Public Policy and Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Public Policy and Law - Essay Example The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has discovered several major weaknesses in the anti-harassment policies and processes in many agencies. This essay discusses the definition of sexual harassment, as well as the relevant laws, case laws, and the current figures and scenarios. Introduction Cases of sexual harassment in the workplace is well documented and widely known. Catharine MacKinnon led the campaign for sexual harassment to be acknowledged as a rightful issue under the 1964 Civil Rights Act’s sex discrimination requirements (Mink 64). Before sexual harassment was acknowledged by the U.S. Supreme Court as a valid type of sex discrimination forbidden by federal law in its resolution in Meritor Savings Bank v Vinson in 1986, numerous lower courts had wrestled with the difficult problems posed by sexual harassment (Mink 64). Numerous lower courts had declined to acknowledge sexual harassment as a valid ‘cause of action’, claiming that courts shoul d not investigate or examine explanations of human conduct in the workplace. Human conduct or behavior, according to these courts, embodied a ‘slippery slope’ that would require a much larger number of federal judges, or that it would dramatically increase the number of court cases (Achampong ix). The invalidation of these decisions was an acknowledgment of the reality that sexual harassment is a criminal conduct that brings about a valid cause of action. Definitions, Relevant Laws, and Case Laws The 1990s have witnessed a sharpened awareness in society about sexual harassment, and a persistent, very important move toward total prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace (Bakirci 17). However, there is no direct and simple definition for sexual harassment. However, any definition in any policy should be clear and straightforward without leaving out the key legal principles (Orlov & Roumell 61): Sexual harassment is against the law. Any conduct of a sexual nature wi th or between coworkers or other managers could be considered sexual harassment. Anyone who breaks the law will be punished. All policies pertaining to sexual harassment must explicitly define that sexual harassment is a type of sexual discrimination prohibited by Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act or federal employment discrimination laws and nearly all other anti-discrimination laws. The policies of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) policies sexual harassment must be used. Most companies integrate them into their guidelines because they provide a quite precise and definite legal description of sexual harassment. The EEOC defines sexual harassment in this way (Achampong 201): Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitutes sexual harassment 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 individuals, or (3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. Nevertheless, any definition of sexual harassment must not end with the EEOC policies. They are simply the basis for a definite and brief definition. The various forms of sexual harassm