Abstract
The presence of hierarchy and rank in every organization bestows authority over a number of individuals. To a certain extent, this presence of power and ascendancy of those high ranking officials could open opportunities to these individuals to abuse their influence. An observable manifestation of this abuse is the presence of grievances regarding sexual harassment. Though it has been infused in the legal regime for some time now, this issue has become one of the prevailing cases in recent history. The following discussions will be based on the legal principles of sexual harassment. In the same regard, the following discussions will be covering the courses of action for managers dealing with such a sensitive issue. The discussions below will be a response to the scenario presented by the grievance of a female officer. The arguments, observations, and recommendations are to be based on academic and scholarly accounts on the issue of sexual harassment in the US legal regime.
Elements of Sexual Harassment
The prime mover of the sexual harassment policy in the United States is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). They placed the issue of harassment in line with the violations made with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act 1964. (2000) This means that the EEOC have aligned the act of sexual harassment with discrimination in employment based on sex or gender. (2000) quoted the claims provided by the EEOC pertaining to the actual elements of sexual harassment in the workplace. The EEOC defined harassment as the “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual behaviors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature…when submission to or rejection of this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual’s employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.” (2000) With these words, any organization could build on a sexual harassment policy on its own. Based on the claims of the scenario, it is apparent that the report provided by the female officer is indeed a grievance for sexual harassment. Consequently, the sergeant should deal with the issue himself if he has the authority; if not, he could deal with it by consulting the matter with the one handling it in the police department. A set of recommendations will be provided in the later parts of the paper.
Liability of the Supervisor and Employers
The legal responsibility of the employer or supervisors in charges of sexual harassment is seen whether there are an existing policies and procedures in outlawing any form of sexual harassment. (1998) The following discussions could help managers and employers determine the liabilities that are waiting for them once sexual harassment claims are encountered. In doing so, they could thus establish defenses on such charges and minimize or even totally avoid liability. Previous court judgments and pertinent laws will constitute the said discussions.
Applicable Federal Laws
As mentioned in the earlier part of this paper, the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act 1964 served as the legal foundation of the sexual harassment policies in the United States. ( 2000) In the same manner, amendments and developments in the said law has similarly imposed changes in the policies pertaining to sexual harassment. For instance, the more recent Civil Rights Act of 1991included additional provision granting claimants to charge for punitive damages. In the same manner, the said act has been ratified to extend the rights and protection of US employees even outside the territories of the United States. (1998, 1) Specifically, there is a provision in the said Act that American citizens working for an American-owned company are protected by the tenets of the Civil Rights Act, particularly in the context of sexual harassment. In connection of the scenario provided, it appears that the law covers the grieving party in the organization. This only means that the said information essentially merits an investigation and the manager should address the imminent issue forwarded by the female officer.
Case Precedent on Sexual Harassment
In knowing the recent decisions and case laws surrounding the issue of sexual harassment in America, the common employer, manager and supervisor will be able to understand the principles and legal interpretations provided for by the legal regime covering sexual harassment. For instance, the case of Williams v. Saxbe, 413 F.Supp. 654 (1976) first manifested the quid pro quo type of sexual harassment. (1998) Basically, this type of harassment manifests the solicitation of sexual favors or any submission of sexual advances of the employer to a subordinate. The salary or even a position in the company is often regarded as a means of a bargaining chip held by the employer to acquire such sexual favors from the employees. In the case of Meritor Savings Bank v. Visnson, 477 U.S. 57 (1986), the type of sexual harassment named as a hostile working environment is established. Basically, the said case indicated that the unwarranted verbal remarks could be deemed a form of sexual harassment especially if these interfere in the performance of the victim. This significantly resembles the case indicated in the scenario involving the female police officers.
As indicated earlier in the paper, sexual harassment cases have been spilling out of the brim in courts as claims left and right are being filed against employers. Recent cases like Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services (1998), have established certain standards in the legal interpretation of the sexual harassment regime. The said case has broadened the regard of harassment in terms of a person’s sex. This shows that the laws of harassment evolve and its interpretation adapts with the changing of times.
Preventive Measures for Managers
In connection with the scenario provided, (1995, 493) have presented several recommendations pertaining to implementing some preventive measures in organizations managed by the state. Basically, (1995) noted that a basic knowledge of the types of sexual harassment will be helpful especially for managers. Thus, in the case of the sergeant, he must first realize that the type of harassment that the male officers have carried out towards the female officer. In the same manner, (1995) noted that the EEOC guidelines would be rather useful in dealing with cases within the company. It involves a comprehensive explanation on which the written policy of the organization could be based on. In relation to this, she also stressed the importance of an established written policy in government organizations. In accordance to the scenario, the sergeant has to consult the existing policies in the police department regarding the treatment on such complaints and grievances. To a certain degree, one of the most important claims forwarded by (1995) in preventing sexual harassment in the organization is to pay close attention to grievances and complaints on harassment. This will encourage victims to step forward and at the same time be a deterrent for those in the organization with high propensity to harass their officemates.
Conclusion
The issues of sexual harassment have been carefully discussed above. From its humble beginnings, applicable laws and the possible courses of action provide some level of clarity especially on the part of the managers and supervisors of an organization. In any case, a manager should realize that the presence of sexual harassment grievances is not only an indication of a huge issue on personnel; it also shows that there is a brewing (if not yet full blown) problem in the overall culture of the organization. Upon realizing these, the recommended preventive measures as well as the remedial initiatives pointed out above should be immensely helpful for managers and supervisors of any organization.
Winston Hanson
Unit 5 DB Corrections and Organizational Effectiveness
June , 2007
Morally speaking, deception and lying are both essentially reprehensible actions. However, there is a study indicating that in the United States, deception is a common element in interpersonal relationships. ( 2002) This means that despite the common view that lying and deception are despicable acts and commonly seen as hateful, people still do it for some reason.
The issue now complicates when public servants engage in such acts of deception and lying. In this regard, professional ethics comes into the picture. For instance, in a court of law, lying under oath constitutes perjury. (2003) The punishment for this act of deception is severe especially in the case of prosecutors. However, these are basically isolated incidents. Witnesses are the ones who often engage in these acts.
One study took notice of the propensity of police officers to lie on the witness stand in order to cover their mistakes. (1999, 26) In looking at the discussion on this study, it evidently shows that when individuals directly involved in the processes of criminal justice, a lot more is at stake and possibly compromised when they engage in deception and lie through their teeth. The motive for lying to some extent justify the act for any private individual, however the for public servants and those whose mandate is to seek justice, lying and deception could only equate to blatantly disregarding the principles on which they have vowed to protect.
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