HRM 6302 Unit III CS

HRM 6302, Employment Law 1

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit III Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

2. Summarize Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 2.1 Identify the conduct that constitutes sexual harassment. 2.2 Analyze the protection against sexual harassment under Title VII.

3. Analyze the impact that workplace sexual harassment has on an organization.

3.1 Summarize the prevalence and cost of harassment in the workplace. 3.2 Analyze the appropriate response of employers to harassment and ways to prevent its

occurrence. Required Unit Resources Chapter 8: Harassment, pp. 281–318 Unit Lesson It is hard to imagine a more perfect example of alleged sexual harassment in the workplace than played out in the hearings to confirm Clarence Thomas as a Supreme Court justice in 1991. Many in human resources (HR) and employment law watched the testimony of Anita Hill with great interest, but few could have known how significantly this event would affect the workplace and the work of employment lawyers and human resource professionals. While the nation watched, Hill described under oath how Thomas allegedly harassed her while she worked for him from 1981 to 1983 in federal government agencies. Hill claimed that Thomas talked about scenes in pornographic movies and images in pornographic materials, as well as boasting of his own sexual abilities (“The Thomas Nomination,” 1991). Thomas’ strong denial and the lack of witnesses to any of the alleged interaction set the stage for a classic he said/she said scenario. The he-said side of the equation carried the day, and Thomas ended up being confirmed by the Senate by a slim margin. Nevertheless, sexual harassment took a great leap forward in public consciousness. With sex added as a protected category in the last days before Congress voted on the Civil Rights Act of 1964, sexual harassment was likely not even on the radar of the drafters. According to Cohen (2016), sexual harassment has been around as long as women have been in the workplace. As women began to employ in numbers in manufacturing and clerical roles in the early 20th century, they faced physical and verbal assaults by male managers. This conduct continued for decades and women had only the options of enduring sexually harassing conduct or quitting. Complaining was ineffective; at most, women were told the conduct was harmless and complainers were frequently retaliated against (Cohen, 2016). Title VII’s passage laid the groundwork for a legal remedy for sexual harassment, but it was not until 1975 that the term sexual harassment was coined (Cohen, 2016). Then, in the late 1970s, attorney Catharine MacKinnon developed the legal theory for sexual harassment as a violation of Title VII, including the concept of hostile work environment. Until this theory was tested and upheld by the Supreme Court in Meritor Savings Bank. v. Vinson, (1986), courts followed the “boys will be boys” thinking that left women vulnerable to environmental harassment (Strebeigh, 1991). How far have we come since the 1970s when a 1976 survey by Redbook found that 80 percent of working women reported that they had been sexually harassed in the workplace? Unfortunately, we have not come as far as you might expect. The continuing problem of workplace sexual harassment is reflected in recent surveys cited by Feldblum and Lipnic (2016) in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) Report of the Co-Chairs of the EEOC Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace.

