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Sexual harassment in the workplace

Sexual harassment in the workplace has always been a problem and has always been of great importance, but the public's awareness of the issue has not always been high. This changed radically with the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings in 1991 and with the accusations of sexual harassment leveled against him by Anita Hill. This event more than any other catapulted sexual harassment to a high position in the public consciousness and made it clear that such activities were degrading to women, harmful to the work environment, and detrimental to public policy. The fact that this problem had been underground for so long also showed that more knowledge of the subject was needed and perhaps that legislation was required to assure a harassment-free workplace in the future.

Woerner and Oswald (1990) examine the court response to the issue. They begin with the fact that sexual harassment is difficult to define. It generally means "unwanted sexually oriented behavior by someone in the workplace." It is legally defined as a form of discrimination.

The topic has evolved in the lower courts based on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sexual discrimination in the work place. Sex discrimination was not included in the original draft of this legislation but was added at the last minute as an attempt to prevent passage of the Act. As a result, the true intent of Congress in the matter is not known. The first case litigated under this statute was Barnes v. Train some ten years after passage, and the District Court of the District of Columbia rejected the suit as not being the type purposed by the Act. The next case was a year later in Corne v. Bausch & Lomb, Inc. in which two female employees claimed constructive discharge as a result of physical and verbal sexual advances, and the Arizona Federal District Court rejected the suit as not being what was intended by the Act.

In the 1976 case Tomkins v. Public S...

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Sexual harassment in the workplace. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 22:15, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1700302.html