Sexual harassment in the workplace is not a new problem, though it has been given a great deal of attention in recent years because the public consciousness about the issue has increased. 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. The precise definition of what constitutes sexual harassment has had to be determined by legislation and court decisions and so has shifted over the past several years. The Supreme Court decision in Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc. refined and expanded the concept of the hostile workplace and so made it easier to win sexual harassment suits. How you view this case and its effects may be a function of whether you are an employee concerned about sexual harassment or an employer concerned about being sued, but everyone has a stake in the equitable work environment this case would promote.
In this case, a young woman was repeatedly subjected to sexual innuendo and demeaning comments by the president of the company for which she worked over a two-year period. She eventually resigned her job. The Supreme Court rejected the stricter standard used before, which had required plaintiffs to show "severe psychological injury" brought on by a hostile work environment. Now, says the Court, other factors should be involved, among them the degree to which the employer's behavior might be considered physically threatening or demeaning, or whether that behavior interferes with the work of the employee.
The topic of sexual harassment 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, and so the true inte...