SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE
Sexual harassment is a violation of state and federal
laws. Sexual harassment is a form of discrimination
that occurs when an individual makes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for
sexual favors, and/or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.
According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), sexual
harassment occurs “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” The harasser can be a supervisor, an agent of the employer, a
supervisor in another area, a co-worker or a non-employee. The harasser also can
be the same gender as the victim.
Sexual harassment can happen to anyone. Studies suggest that 40-70% of women and 10-20% of men have been victims of sexual harassment in the workplace.
State law expressly requires that every Rhode Island employer shall “[a]dopt a policy against sexual harassment …[and] [p]rovide to all employees a written copy of the employer’s policy…” Section 28-51-2 of the General Laws of Rhode Island.
The prohibition against sexual harassment does not only
apply to employers. It also applies to labor organizations, employment
agencies and those who aid and abet an unlawful employment practice.
Additional Information Regarding Sexual Harassment
How to Deal with Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
Sexual Harassment
in the Workplace: Guidelines and Legal Requirements for Rhode Island Employers