Karen Johnston

Q. A co-worker of mine has been saying sexually explicit remarks to me.  I’ve asked him to stop.  What else should I do? 

A. In this type of situation, it is imperative that you contact those in your organization designated to receive complaints of sexual harassment and seek their assistance.  You should report these incidents to either your supervisor, the harasser’s supervisor or someone in your employer’s human resources department.  Your employer should have in place a policy which prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace, designates those in the organization to whom a complaint can be made and details the procedures it will follow in response to a complaint. 

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which is charged with enforcing the laws relating to sexual harassment in the workplace, has defined sexual harassment as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors or other verbal or physical acts of a sexual or sex-based nature when (1) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment; (2) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual; or (3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating or offensive working environment.  Clearly what you are experiencing falls within this definition.  In addition, sexual harassment may fall within the definition of illegal sex discrimination.   

Employers are generally obligated to investigate any complaint of sexual harassment, and will do so while maintaining confidentiality to the extent possible within the context of the investigation.  Depending on the situation, the employer may decide to take remedial measures to alleviate the situation until the investigation is completed, as well as imposing disciplinary action appropriate to the results of the investigation.  Depending on the outcome of the investigation, the employer can impose any form or level of discipline, which may include immediate discharge from employment. 

If you have not already done so, you should begin to keep a journal or log of these incidents.  Include what was said, your response, and the date, time and location of each incident.  If you have not kept a log in the past, try to remember this information about each incident and create the log now.  Be sure to include the names of any witnesses to these incidents or the names of other co-workers who may have had similar experiences with this employee.   

Please also remember that, while your response is a good and appropriate one, you are not required to try to deal with this on your own.  Your first response can be to request a copy of the company’s sexual harassment policy and to report the incident to one of the people listed in your employer’s policy so you have the benefit of all of the resources are available to you. 

Karen Johnston is a partner with Henson & Efron, P.A., a general practice law firm located in Minneapolis.  Her practice focuses on employment law counseling and employee benefit matters.  She is also experienced in business formation and commercial transactions and advises tax-exempt organizations.  Prior to joining Henson & Efron, Karen was Human Resources Director at the College of St. Catherine.