Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

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In Managing Workplace Sexual Harassment: The Role of Manager Training, Grant Bucker states:

“This exploratory study addresses this issue by examining whether training quantity (i.e., cumulative training hours), training variety (i.e., the number of training methods employed), and training recency (i.e., the elapsed time since training) predict a manager's ability to (a) accurately identify sexual harassment and (b) recommend an appropriate response. Results suggest that, while training increases sensitivity, training is associated with decreased accuracy in identification of sexual harassment. No relationship was found among the predictor variables and manager accuracy in recommending an appropriate response. Implications concerning these results are offered along with directions for future research.” (Buckner, 2014)

This shows that although there can be efforts to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, there is no way to ensure that the management in charge will take proper protocol.

There have been times where sexual harassment was recognized and reported, but nothing was done about it. The case of Ani Chopourian v. Catholic Healthcare West d.b.a. Mercy General Hospital and Mercy General Hospital is a perfect example of that. Ani Chopourian said she was sexually harassed and tormented almost daily by surgeons and much of the medical staff in the cardiac surgery center at Mercy General from 2006 to 2008. During her employment and on a daily basis, plaintiff endured sexually inappropriate behavior in and out of the operative suite. Outside of surgery, male coworkers made repeated unwelcome and crude sexual advances and propositions. Vulgarity, obscene facial gestures, buttocks slapping, objectification of women and trash talk were daily occurrences, frequently in front of or involving managers of the department. During open heart surgery in the operative suite, unwelcome sexual behavior was a daily occurrence for a prominent heart surgeon whose daily greeting was "I'm horny." (Francis, 2012)

During her two-year employment in cardiac surgery, plaintiff submitted 18 written complaints concerning patient safety, employee safety, abuse of women and hospital conditions. In addition, Chopourian complained about the failure to provide sufficient meal breaks and rest breaks in violation of state law. Plaintiff's final complaint was stamped received by the human resources department less than one week prior to her termination. Four years after her termination a federal court jury awarded the 45-year-old former cardiac surgery physician assistant $125 million in punitive damages, $39 million for mental anguish and $3.5 million for lost wages and benefits. (Francis, 2012)

The lawsuit is a clear example of how victims are discouraged from reporting sexual harassment. Yes, in this case she came out victorious, but many times the harassment goes overlooked. There is no way to fully ensure that everyone does what is right, but hopefully cases like this make an example that positively influences decisions made by managers nationwide.

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References

Buckner, G. E. (2014, December 1). Managing Workplace Sexual Harassment: The Role of Manager Training. Employee Responsibilities and Rights.

Doyle, A. (2014). Types of Harassment in the Workplace. Retrieved from About.com: http://jobsearch.about.com/od/harassment/qt/Unlawful-Harassment-In-The-Workplace.htm

Francis, E. (2012, March 2). $168 Million Awarded in California Sex Harassment Suit. Retrieved from ABC News: http://abcnews.go.com/US/LegalCenter/168-million-awarded-woman-harassed-raunchy-cardiac-surgery/story?id=15835342

Hersch, J. (2015). Sexual Harassment in the Workplace. IZA World of Labor.

Landers, R. N. (2013, March 20). Textual Harassment at Work: Romance and Sexual Harassment on Social Media. Retrieved from neoacademic.com: http://neoacademic.com/2013/03/20/textual-harassment-at-work-romance-and-sexual-harassment-on-social-media/

Marino, L. A. (2014). Sexual harassment versus worklace romance; social media spillover and textual harassment in the workplace. The Academy of Management Perspectives, 187-203.

Smolensky, E. (2014). How to prevent sexual harassmn in the workplace. Equal Opportunities International.