s to recognize sexual harassment at all, that is when they are usually found liable.Many employers are continuing to ignore the need for a sexual harassment policy. Some feel they do not even need to promptly investigate a complaint. Companies need to act before the need to react has arisen. They must take all steps necessary to discourage sexual harassment. A sexual harassment policy should be a high priority of every company. This policy also needs to be distributed to all workers and supervisors. According to the EEOC, “a basic policy should set forth an express commitment to eradicate and prevent sexual harassment, a definition of sexual harassment, an explanation of penalties to be imposed, a detailed outline of the grievance procedure employees should use, additional resource or contact persons available for consultation, and an express commitment to keep all sexual harassment complaints and personnel actions confidential.” (www.business.strose.edu.) Companies may also want to warn their workers with examples of behavior that they consider inappropriate. This should include the telling of sexual jokes, posting pornography, or sexual advances towards co-workers. In researching this paper, I also came across some disturbing statistics. The American court system did not decide the first sexual harassment case under Title VII until 1976. In 1976, a Redbook magazine poll found that nine out of ten women said they had been subjected to unwanted sexual advances at work. In 1980, the government surveyed its own employees and found that forty-two percent of women stated they had experienced some form of work-related sexual harassment, in addition to fifteen percent of men! Seven years later, the numbers had not changed. According to Working Woman Magazine, a typical Fortune 500 Corporation can expect to lose $6.7 million annually due to sexual harassment. This does not include the damage to a company’s imag...
