What Legal Actions Should Take Against Sexual Harassment In The Workplace?

Sexual harassment in the workplace is prevalent and with harmful impact on the Physical and Psychological well-being, work performance, and general self-image of the target. It was also recommend that timely and appropriate action should be take to provide a safe and respectful environment. 

First actions include: informing the HR or supervisors when this happens, standing with the victim, investigating fully, and implementing interim solutions, and punishing offenders. Strategic interventions include policy formulations, staff education and sensitization, and communication to produce an organizational culture that will support the policies formulated, creating avenues for reporting incidences and constant policy review. 

These are zero-tolerance, confidentiality, timely response, fair investigation, and accountability. Employers must show that they are concern, clear, and only getting better in stopping and solving sexual harassment, employees should be treat with respect and dignity.

What constitutes Sexual Harassment?

Sexual harassment is a form of conduct that may happen at workplaces, learning institutions, and any other public places. 

It goes beyond sexual harassment; instead, it means that the harasser is hostile towards the victim or an abusive use of authority because of the victim’s gender.

What is workplace sexual harassment?

There are two broad classes of sexual harassment in the workplace. The first is call ‘hostile work environment’ sexual harassment the second one is ‘transactional’ or ‘quid pro quo’ sexual harassment. 

Hostile work environment sexual harassment may manifest in two different forms:

An individual in your workplace makes comments of a sexually suggestive or derogatory nature

• Constantly offers you a date, and makes lusty gestures, purposes, and undesired signals.
• It showers you with vulgar jokes or practical jokes; follows intimidating behaviors; or circulates pornographic materials.
• This conduct is target at you, the gender kind (whether you are a woman, a man, or a transgender). These actions must be either serious or numerous.
• This means that, either, harassment happens often enough to interfere with your job performance, or an individual occurrence is severe enough to affect your performance on the job.
• Moreover, it is require also to show that the employers are liable for harassment in the workplace either directly or indirectly.

A hostile work environment could also mean that an employer provides an employee with worse working terms as compared to employees of the opposite sex to the affected employee.

Such discrimination may take place in areas such as:

• Hiring, hours, wages, promotions, work schedule, assignments.
• Or benefits concerning vacation and/or sick leaves;
• And in job rating, sanctions, and dismissal.

Quid pro quo means when sexual harassment takes a form where the supervisor or manager attempts to obtain sexual benefits through an employee, especially in exchange for promotions.

What must be understood, however, is that sexual harassment can occur in the workplace despite the fact the employee does not make a negative response. 

If an employee makes the interaction unavoidable, out of embarrassment, for fear of losing employment or other job consequences, these contacts may equate to harassment under the law.
Using such criteria makes it possible for another factor such as gender not to be the main cause of the unfair treatment yet it must be a major cause of the harassment face.

What is not include in Workplace Sexual Harassment?

There’s a lot that goes into defining workplace sexual harassment as identified by a court or any other government agency. 

Proving workplace sexual harassment in a legal setting or to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) can be challenging, particularly if the incidents involved are characterize by:

When there are only jokes or simple incidents.

It is for this reason that harassment has to be report as soon as possible by colleagues. It is your employer’s responsibility to solve the problem that you reported as soon as you report it. 

If your employer does not take action against the harasser then it may fall under the type of workplace sexual harassment. 

Moreover, there could be several other legal redress against a colleague like a person protection laws against an aggrieved –assault or stalking.

What Should I Do Against Being Sexually Harass at Workplace?

Approach the harasser to stop: It is necessary to approach the harasser and confront them to stop their conduct anytime you find yourself in their company. If you are unable to approach the harasser, try and make an effort to let the harasser know that the behaviors being display are unwelcome.

Inform management about the harassment: It includes taking necessary steps to deal with such incidents. That is why it is always safe to report the incident to a person of authority.

• If your organization has guidelines on sexual harassment at the workplace, follow them to the letter.
• It is prefer that your complaint is in writing.
• You should consider bringing someone with you during the filming of the complaint.
• It also becomes wise to follow up and confirm the receipt of your complaint from your employer and when it was receive.
• It’s admissible to keep a copy of your complaint for your own reference.
• As a rule, to sue under discrimination laws, an employer must have notice of the harassment and a chance to fix the problem.

Execute the remedy suggested by the employer: Engage in full in the employer’s investigation of your complaint and use any prevention or remedy suggested by the employer. 

What action can be take by the Employer against sexual harassment at the workplace?

• The employer must also offer training for all employees, managers, and agents where they explain what workplace sexual harassment means and what the employer plans to do when someone informs them of sexually harassing conduct.
• Employer obliged to develop elaborate measures and guidelines to eliminate sexual harassment at place of work.
•  Having these policies in place is not enough; they have to be explained to the workers and followed on the part of the employer.
• The employer should conduct proper investigations of any reported cases of workplace sexual harassment and do so promptly.

Who is liable for workplace sexual harassment?

• An employer may be liable for sexual harassment if the harasser is an employer, agent of the employer, a co-worker who is a supervisory employee, or its managerial employee.
• This means that an employer would be held legally responsible for the harassment if he or she knew about it or must have known about it and did not protect the victim from it in time when they should have.
• Even though state law also blames individual supervisors or managers where a supervisor’s action is patently discriminatory for example, when the manager of an organization recruits all male employees for higher positions leaving out ladies with similar qualifications.
• There may also be cases where a union or its representatives carry civil responsibility.
• There may be the liability of an employment agency.

The Sexual Harassment Of Women At Workplace Act, 2013

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013 provides rule and regulation in India for protecting women from sexual harassment at work.

•  It includes the following points:
• This law applies to all women in both private and civil service employment.
• It includes physical contact, verbal harassment, asking for a sexual favor, and other behaviors the employee cannot ignore.
• Established the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC): Required for companies with more than ten employees to respond to complaints.
• Employers ensure safety and protect from harassment.
• The victims are allowed to bring complaints to the ICC within 3 months of the occurrence of the event.
• The complaint is confidentiality.

 Landmark Case Law

Vishaka & Others Vs. The State Of Rajasthan Air 1997

• In this case, PRTOCUTRIX  is an employee of Rajasthan who was raped by upper-caste men for preventing of child marriage. The PIL was filled by the NGO against sexual harassment in the workplace.
• In this case, the court provides some guidelines for sexual harassment and for establishing internal complaints committees in the workplace.
• The employer is fully responsible for maintaining security at the workplace and reporting if there are any grievances.
• These guidelines of the court of law were legal until the Act was passed. This is the first case and provides remedy against sexual harassment in the workplace.

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