UNIT III STUDY GUIDE Harassment in the Workplace

HRM 6302, Employment Law 2

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title

According to Feldblum and Lipnic (2016), approximately 25 percent of women reported sexual harassment in the workplace. However, when the term sexual harassment was defined in terms of specific behaviors such as unwanted sexual attention or sexual coercion, the rate of women who reported experiencing sexual harassment rose to 40 percent. The number rose further to 60 percent when sexist or crude and offensive behavior was included in the survey. Reflecting this problem, approximately one third of the charges filed with EEOC in fiscal year 2015 included a claim of harassment, and 45 percent of those alleged sexual harassment (Feldblum & Lipnic, 2016). Many persons subjected to sexual harassment do not report it, let alone file a charge of harassment. Internal reports should be viewed by organizations as an opportunity to investigate the concern, reach a finding, and take appropriate steps based on that finding. Investigations can be stressful for the participants and the organization, but they can lay the groundwork for resolution in an efficient and productive way. In one situation, a nurse complained about an incident at the annual social gathering for the maternity and obstetrics practice for which she worked. She reported to the office administrator that at the party, while her husband was not present, one of the doctors approached her, complimented her dress, and put his arm around her, squeezing her breast as he did so. The investigation revealed no witnesses and the doctor adamantly denied the allegation. However, the nurse’s excellent record, her credibility and lack of a motive to fabricate, and the doctor’s questionable behavior and comments toward other staff tilted the scales in favor of a finding the conduct more likely than not occurred. This created a dilemma for the other doctors in the practice: ignore the findings and retain a close colleague, take steps to reprimand him, or remove him from the practice. Investigations of harassment sometimes yield findings that require difficult choices by the organization, but they also reinforce the organization’s commitment to a harassment-free workplace and can fend off costly litigation if handled appropriately. The process that played out in the medical practice follows from important developments in workplace harassment stemming from two key Supreme Court decisions in 1998. In Faragher v. City of Boca Raton (1998) and Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Ellerth (1998), the Supreme Court resolved questions about the employer’s liability for supervisor sexual harassment and provided an affirmative defense to situations when a supervisor harasses a subordinate. Courts had struggled with when to hold employers liable for conduct by supervisors who violated employer policies, some following the theory that employers are liable for actions of their managers, but others reluctant to hold employers liable for the supervisors’ conduct that the employers had prohibited. The Supreme Court held that if an employer has a policy that prohibits harassment, provides a method for reporting such harassment, investigates reports, and takes corrective action to stop harassment if it is found to have occurred, the employer could defend itself against a legal claim even if a supervisor harassed an employee. Thus, in the medical practice situation, if the practice took steps to discipline the doctor and prevent him from harassing the nurse or others in the future, it could defend itself against a lawsuit. If it failed to take corrective action against the doctor, the practice had a strong risk of being successfully sued. The costs of harassment in the workplace are not easily quantifiable. However, they are real. Feldblum and Lipnic (2016) reported that the EEOC obtained approximately $160 million in harassment cases in fiscal year 2015, combining pre-litigation settlements and damages in lawsuits filed by the EEOC. However, this does not include lawsuits in which EEOC was not involved. In addition to legal damages, costs include legal fees and the less quantifiable loss of productivity in the workplace caused by harassment and its aftermath. Employers can seek to minimize harassment in the workplace through demonstrated commitment to harassment-free workplaces at the highest levels in the organization in the form of communication of policy and complaint procedure, periodic training of employees and supervisors, and prompt response to complaints of harassment. Training is a key component of any organizational program, but organizations are often reluctant to make the financial commitment to meaningful and effective training. All too often, training is not a priority until there has been an incident of workplace harassment. At that point, however, employees may view the training cynically as merely a reaction to a legal threat, rather than a true commitment to ensuring that all employees are comfortable in the work environment. Training is most effective as an integral part of an overall culture putting the highest priority on respect in the workplace and creating clear avenues for communicating concerns. In the second decade of the 21st century, 25 years after Anita Hill went before the Senate, the scorecard on eliminating sexual and other harassment in the workplace is far from acceptable. In some ways, we have

HRM 6302, Employment Law 3

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title

seen substantial advancements in workplaces where respect for women as well as all persons is demonstrated at the highest levels in the organization, and harassment is not tolerated. In other ways, however, there is still much room for improvement, particularly in industries where women have only recently begun to appear in greater numbers and in areas of work where improper behavior is tolerated because of the levels of stress and risk, such as law and medicine. Human resources professionals will lead the way on these necessary improvements and will need to gain the full support of their organizations for their efforts to be successful.

References Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Ellerth, 524 U.S. 742 (1998). Cohen, S. (2016, April 11). A brief history of sexual harassment in America before Anita Hill. Time.

http://time.com/4286575/sexual-harassment-before-anita-hill/ Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, 524 U.S. 775 (1998). Feldblum, C. R., & Lipnic, V. A. (2016, June). Report of the co-chairs of the EEOC Select task force on the

study of harassment in the workplace. https://www.eeoc.gov/june-2016-report-co-chairs-select-task- force-study-harassment-workplace

Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57 (1986). Strebeigh, F. (1991, October 6). Defining law on the feminist frontier. New York Times Magazine.

http://www.equalwomen.com/nytmagazine1991.html The Thomas nomination; Excerpts from Senate's hearings on the Thomas nomination [Interview transcript].

(1991, October 12). The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/12/us/the-thomas- nomination-excerpts-from-senate-s-hearings-on-the-thomas-nomination.html?pagewanted=1

Suggested Unit Resources In order to access the following resources, click the links below. The following PowerPoint presentation supplements the textbook chapter reading and is provided for further knowledge and review of the unit materials. Chapter 8 presentation (PowerPoint) or Chapter 8 presentation (PDF) Learning Activities (Nongraded) Nongraded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in their course of study. You do not have to submit them. If you have questions, contact your instructor for further guidance and information. At the end of each chapter of your textbook, scenario-driven questions provide legal issues and realistic situations that relate to employment law. Exploring these questions allows you the opportunity to further your understanding of the concepts in each chapter and prepares you for similar situations you may encounter in your workplace.

• Review the Chapter 8 questions in your textbook on pages 319–322.

1

Your paper should include the

page number in the upper

right hand portion of every

page. This can be easily

achieved by going to Insert, Page Number, Top of Page,

and then selecting Plain

Number 3.

Animals as Equals in Science Fiction

Student Name

Columbia Southern University

Course Name

Instructor Name

Date

SAMPLE CASE STUDY

This case study is modelled after some of the most common case study assignments here at CSU.

Keep in mind that while some case study assignments will look like this, not all of them will.

In those circumstances, pay particular attention to the questions that your assignment is asking you

to answer or the issues it wants you to address: These will become your level headings. This is the

assignment that this sample paper is responding to:

Use the resource below:

Clements, J. (2015). How science fiction helps us reimagine our moral relations with animals.

Journal of Animal Ethics, 5(2) 181.

Then, write a case study that answers the following questions:

-What types of characters are defined as “animal” in literature?

-What real-world societal problems do such characters address?

APA 7th edition allows for a variety of different font choices for papers. Options include

Times New Roman (size 12), Calibri (size 11), Arial (size 11), Lucida Sans Unicode (size

10), and Georgia (size 11). This example paper is written in Times New Roman, size 12.

The same font and font size should be used throughout the entire paper.

2

Animals as Equals in Science Fiction

In her article “How Science Fiction Helps Us Reimagine Our Moral Relations with

Animals,” Jennifer Clements (2015) details several science fiction write rs who bring animals and

animalistic characters to the forefront of their works. While it is an oft-ignored genre, science

fiction tends to be filled with satires and metaphors that act as calls to action for the more

attentive reader. Of these metaphors, one of the most popular is the animalistic character. The

trope of the animal appears in such classics as Frankenstein, The Island of Doctor Moreau, and

Planet of the Apes (Clements, 2015). These novels all utilize their respective animal characters to

cast a new light on some aspect of humanity. Science fiction very rarely focuses on true animals.

More often, these animals are some sort of hybrid between the natural creature and man, giving

them the higher thinking necessary to comment upon a multitude of societal issues, especially

those of discrimination and segregation.

The Animal as a Character

One of the most legendary stories not only of the genre, but of literature as a whole, is

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: Or the Modern Prometheus. While many of the adaptations of

Frankenstein have badly skewed the original store, the central theme of the creature as an

innocent and largely peaceful being has, for the most part, endured. This is true for the creature’s

many counterparts in the genre; they are feared, physically abused, or shunned for either their

appearance or origins, and yet, they are kind, thoughtful, and intelligent. Essentially, the

animalistic character is meant to represent the best of what humanity could be. This is

particularly ironic since, in an overwhelming majority of such tales, humans created these

creatures through their own scientific prowess (Clements, 2015). These origin stories cause a

dilemma for readers: Siding with the animal character feels like a betrayal to mankind, but

The thesis acknowledges both

of the issues prompted in the

assignment, and provides brief

answers to them.

