Preventing Sexual Harassment for Employees Course Overview
Sexual harassment remains common throughout workplaces across all industries, affecting workers regardless of occupation, educational background, age, race, ethnic group, or income level. Research from Louis Harris and Associates reveals that 31% of female workers and 7% of male workers report experiencing harassment at work. While the majority of reported cases involve males harassing females, sexual harassment can involve any gender combination—including females harassing males and same-sex harassment. The study found that 100% of women reported the harasser was a man, while among men, 59% reported the harasser was a woman and 41% reported the harasser was another man.
Sexual harassment results in loss of productivity, poor performance, disruptive work environments, and loss of good employees and managers. More fundamentally, sexual harassment is against the law and constitutes a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This comprehensive course provides employees with information to recognize behaviors that could constitute sexual harassment in the workplace and equips them with practical strategies for dealing with harassing behavior, reporting it effectively, and contributing to a respectful work environment for all.
Preventing Sexual Harassment for Employees Course Content
Lesson 1: Introduction and Objectives
Prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace, statistics on harassment experiences across gender, impact on workplace productivity and employee well-being, legal prohibition against sexual harassment, organizational commitment to harassment-free workplace, course objectives and learning outcomes, importance of recognizing and reporting harassment
Lesson 2: Defining Sexual Harassment
Legal definition under Title VII and EEOC guidelines, two forms of sexual harassment, unwelcome conduct requirement, examples of sexual harassment, difference between welcome social interaction and unwelcome harassment, single severe incident vs. pattern of conduct, reasonable person standard, impact on victim
Lesson 3: What the Laws Say
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, EEOC enforcement authority and guidance, employer liability for sexual harassment, state fair employment practice laws extending protections, protected right to work in environment free from sexual harassment, retaliation prohibition, constructive discharge when harassment makes continued employment intolerable
Lesson 4: Reporting Sexual Harassment
Importance of reporting harassment promptly, internal reporting procedures, multiple reporting channels when direct supervisor is harasser, what to include in harassment report, documenting incidents as they occur, preserving evidence, employer’s duty to investigate complaints, protection against retaliation for good faith reporting, investigation process overview, interim protective measures during investigation, EEOC complaint filing process and deadlines, right to file lawsuit under Title VII
Lesson 5: Preventing Sexual Harassment
Individual responsibility for professional conduct, maintaining appropriate workplace boundaries, avoiding sexually explicit language or jokes, respecting others’ personal space, being aware of power dynamics in workplace relationships, speaking up if conduct makes you uncomfortable, bystander intervention, organizational prevention measures, culture of respect and inclusion, understanding that “just joking” defense doesn’t excuse harassment, impact of off-duty conduct on workplace environment
