Preventing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

As an employer, you have a responsibility to maintain a workplace that is free of sexual harassment. This is your legal obligation, but it also makes good business sense. If you allow sexual harassment to flourish in your workplace, you will pay a high price in poor employee morale, low productivity, and lawsuits.

The same laws that prohibit gender discrimination prohibit sexual harassment. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act is the main federal law that prohibits sexual harassment. (For more information on Title VII, see Nolo’s article Federal Antidiscrimination Laws.) In addition, each state has its own anti-sexual harassment law.

This article explains what sexual harassment is and provides some prevention strategies. If you need more detailed information on your legal obligations, or your company has been hit with a harassment complaint, pick up a copy of The Essential Guide to Handling Workplace Harassment & Discrimination, by Deborah C. England (Nolo).

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