Notice that both of the body paragraphs’ level headings

respond to questions from the prompt. Refer back to the

assignment:

What type of creatures are referred to as “animal” in

literature?

Since this passage answers that question, it receives a

heading. These headings can either be a reworded version

of your assignment’s original question, like this one, or

indicate your response to the question or issue.

When paraphrasing a key point in more than one sentence

within a paragraph, cite the source in the first sentence in which it is relevant and do not repeat the citation within

that paragraph as long as the source remains clear and unchanged.

The full title of

the paper is

repeated here,

bold and

centered.

3

challenges the reader to consider the viewpoints of those who are fundamentally different from

themselves.

The Animal as a Representative of Societal Problems

In Frankenstein, the creature acts as an example of “the moral wrongs that newly

expanding scientific frontiers made possible” (Clements, 2015, para. 2); while this topic remains

especially relevant with the advent of artificial intelligence on the horizon, it is not necessarily at

the forefront of human thought in the twenty-first century. For much of the lesser known writer

Cordwainer Smith’s body of work, however, the issues at hand are much more similar to those of

modern America. Smith centers many of his short stories on the conflicts between the

Underpeople (an animal-derived human) and the True Men, who, true to genre stereotypes,

created the Underpeople in their own image. The conflicts between the Underpeople and the

True Men are blatant analogies for racism and religious persecution, and are especially effective

in their execution. Smith’s stories (and those of similar writers) encourage

“continual… negotiation (not denial) of difference” (Clements, 2015, para.9).

Conclusion

Animal characters serve to represent not what humanity is, but what it has the potential to

become. The origin of these characters is typically man, representing the fact that hate and evil

are uniquely human attributes. These problems, originating with man, must end with man to

create a more enlightened and caring being. The animal is used as a representative of these

problems because of their relative goodness compared to humans; they have no wars and no

hatred with which they are born. The lessons illustrated by these skilled authors, centering upon

these idealistic beings, are critically important in learning to overcome such major issues as

racism and homophobia, uniquely caused and perpetuated by humanity alone.

This level heading answers this question:

What real-world societal problems do such characters address?

Conclusions are critical in all academic

papers. This is where you will tie

together all of your thoughts and main

points made about your subheadings.

4

References

Clements, J. (2015). How science fiction helps us reimagine our moral relations with animals.

Journal of Animal Ethics, 5(2) 181.

The word “References” should be

centered at the top of the page in bold font.

If you have any generalized questions

about your references page, refer to

the APA Citation Guide.

HRM 6302, Employment Law 1

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit III Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

2. Summarize Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 2.1 Identify the conduct that constitutes sexual harassment. 2.2 Analyze the protection against sexual harassment under Title VII.

3. Analyze the impact that workplace sexual harassment has on an organization.

3.1 Summarize the prevalence and cost of harassment in the workplace. 3.2 Analyze the appropriate response of employers to harassment and ways to prevent its

