What would you do in this situation? A male worker approaches you and tells you he thinks the banter on the loading dock has gone a bit too far. A few of the guys, he says, have been picking on a male co-worker – telling lewd jokes and groping him from behind in a sexually taunting manner.
You check it out, tell them to quit the horseplay, but think to yourself: What's the big deal? Males will be males, and it's not as if any women are working in that area.
If that's your response, you could find yourself among the growing number of employers being hit with a formal sexual harassment lawsuit complaint by a male. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency that investigates such complaints, said last summer that claims by men now account for a full 13.5 percent of all sexual harassment charges the agency receives – a figure nearly double a decade ago.
What was once considered mere horseplay or acceptable joking between members of the same sex can no longer be tolerated in the workplace – as a number of employers who have been ordered to pay out tens of thousands to millions of dollars have learned.
Employers should pay close attention to allegations of same-sex harassment because they are just as much a violation of the law as traditional sexual harassment, but are often taken less seriously by supervisors, Attorney Tom Rebel of Fisher & Phillips LLP in Atlanta, Ga. says. Taking such complaints lightly will make the defense of 'prompt and effective remedial action' unlikely to succeed.
All agriculture and horticulture employers should have strongly worded written policies that prohibit sexual harassment of all types, as well as other forms of unlawful harassment. Be sure that these policies are clearly communicated to all managerial and non-managerial employees.
In addition, Rebel says it's important that you train your supervisors to be on the constant lookout for behaviors that could be construed as sexual harassment, including any lewd remarks, groping, or taunting members of the same sex in a sexually suggestive manner. Also, he says, it's critical that you train your supervisors to immediately respond to all complaints of sexual harassment – and that management promptly and thoroughly investigate such complaints.
This article was written in Gempler's ALERT, the newsletter of Ag/Hort safety and employment law compliance. To order a subscription, call 1-800-382-8473, ext. 201.