HUMAN RESOURCES
U
.S. courts have made it clear to employers that sexual climate of your entire company. It is up to you
sexual harassment is not tolerable in the work- to address and correct the misbehavior you’re aware
place, and small businesses are just as vulnerable to of and to prevent it from happening in the first place.
sexual harassment lawsuits as are large corporations. Preemptive actions are necessary because compa-
Just as most corporations have adopted anti-harass- nies can be held accountable even if you had no idea
ment policies, so should you have a plan in place for sexual harassment was occurring.
dealing with sexual harassment. This is especially ur- The key is to avoid liability by instituting a thorough,
gent when one considers that sexual harassment well-communicated policy prohibiting sexual ha-
suits don’t have a stipulated monetary damages ceil- rassment and a complaint procedure that’s comfort-
ing, and the outcome is often based on the jury’s able for employees to use. A company’s best defense
sense of outrage. against a lawsuit by an employee is to have a no-ha-
Even if you conduct yourself in a perfectly accept- rassment or discrimination policy, a grievance proce-
able manner, sexual-harassment law dictates that dure, and the ability to show that employees know
you, as the business owner, are responsible for the about and use these procedures. In other words, if an
employee claims sexual harassment but leaves your
company without using grievance procedures, they
aren’t apt to have a strong legal case.
The definition of sexual harassment is any unwant-
ed or inappropriate sexual attention, including touch-
ing, looks, comments, or gestures. A key part of sex-
ual harassment is that it is one-sided and unwanted.
Subtle sexual behavior is sometimes socially accept-
able, but some people may consider it offensive and
want it stopped.
Although sexual harassment usually happens to
women, men are also potential victims, either by
women or by other men. Treat all complaints with
equal seriousness. Indeed, the U.S. Supreme Court
in the past decade has broadened the definition of
sexual harassment to make it reach beyond the tradi-
tional male-female scenario and, as a business owner,
you should take steps to protect yourself by making
sure the guidelines in your employee handbook de-
fine sexual harassment using the broader definition.
Preventing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
You have a duty to investigate allegations of sexual
 ThinkBusiness June 2009 
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