Scenario 1: Employee Alleges Harassment by Her Co-Worker
The alleged Harasser, Alan and the Plaintiff, Vicky, were co-workers at XYZ, Inc. They had been acquaintances at work for approximately a year before Vicky went to her Supervisor to complain of sexual harassment by Alan. Specifically, Vicky alleges that Alan harassed her by posting repeated and unwelcome comments under several photos that she had uploaded to her Facebook page, such as “nice shoes,”2 “looking so hot,” and “why don’t you wear that to work?”
She also claims that Alan printed and showed several pictures of Vicky to other male employees of XYZ while at work. The photos show Vicky wearing a short red dress at a party, wearing a bikini during her vacation to Cancun and riding a mechanical bull at a bar. After Vicky learned of this, because the other co-workers started commenting on how she looked in a bikini—and how she’d look without it—she “de-friended” Alan.
Vicky admits that she was Facebook “friends” with Alan, but claims that she accepted his “friend request” soon after she met him and that it would have been extremely rude to deny his friend request at that time. Alan claims that he was just flirting and joking with Vicky and that he thought it was welcomed by her. He claims that Vicky could have “de-friended” him or asked him to stop earlier.
PROJECT OBJECTIVE: You are the Human Resources Director for XYZ. Please apply your Sexual Harassment policy to the fact pattern and discuss how these allegations should be resolved.
Sexual Harassment Policy Guidelines
- clear statement of the company’s position on sexual harassment (including EEO & anti-retaliation statements)
- definition of sexual harassment
- conditions under which conduct is considered harassing
- steps employees should take if they experience or witness sexual harassment
- examples of what is and what is not sexual harassment
- consequences and penalties
The guidelines for investigating complaints should include the following:
- gathering information about a complaint and interviewing the complainant
- investigating a claim
- interviewing the accused
- interviewing witnesses
- resolving the complaint
Scenario 2: Employee Alleges Harassment by Her Supervisor
Art is Vicky’s Supervisor at XYZ, Inc. Art was Vicky’s Supervisor for approximately two years and had been her primary performance evaluator before Vicky filed a sexual harassment complaint against him to Human Resources. Specifically, Vicky alleges that Art repeatedly harassed her at work by making lewd comments about what she was wearing in the photos she posted to Facebook. Several times, Art told Vicky that he would prefer her to wear a certain outfit to work that he thought was sexy and that he would like it “if she hiked up her skirt a bit” like she had in a couple of the photos on Facebook.
Vicky and Art were never Facebook “friends,” but Vicky states that Art would come to her desk during their lunch period and look over her shoulder while she was viewing her Facebook account. While he was doing this, he would occasionally place his hands on her shoulders and give her a “friendly” neck massage. She didn’t say anything the first time, because she knew she wasn’t supposed to be on Facebook on the company computer. The second time it happened, she objected, and he told her she’d “better not complain,” because she had violated company rules.
According to some workers, Art would often ask other employees who were “Facebook friends” with Vicky to bring up her profile so that he could view pictures of her partying on the weekends. When this came to Vicky’s attention, she became very uncomfortable at work and went to Human Resources to complain.
PROJECT OBJECTIVE: You are the Human Resources Director for XYZ. Please apply your Sexual Harassment policy to the fact pattern and discuss how these allegations should be resolved.
Sexual Harassment Policy Guidelines
- clear statement of the company’s position on sexual harassment (including EEO & anti-retaliation statements)
- definition of sexual harassment
- conditions under which conduct is considered harassing
- steps employees should take if they experience or witness sexual harassment
- examples of what is and what is not sexual harassment
- consequences and penalties
The guidelines for investigating complaints should include the following:
- gathering information about a complaint and interviewing the complainant
- investigating a claim
- interviewing the accused
- interviewing witnesses
- resolving the complaint