blog
• Companys response Ms. Numbers is terminated

8
RxTRAs Duty

• To monitor and discipline employee actions which
  could be considered hostile and offensive
• To discipline employees all equally
• To exercise reasonable care to prevent and
  promptly correct any sexually harassing behavior

9
Legal Issues concerning Nina Numbers case

• Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
  the blog the males created constituted a sexual
  harassing environment, not only for Nina, but all
  the women that worked in that company
• She had the right to file a claim even create a
  blog
• Maybe her termination was based on other reasons
  not explained in the text
• But if she can prove that she was terminated
  because of filing a claim or even creating a
  blog, while the men werent terminated, then
  RxTRA can be sued for breaking federal law

10
Recommendation

• Nina should have talked to her manager first to
  eliminate the issue, if he/she wouldnt have
  taken any action, then filing a claim would have
  been the next step
• RxTRA should have a policy on blogs as well as
  train and educate their employees on harassment
  issues to avoid situations like this