occurrence. Required Unit Resources Chapter 8: Harassment, pp. 281–318 Unit Lesson It is hard to imagine a more perfect example of alleged sexual harassment in the workplace than played out in the hearings to confirm Clarence Thomas as a Supreme Court justice in 1991. Many in human resources (HR) and employment law watched the testimony of Anita Hill with great interest, but few could have known how significantly this event would affect the workplace and the work of employment lawyers and human resource professionals. While the nation watched, Hill described under oath how Thomas allegedly harassed her while she worked for him from 1981 to 1983 in federal government agencies. Hill claimed that Thomas talked about scenes in pornographic movies and images in pornographic materials, as well as boasting of his own sexual abilities (“The Thomas Nomination,” 1991). Thomas’ strong denial and the lack of witnesses to any of the alleged interaction set the stage for a classic he said/she said scenario. The he-said side of the equation carried the day, and Thomas ended up being confirmed by the Senate by a slim margin. Nevertheless, sexual harassment took a great leap forward in public consciousness. With sex added as a protected category in the last days before Congress voted on the Civil Rights Act of 1964, sexual harassment was likely not even on the radar of the drafters. According to Cohen (2016), sexual harassment has been around as long as women have been in the workplace. As women began to employ in numbers in manufacturing and clerical roles in the early 20th century, they faced physical and verbal assaults by male managers. This conduct continued for decades and women had only the options of enduring sexually harassing conduct or quitting. Complaining was ineffective; at most, women were told the conduct was harmless and complainers were frequently retaliated against (Cohen, 2016). Title VII’s passage laid the groundwork for a legal remedy for sexual harassment, but it was not until 1975 that the term sexual harassment was coined (Cohen, 2016). Then, in the late 1970s, attorney Catharine MacKinnon developed the legal theory for sexual harassment as a violation of Title VII, including the concept of hostile work environment. Until this theory was tested and upheld by the Supreme Court in Meritor Savings Bank. v. Vinson, (1986), courts followed the “boys will be boys” thinking that left women vulnerable to environmental harassment (Strebeigh, 1991). How far have we come since the 1970s when a 1976 survey by Redbook found that 80 percent of working women reported that they had been sexually harassed in the workplace? Unfortunately, we have not come as far as you might expect. The continuing problem of workplace sexual harassment is reflected in recent surveys cited by Feldblum and Lipnic (2016) in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) Report of the Co-Chairs of the EEOC Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace.

UNIT III STUDY GUIDE Harassment in the Workplace

HRM 6302, Employment Law 2

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title

According to Feldblum and Lipnic (2016), approximately 25 percent of women reported sexual harassment in the workplace. However, when the term sexual harassment was defined in terms of specific behaviors such as unwanted sexual attention or sexual coercion, the rate of women who reported experiencing sexual harassment rose to 40 percent. The number rose further to 60 percent when sexist or crude and offensive behavior was included in the survey. Reflecting this problem, approximately one third of the charges filed with EEOC in fiscal year 2015 included a claim of harassment, and 45 percent of those alleged sexual harassment (Feldblum & Lipnic, 2016). Many persons subjected to sexual harassment do not report it, let alone file a charge of harassment. Internal reports should be viewed by organizations as an opportunity to investigate the concern, reach a finding, and take appropriate steps based on that finding. Investigations can be stressful for the participants and the organization, but they can lay the groundwork for resolution in an efficient and productive way. In one situation, a nurse complained about an incident at the annual social gathering for the maternity and obstetrics practice for which she worked. She reported to the office administrator that at the party, while her husband was not present, one of the doctors approached her, complimented her dress, and put his arm around her, squeezing her breast as he did so. The investigation revealed no witnesses and the doctor adamantly denied the allegation. However, the nurse’s excellent record, her credibility and lack of a motive to fabricate, and the doctor’s questionable behavior and comments toward other staff tilted the scales in favor of a finding the conduct more likely than not occurred. This created a dilemma for the other doctors in the practice: ignore the findings and retain a close colleague, take steps to reprimand him, or remove him from the practice. Investigations of harassment sometimes yield findings that require difficult choices by the organization, but they also reinforce the organization’s commitment to a harassment-free workplace and can fend off costly litigation if handled appropriately. The process that played out in the medical practice follows from important developments in workplace harassment stemming from two key Supreme Court decisions in 1998. In Faragher v. City of Boca Raton (1998) and Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Ellerth (1998), the Supreme Court resolved questions about the employer’s liability for supervisor sexual harassment and provided an affirmative defense to situations when a supervisor harasses a subordinate. Courts had struggled with when to hold employers liable for conduct by supervisors who violated employer policies, some following the theory that employers are liable for actions of their managers, but others reluctant to hold employers liable for the supervisors’ conduct that the employers had prohibited. The Supreme Court held that if an employer has a policy that prohibits harassment, provides a method for reporting such harassment, investigates reports, and takes corrective action to stop harassment if it is found to have occurred, the employer could defend itself against a legal claim even if a supervisor harassed an employee. Thus, in the medical practice situation, if the practice took steps to discipline the doctor and prevent him from harassing the nurse or others in the future, it could defend itself against a lawsuit. If it failed to take corrective action against the doctor, the practice had a strong risk of being successfully sued. The costs of harassment in the workplace are not easily quantifiable. However, they are real. Feldblum and Lipnic (2016) reported that the EEOC obtained approximately $160 million in harassment cases in fiscal year 2015, combining pre-litigation settlements and damages in lawsuits filed by the EEOC. However, this does not include lawsuits in which EEOC was not involved. In addition to legal damages, costs include legal fees and the less quantifiable loss of productivity in the workplace caused by harassment and its aftermath. Employers can seek to minimize harassment in the workplace through demonstrated commitment to harassment-free workplaces at the highest levels in the organization in the form of communication of policy and complaint procedure, periodic training of employees and supervisors, and prompt response to complaints of harassment. Training is a key component of any organizational program, but organizations are often reluctant to make the financial commitment to meaningful and effective training. All too often, training is not a priority until there has been an incident of workplace harassment. At that point, however, employees may view the training cynically as merely a reaction to a legal threat, rather than a true commitment to ensuring that all employees are comfortable in the work environment. Training is most effective as an integral part of an overall culture putting the highest priority on respect in the workplace and creating clear avenues for communicating concerns. In the second decade of the 21st century, 25 years after Anita Hill went before the Senate, the scorecard on eliminating sexual and other harassment in the workplace is far from acceptable. In some ways, we have

