phanesh murthy sexual harrasment case

1. “ SEXUAL HARASSMENT AT
INFOSYS”
Case Study Discussion By:
(Group 6)
 Monika Bansal
 Rohit Kumar Jaitley
 Mohit Arora
 Praveen Kumar
 Sulagna Dutta

2. Brief Description of the Case
 This is a case about Black mail, sex, stalking, threats by a top manager of Infosys ,
India’s giant IT firm.
 The case of Sexual Harassment by a manager (Phaneesh ) to his Female
subordinate (Reka Maximovitch) had been filed in United States where the
incidence had taken place.
 The events took place during October 1999 and December 2000 , when Former
Secretary Reka Maximovitch alleged that Phaneesh had sexually harassed her and
unlawfully terminated her.
 Phaneesh’s reaction to these are that all the charges against him are false and he
was not involved in all the matter. Phaneesh quit the Company in 2002.
 After quitting by Phaneesh Infosys settled case out of the court where they give
$3.9 million to Reka which she had accepted.

3. Workplace Sexual Harassment
 In United States of America : Sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome
sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical
conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment . It is a form of Sex
Discrimination that occurs in the workplace. Persons who are the victims of
sexual harassment may sue under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of
1964 (42 U.S.C.A. § 2000e et seq.), which prohibits sex discrimination in the
workplace.
 In India : According to The Supreme Court of India definition of sexual
harassment is any unwelcome sexually determined behavior, such as:-
*Physical contact
*A demand or request for sexual favors
*Sexually colored remarks
*Showing pornography
*Any other physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature.

4. Effects of Sexual Harassment on Professional &
Personal Life
The issue is of concern for both women and the employers as
studies show that sexual harassment touches lives of nearly 40-60%
of working women .Sexual Harassment affects all women in some
form or the other. In Professional life it affects in some of the
following ways:
 Working women most commonly face the backlash to women taking
new roles.
 Sexual Harassment at work is an extension of violence in everyday
life and is discriminatory, exploitative, thriving in atmosphere of
threat, terror and reprisal.
 Lower productivity might be the result of employees that are already
burnout, thus this should be considered in the overall workplace
health policy

5. Effects of Sexual Harassment on Professional &
Personal Life (cont…)
In Personal life it affects in some of the following ways :
 Depression
 Anxiety and/or panic attacks.
 Traumatic stress; post-traumatic stress disorder.
 Insomnia and/or nightmares.
 Shame and guilt; self-blame.
 Difficulty concentrating.
 Headaches.
 Fatigue or loss of motivation.
 Overall loss of trust in people; problems with intimacy .
 Withdrawal and isolation.
 Suicidal thoughts or attempts; suicide .

6. Prevention of Sexual Harassment :
Company Responsibilities.
First and foremost, acknowledge that it is company’s responsibility to
provide safe working environment for women free from sexual harassment
and discrimination and that can be held liable for sexual harassment by
employees.
Other Measurements that can be taken are as follows:
 Adopting Sexual Harassment Policy.
 Communicate Policy
 Enforce Policy
 Complaints Committee
 Sexual Harassment Awareness Training .
 Commitment from the Top Management.
 Practices Consistent with policies.

7. Prevention of Sexual Harassment :
Employee Responsibilities.
Most women themselves fail to recognize sexual harassment and treat it as
trivial and routine. Such has been the internal coping mechanism. Ignoring
offensive behavior or denying its existence are the most common ways
women deal with sexual harassment.
Some of the Responsibilities of Employee of the Company.
 Dealing with the Harasser upfront.
 Speak up at the time
 Set your own boundaries
 Be aware of situations and people who may harm you
 Tell someone
 Create a Witness to the behavior.
 Report sexual harassment to the appropriate person in the organization

8. Delay in addressed of Sexual Harassment Case by
INFOSYS
Company’s board did not address the Reka Maximovitch case until
June 2002 , while she had filed the sexual harassment and unlawful
termination in December 2001. Some of the possible reasons may be
.
 Non disclosure of the case directly to the company by Reka.
 Failure of disclosure of relationship by Phaneesh to the company
management.
 No formal mechanism to deal with sexual harassment.
 To protect brand equity.
 Consumption of senior management’s time.
 Huge amount of settlement.
 Disagreement for settlement by Phaneesh.

9. Settling issue “out-of-court” by INFOSYS

Though out-of–court were the norm the most workplace sexual
harassment suits the world over, but it was not the best solution.
 Instead of addressing the problem, victim was paid off and the accused
walked away easily.
 With respect to Infosys, settled this case with Reka “out-of-court” was
right the following reasons may be true:
*The upcoming ADR offering
*Company held itself responsible for Phaneesh conduct.
*The charges were serious enough to affect the company negatively if
dragged to court.
*Infosys settled also because it wanted to retaliate with Phaneesh.

10. Measures adopted by INFOSYS to overcome
Harassment
Narayana Murthy the then Chairman of the Company said to the press that
they have taken steps to strengthen out internal processes and balances to
handle similar situations.
Measures adopted by INFOSYS.
 Strengthened grievance redressed procedures.
 Initiated training programs.
 Broadened dissemination of information.
 Conducted course on sexual harassment and importance of gender
sensitization.
 Project Housekeeping- Launched internal project to deal with unethical
demeanor.

11. Suggested measures to tide over the crisis.
 Notification of prohibition of sexual harassment at workplace.
 Penalize the offender.
 Ensure pleasant workplace environment to women.
 Redressal of time bound settlement of complaint.
 Establish strict policies and guidelines.
 Measure performance on the basis of corporate ethics.
 Initiating training programs regaring gender sensitivity.