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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q1) Must the behavior be unwarranted to be sexual harassment?
A.) Confusion exists around this point especially when one fails to inform or state that the behavior is unwelcome and when one appears to go along with the behavior. Conduct may be unprofessional and risky but if it is not unwanted it is not quid pro quo sexual harassment. However, generally speaking, if conduct is uninvited and unwanted it is unwelcome.
Q2) If someone touches me when talking to me, is that considered sexual harassment?
A.) Conduct must generally be pervasive, not isolated, to be considered sexual harassment unless the contact is extreme. There are exceptions or extremes. The true sexual harasser has a pervasive pattern of behavior, even if confronted. A good example of behavior that can help avoid discomfort and potential harassment is to tell the person you are uncomfortable with the behavior.
Q3) Can sexual harassement occur without physical touching or a threat to the employee's job?
A.) Yes. The nature of sexual harassment may be purely verbal or visual (pornographic photos or grafitti on workplace walls, for example), and it does not have to involve any job loss. Any non-sexual but gender-based conduct that creates a work environment that a reasonable person would consider hostile may amount to sexual harassment.
Q4) Is flirting considered sexual harassment?
A.) Sexual harassment is in the eye of the beholder. What one person calls fun or flirting may be perceived by another as sexual harassment. Be careful!
Q5) Is sexual harassment of same sex persons unlawful?
A.) Yes. Although sexual harassment is generally thought of as perpetrated by men against women, any form of unwelcome sexual advance against employees of either gender may be the basis for a case of unlawful sexual harassment.
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