HRM 6302, Employment Law 3

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title

seen substantial advancements in workplaces where respect for women as well as all persons is demonstrated at the highest levels in the organization, and harassment is not tolerated. In other ways, however, there is still much room for improvement, particularly in industries where women have only recently begun to appear in greater numbers and in areas of work where improper behavior is tolerated because of the levels of stress and risk, such as law and medicine. Human resources professionals will lead the way on these necessary improvements and will need to gain the full support of their organizations for their efforts to be successful.

References Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Ellerth, 524 U.S. 742 (1998). Cohen, S. (2016, April 11). A brief history of sexual harassment in America before Anita Hill. Time.

http://time.com/4286575/sexual-harassment-before-anita-hill/ Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, 524 U.S. 775 (1998). Feldblum, C. R., & Lipnic, V. A. (2016, June). Report of the co-chairs of the EEOC Select task force on the

study of harassment in the workplace. https://www.eeoc.gov/june-2016-report-co-chairs-select-task- force-study-harassment-workplace

Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57 (1986). Strebeigh, F. (1991, October 6). Defining law on the feminist frontier. New York Times Magazine.

http://www.equalwomen.com/nytmagazine1991.html The Thomas nomination; Excerpts from Senate's hearings on the Thomas nomination [Interview transcript].

(1991, October 12). The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/12/us/the-thomas- nomination-excerpts-from-senate-s-hearings-on-the-thomas-nomination.html?pagewanted=1

Suggested Unit Resources In order to access the following resources, click the links below. The following PowerPoint presentation supplements the textbook chapter reading and is provided for further knowledge and review of the unit materials. Chapter 8 presentation (PowerPoint) or Chapter 8 presentation (PDF) Learning Activities (Nongraded) Nongraded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in their course of study. You do not have to submit them. If you have questions, contact your instructor for further guidance and information. At the end of each chapter of your textbook, scenario-driven questions provide legal issues and realistic situations that relate to employment law. Exploring these questions allows you the opportunity to further your understanding of the concepts in each chapter and prepares you for similar situations you may encounter in your workplace.

• Review the Chapter 8 questions in your textbook on pages 319–322.