Identifying Sexual Harassment

Despite years of legislation and efforts at education and training, sexual harassment in the workplace is an active and widespread problem even today. Each year, thousands of workers -- both male and female -- suffer from discrimination and prejudice based solely on their sex. Though such discriminatory behavior is explicitly illegal, proving that sexual harassment has taken place is surprisingly difficult.

As a supervisor or business owner, how can you know if sexual harassment is occurring in your office or company? As a hardworking employee, how can you tell the difference between acceptable interactions and unacceptable harassment?

Types of Sexual Harassment

To begin with, there are two main types of sexual harassment to look for in the workplace:

• Quid pro quo harassment: occurs when the aggressor pressures the victim to perform sexual favors for something in exchange, such as a promotion. If the victim refuses, he or she may be denied the 'benefit' -- or even punished. Because of the nature of quid pro quo harassment, it often takes place between a supervisor and a subordinate.
• Hostile work environment harassment: occurs when an office work environment becomes so discriminatory, crude, or offensive that it would interfere with the ability of a reasonable employee to perform his or her job.

When confronting sexual harassment at work, it is important to remember that anyone can be a victim, regardless if they are male or female, a supervisor or employee. For example, not all instances of sexual harassment occur between people of opposite genders.

Contact Us

If you have been harassed at work because of your sex, or if you notice another employee being sexually harassed, contact the Houston employment attorneys of the Ross Law Group at 713-482-6910 to learn about your legal options.