Sexual Harassment;Sexual Harassment;

Michael Burke EEBlaise Corbett EEGreg Decker EEAdrienne Goodman CEBryan Smith EE

University at BuffaloSchool of Engineering and Applied SciencesSenior Seminar

Danger ZoneDanger Zone

Sexual Harassment is not what Sexual Harassment is not what you may think...you may think...What Sexual Harassment IS:

Unwelcome Sexual Advances Requests for Sexual Favors Verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature

• Touching• Leering• Sexually charged words• Lewd Gestures• Invasion of “Personal Space”

These MAY constitute illegal harassment if: Submission or rejection of advances influences employment The conditions in the workplace create a “Hostile Work Environment”

Sexual Harassment is not what Sexual Harassment is not what you may think...you may think...What Sexual Harassment is NOT:

•Compliments•General Profanity•Isolated instances of merely crude behavior

Bottom Line:Fear of a sexual harassment lawsuit is no reason to avoid all human

contact.

BUT BE CAREFUL!What may not be harassment to one person may be harassment to another.

What Is Sexual Harassment?What Is Sexual Harassment?The Law:

Sexual Harassment is a form of sex discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.Title VII “prohibits discrimination on the basis of race and sex with respect to the compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of employment.”

What Does That Mean?Simply put, employment, or employee benefits are not to be linked in any way to a person’s gender, race or creed.

What is Sexual Harassment?What is Sexual Harassment?

• Hostile Work Environment• Harassment does not affect employment per se• Conditions of the working environment are altered

such that they have a detrimental effect on the victim

•Quid Pro Quo•Employment is contingent upon submission to sexual advances, or•Retaliation against sexual harassment complaints

Hostile Work EnvironmentHostile Work Environment

These pictures could be construed as sexual harassment, constituting a hostile work environment.

What is the Employer’s What is the Employer’s Responsibility?Responsibility?

Communicate the Law to ALL employees. Sponsor Sexual Harassment Training Program Create Policy that goes Beyond the Law

• Create a hierarchy that employees can use to report incidents

• Make it clear that Sexual Harassment will NOT be tolerated

Sexual Harassment Training Seminar

What is the Supervisor’s What is the Supervisor’s Responsibility?Responsibility? Be familiar with the law, and company policy

• Make sure that you adhere to both Be Watchful

• Pay attention to how employees interact• Be aware of events or behaviors that my constitute harassment• Talk to your employees about sexual harassment

Be Proactive• Take action, according to policy, when a subordinate reports sexual harassment• Make sure the legal department is aware of all claims

Train your employees• Conduct training programs• Discuss sexual harassment in staff meetings

What is the Employee’s What is the Employee’s Responsibility?Responsibility? Understand

• Know company policy and the law• Adhere to policy and the law• Be careful

Be Watchful• Pay attention to coworkers- avoid inadvertent offense• Look for subtle forms of harassment• Report any instances

Be active• Confront Harassers directly• If confrontation fails, file a grievance• Document ALL instances- detail Detail DETAIL!

What can What can YouYou do? do? Practical Advice for Engineers

Be courteous• Pleasantries are always allowed• Remember, jokes that end with “If they weren’t watermelons,

what were they?” aren’t funny to everyone.• Reference the Golden Rule

Think!• Don’t tweak “brittle” people for sport• Try to avoid loaded words; you’re intelligent enough to express displeasure

without the “F” word• Ask yourself (or others): Am I offending anyone?

Be Professional• Keep your personal life personal, and your professional life professional• Treat other employees, above and below you, with respect

But how can an Engineer But how can an Engineer be REALLY Sure?be REALLY Sure?

The Koppaphil EquationA way for Engineers to know

D anger

I A S dV

h x

2

dS P

lRt

p u

S w Tx n

Where d = proximity Sx = innuendo Ah = Obnoxious Quotient I = intentV = perception

And:

Where u = stink factor of cologne Sp = Amount of cologne (ml) Pu = B.O.R = Reason for contact t = time of contact(s) l = distance to victim(m)

Andw = # of loaded words used in conversation Tn = Tone of speech

Proximity dProximity d

The R factor.The numbers in the figure

indicate what number to use for R

Note that when R is infinity, proximity d goes to zero.

R is related to l exponentiallyR = constant * exp(l)

0.8

0.05

0.5 0.5

0.01

0.10.5 0.5

11

0.91

Infintiy

Proximity dProximity d

No Cologne 0Gillette 2Eternity 4English Leather 5Old Spice 8High Karate 9Brut 10Aqua Velva 12

Some typical values of u. Values subject to individual preference.Exception: No Cologne is zero no matter what one’s preference is.

But, Seriously, What Have We But, Seriously, What Have We Learned?Learned?

Sexual Harassment comes in two forms• Quid Pro Quo• Hostile Work Environment

Everyone is responsible for preventing it Prevention can boil down to seven letters:

RESPECT

For More InformationFor More Information:Check out these websites: Zero Tolerance Inc.

http://www.zt-inc.com Employer Publications

http://www.employerpublications.com Fair Measures

http://www.fairmeasures.com/print/report/index2.html New Jersey Chamber of Commerce*

http://njchamber.gti.net/Harassment/super/1001s.htm