The Roanoker - March/April 2018 - 49

SEXUAL HARASSMENT

Companies are strongly urged to have a handbook, says
Holland, "and they should have a written policy defining
harassment, including sexual harassment." Tower says the
company must "make sure the policy is seen as fair with the
ideal goal of eradicating sexual harassment."
The law, says Tower, stipulates that sexual harassment must
be "severe and pervasive," according to a judicial interpretation
of Title VII in a 1986 case, "although employer policies usually
cover any conduct that creates a hostile work environment." Law
firms and HR departments offer "a ton of training" in bigger
companies that small companies can't afford.
"Those companies who do not offer harassment training and
who fail to have written policies relating to sexual harassment,"
says Holland, "are likely to be the most vulnerable to legal
action."
Federal law, says Tower, "kicks in at 15 employees. Companies
with 15 to 50 employees are big enough to cover, but frequently
not big enough to have a handbook and attorneys."
It is important, says Tower, to file grievances as quickly as
possible because "there is a 300-day statute of limitations." In
addition, "the longer you wait, the harder it is to verify."
Courts don't warm to the cases, according to a story in the
New York Times. " ... Courts routinely dismiss cases brought
by workers who claim their supervisors propositioned them,
kissed them or grabbed their breasts. The judges declare that
the conduct does not constitute harassment in a legal sense, and
refuse to let the cases go to trial."
Sexual harassment is often a serial offense. "You can't legislate
human nature," says Tower, but in light of recent developments,
"employers' investigations into sexual harassment claims often
reveal that the harasser continued the conduct even after being
caught the first time."
False reporting of sexual harassment tends to subvert
legitimate cases, though false reports are rare. According to
Justice Department's Office of Violence Against Women, "...
the prevalence of false reporting is between two percent and
10 percent."
The Times' story suggests that "the legal system favors
employers over employees via a host of procedural, evidentiary
and substantive mechanisms. Sexual harassment lawsuits are one
area where this systematic bias appears; racial discrimination
lawsuits are another."
Shannon Anderson of Roanoke College insists that "women
are in a double bind. If you act feminine, you are seen as not
interested in advancing your career. If you're serious and act
like men, you're bitches or bossy. Sexual harassment is the
embodiment of anger, the desire to hold power. ... Men often feel
vulnerable. They feel an assault on their jobs and their power."
Technology and engineering professions, she says, "are brutal
[for women] and I wonder why women in technology won't
acknowledge it."
She says many men are "responding to a threat to their

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masculinity. You see it in male-dominated working class jobs,
especially blue collar, where women are much more at risk."
Sexual harassment, she says, "has a cumulative effect on
healthy careers, productivity for a lot of women. They leave [jobs]
because they don't want to deal with it."
"I was over 1,000 temp workers" as an executive with
ADECCO "in my last job," says Lauren Macy, "and there were
a lot of accusations [of sexual harassment]. The minute the word
was used, we followed protocol. It was costly and can be a culture
buster." Everybody, she insists, "deserves to work in a non-hostile
environment." Still, "We're in the south. People hug each other
here. People put their hands on shoulders. We have to understand
that what is appropriate for you may not be appropriate for me."
Macy sees a "feeding frenzy" working its way into the
consciousness of many and suggests that those being harassed
"need to have an outlet, but [complaints] don't need always wind
up in termination. I think these things are coming to a head."
AT ITS MOST BASIC, says Joyce Waugh, president of the
Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce, "We need to make
sure people are aware. The key is to manage and prevent this issue
from occurring. I don't think the women I know haven't had a
feeling of discomfort in a work situation at some time. ... The
more transparent [the work environment] the better. I don't think
[a policy] is always clear in every work place. ... It is incumbent
upon all managers to be vigilant."
The chamber, Waugh says, promotes seminars. "We don't have
experts, but our members do."
Despite the promise of the #MeToo movement, which
encourages women to be forthright with their sexual harassment
stories, there remains hesitation for many reasons. One Roanoker,
who asked for anonymity, said, "Women learn to keep things to
themselves and learn from them. It is wrong that we must do
this but women almost always are further harmed by telling, and
the outcome changes nothing. Not all my family and friends are
privy to certain topics. I continue to deal with it and those who
perpetrate the act often are not even aware of it."
Says former executive Patti Lucas, "I was often the only
woman in manager level meetings. I didn't have big problems but
there were certain guys (like the HR VP) who had a high 'creep
vibe.' ... Men in that environment often think they are just being
funny but they'll sometimes cross a line and it's hard to call them
on it without seeming overly sensitive or not one of the guys."
Lisa Banks, responding to a Roanoker's Facebook post,
recently wrote, "It's a new time wherein, suddenly, female
accusers are believed and have the power ... As a society we
need to draft new rules of conduct to avoid mistakes that destroy
men's lives. ... Make no mistake, for decades many women's lives
were destroyed without recourse. In this brave new world, overexuberance and misplaced revenge will create some victims. It's
an unfortunate side effect of necessary change." I

MARCH/APRIL 2018

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