DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT AND THE LAW

4/10/2021 Sexual Harassment | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

https://www.eeoc.gov/sexual-harassment 1/2

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Sexual Harassment It is unlawful to harass a person (an applicant or employee) because of that person's sex. Harassment can include "sexual harassment" or unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature.

Harassment does not have to be of a sexual nature, however, and can include o�ensive remarks about a person's sex. For example, it is illegal to harass a woman by making o�ensive comments about women in general.

Both victim and the harasser can be either a woman or a man, and the victim and harasser can be the same sex.

Although the law doesn't prohibit simple teasing, o�hand comments, or isolated incidents that are not very serious, harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or o�ensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted).

The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a co- worker, or someone who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client or customer.

Employer Coverage

15 or more employees

Time Limits

4/10/2021 Sexual Harassment | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

https://www.eeoc.gov/sexual-harassment 2/2

180 days to file a charge (https://www.eeoc.gov/employees/charge.cfm) (may be extended by state laws)

Federal employees have 45 days to contact an EEO Counselor (https://www.eeoc.gov/federal/fed_employees/complaint_overview.cfm)

For more information, see:

Facts About Sexual Harassment (https://www.eeoc.gov/fact- sheet/facts-about-sexual-harassment) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/titlevii.cfm) Regulations: 29 C.F.R. Part 1604.11 (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2016-title29-vol4/xml/CFR-2016- title29-vol4-part1604.xml) Policy & Guidance (https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/sexual_harassment_guidance.cfm) Statistics (https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/sexual_harassment.cfm)