Gender Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Chart

HRM/546

Gender Discrimination and Sexual Harassment	Title VII Gender Discrimination in Employment Practices	Sexual Harassment Based on Hostile Work Environment	Quid-Pro-Quo Sexual Harassment	Sexual Orientation in the Workplace
Requirements to Prove Under the Law	-Employee is in a protected class-Employee was qualified for the position-Employee was rejected for the position orsubjected to an adverse employment action-An employee outside of the protected class was selected for the position	-Employee was subjected to an intimidating,hostile, or offensive work environment-Conduct was based on the plaintiffs protectedstatus-Conduct was sufficiently severe orpervasive to alter the terms or conditions of theplaintiff’s employment and create an abusive workenvironment for a reasonable person under similarcircumstances- Based on conduct employeesubjectively perceived his or her workenvironment to be abusive	-Occurs in the workplace when a manager or other authority figure offers or merely hints that he or she will give the employee a raise or a promotion in return for sexual favors-A single incidence of quid pro quo sexual harassment is illegal and can be the grounds for a lawsuit-Employer can also be found legally liable for the actions of the supervisor who commits this act because supervisors are deemed to be acting on behalf of the employer	-Employee is in the protected class of a particular sexual orientation-Employee was treated adversely in the workplace: fired, harassed, or denied promotion-Employees in the same classification who were of a different sexual orientation were not treated adversely, or the employee was replaced by someone of a different sexual orientation
Ways Employers Can Minimize Liability	-Become Familiar with all applicable antidiscrimination laws-Develop and Implement a Comprehensive Antidiscrimination Policy-Develop and Institute Mandatory Antidiscrimination Training Programs- Be Prepared to Investigate Complaints of Discrimination or Harassment- Analyze Business Decisions for Unintentional Discrimination	Adopt a clear sexual harassment policies that: 1. Define sexual harassment2. State directly that you will not tolerate sexual harassment3. State that you will discipline or fire any wrongdoers4. Set out a clear procedure for filing sexual harassment complaints5. State that you will investigate fully any complaint that you receive, and6. State that you will not tolerate retaliation against anyone who complains about sexual harassment.-Sexual harassment training	-Consider adding provisions to the company’s discrimination or harassment policy that encourages employees to report inappropriate behavior from any source, including third parties- Consider whether the nature of your business operations makes it wise to communicate the expectations in your harassment or discrimination policy to third parties like independent contractors, clients, customers, students, or others-Sexual harassment training	-Sexual harassment training-Policies should be posted as well as contained in an employee handbook or circular of some kind. The sexual harassment policy should include the following: 1. A forceful statement that such conduct is prohibited by company rules, as well as state and federal law.2. A clear procedure for employees to make complaints 3. Details on how the company will handle a complaint.4. An assurance that an employee will be protected against retaliation.
Recent Case Example	Moussouris v Microsoft. Katie Moussouris alleged that female technical employees like her earned less than similarly qualified men because of gender bias. She also claimed that the company promoted men over equally or more qualified women and that its managers gave woman lower performance reviews compared with their male peers.	Carlson v Ailes, 21st Century Fox.Gretchen Carlson stated Ailes unlawfully retaliated against her and sabotaged her career because she refused his sexual advances and complained about severe and pervasive sexual harassment. Ailes retaliated by terminating Carlson’s employment on June 23, 2016	Appleton v Richardson. NY-Famous photographer Terry Richardson faced sexual harassment allegations from British model Emma Appleton who said he offered her a photo shoot for Vogue magazine in exchange for sex.	-Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins. Price Waterhouse had denied Ann Hopkins a promotion in part because other partners at the firm felt that she did not act as woman should act. She was told, among other things, that she needed to “walk more femininely, talk more femininely, and dress more femininely”to secure a partnership.

Types of Gender Discrimination

Discriminating against individual based on gender is a common practice, but it violates Civil Rights laws. The above chart lists several types of gender discrimination: employment practices, hostile work environment, quid-pro-quo, and sexual orientation. This part of the assignment will provide an explanation of the requirements needed to substantiate each type of discrimination.

Employment practices – Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was enacted to combat issues of sexual and gender discrimination, which is treating applicants or employees differently based on their gender and can affect anything from hiring decisions to promotions. Section 703 of Title VII makes it clear that employers cannot fail or refuse to hire or terminate an individual, or discriminate against with respect to wages, term, conditions, or privileges of employment on the bases of race, sex, religion, or national orientation(Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2015).

Hostile work environment – Sexual harassment unreasonably effecting and interfering with an individual’s work performance or creates a hostile, or offensive working environment. The employee is in the protected class listed by Title VII, the conduct must be severe orpervasive to alter the terms or conditions of theplaintiff’s employment and create an abusive workenvironment for a reasonable person under similarcircumstances. Also, because of the conduct the employee subjectively perceives his or her workenvironment as abusive (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2015).

Quid-Pro-Quo sexual harassment – Sexual harassment in which the satisfaction of sexual demands is made as a condition of obtaining employment, continuing employment, or is used as the basis for employment decisions. This form of discrimination only needs to occur once (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2015).

Sexual orientation – Harassment or differential treatment based on the perceived or actual status as gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, heterosexual, on transgender of heterosexual orientation. It involves an employer overlooking an individual for employment, promotions, wrongful termination, solely because an employer or supervisor does not agree with the individual’s sexual orientation. Harassment can include comments regarding the individual’s sexual orientation or repetitive requests for dates. The employee must be part of the protected class according to Title VII, and employees in the same classification who were of a different sexual orientation were not treated adversely(Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2015).

Minimizing Liability

Employersshould be aware of methods of preventing discrimination in the workplace. Failing to implement practices to curb discrimination can be costly for an employer. Therefore, it is important for employers to take a proactive approach to preventing discrimination form occurring. To achieve his goal, management should adopt the following practices:

Become familiar with applicable laws – Employers should seek to gain a firm understanding of various discrimination laws. Along with understanding federal laws such as Title VII, organizations must do their due diligence to comply with state and local law as well. For example, many states have enacted antidiscrimination laws which, unlike Title VII, prohibit employers from discriminating against an employee based on his or her sexual orientation. Although an employer may not violate Title VII if terminates an employee because of his or her sexual orientation, that employer could be in violation of the state’s antidiscrimination law. Employers can become familiar with these laws by acquiring the appropriate representatives to train employees periodically(“How To Prevent Discrimination In The Workplace”, 2016).

Develop and Implement Antidiscrimination Policies – Create broad policies and procedures that are clearly defined and strictly prohibits discrimination. Policies should include methods for reporting harassment or discrimination as well as a broad anti-retaliatory provision.

Institute Mandatory Antidiscrimination Training Programs – Develop and institute antidiscrimination programs designed to train employees on how to understand and abide by the employer’s antidiscrimination policy. In addition, the training should be designed to highlight the company’s goal of eliminating harassment and discrimination and promote the organization’s values of professionalism and respect(“How To Prevent Discrimination In The Workplace”, 2016).

Investigate Complaints of Discrimination or Harassment – Create appropriate investigatory procedures to effectively resolve employee complaints of discrimination. Ensuring that an investigation is prompt, thorough, confidential and documented. Management must also take swift action if the investigation results determine discrimination has occurred.

Analyze Business Decisions for Unintentional Discrimination–Be aware of employment practices that may seem neutral, but negatively impacts a protected class of employees. This type of discrimination could include the standardized tests the company uses for its applicants. As a measure of prevention, employers should analyze a d evaluate their business decisions to determine if they adversely impact those who represent the protected class (“How To Prevent Discrimination In The Workplace”, 2016).

References

Bennett-Alexander, D. D., & Hartman, L. P. (2015). Employment law for business (8th ed.).

New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.

How to prevent discrimination in the workplace. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.xperthr.com/how-to/how-to-prevent-discrimination-in-the-workplace/5561/

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