Lesson 1 of Traena's Anti-Harassment Training Course.

1. P R I V A T E A N D C O N F I D E N T I A L
Welcome to Traena’s anti-harassment training course! This is the first
lesson – Identifying and Understanding Sexual Harassment.
After this lesson, you will be able to:
• Define sexual harassment and its two primary types
• Identify sexual harassment behaviors and issues
• Recognize proper and improper behaviors
1
Agenda

2. P R I V A T E A N D C O N F I D E N T I A L
• Harassment is a form of employment discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964
• Harassment is unwelcome conduct that is based on race, color, religion, sex (including
pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information or any
other protected category
• Unlawful sexual harassment falls into two broad categories:
• Quid pro quo (literally ‘this for that’): where enduring the offensive conduct either
explicitly or implicitly becomes a condition of continued employment
• Hostile work environment: where the conduct is severe or pervasive enough to
create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating,
hostile, or abusive
2
What is harassment?

3. P R I V A T E A N D C O N F I D E N T I A L
• Offensive conduct may be:
• Verbal: offensive jokes, slurs, epithets or name calling, ridicule or mockery, insults
or put-downs
• Non-verbal: inappropriate gestures, staring, or similar behavior
• Physical: assaults or threats, intimidation
• Visual: offensive objects or pictures, and interference with work performance
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What is harassment? (cont’d)

4. P R I V A T E A N D C O N F I D E N T I A L
• Sexual harassment can occur in a variety of circumstances, including but not limited
to the following:
• The victim as well as the harasser may be a woman or a man. The victim does not
have to be of the opposite sex
• The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, an agent of the employer, a
supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or a non-employee
• The victim does not have to be the person harassed but could be anyone affected
by the offensive conduct (e.g. overhead offensive jokes)
• Unlawful sexual harassment may occur without economic injury to or discharge of
the victim
• The harasser's conduct must be unwelcome to be considered harassment but all
conduct must still comply with workplace standards
4
What is harassment? (con’td)

5. P R I V A T E A N D C O N F I D E N T I A L
• What determines if conduct was "unwelcome?”
• Evidence of "unwelcomeness" usually must be objective and includes:
• Statements to the harasser that the conduct is unwelcome
• Statements to others that the conduct is unwelcome
• Other observable indications that the victim does not appreciate the conduct
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Unwelcome behavior

6. P R I V A T E A N D C O N F I D E N T I A L
• Examples of quid pro quo sexual harassment include:
• Offering better work hours in exchange for sexual favors
• Offering promotion or threatening firing based upon sexual interaction
• Disciplining a subordinate who ends a romantic relationship
• Examples of hostile work environment sexual harassment include:
• Physical: touching, impeding movement, unwelcome advances, assault
• Verbal: asking unwelcome personal questions about someone’s sex life,
unwelcome requests for dates, repeatedly overhearing inappropriate jokes, using
racial slurs or sexual innuendo, comments about appearance, spreading rumors /
lies about someone’s sex life
• Visual: displaying offensive pamphlets / posters, displaying inappropriate content
from the internet, obscene gestures, display of sex-related objects
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Examples of Harassment

7. P R I V A T E A N D C O N F I D E N T I A L
• Federal law does not prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents
that are not extremely serious
• The conduct must be sufficiently frequent or severe to create a hostile work
environment or result in a "tangible employment action," such as hiring, firing,
promotion, or demotion
• Petty slights, annoyances, and isolated incidents (unless extremely serious) will not
rise to the level of illegality
• To be unlawful, the conduct must create a work environment that would be
intimidating, hostile, or offensive to reasonable people
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What is NOT harassment?

8. P R I V A T E A N D C O N F I D E N T I A L
• In determining whether harassment is sufficiently severe or pervasive to create a
hostile environment, the harasser's conduct should be evaluated from the objective
standpoint of a "reasonable person"
• If the challenged conduct would not substantially affect the work environment of a
reasonable person, no violation should be found
• A "hostile environment" claim generally requires a showing of a pattern of offensive
conduct
• In contrast, in "quid pro quo" cases a single sexual advance may constitute
harassment if it is linked to the granting or denial of employment benefits
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Reasonable Person Standard

9. P R I V A T E A N D C O N F I D E N T I A L
• Anti-discrimination laws also prohibit harassment against individuals in retaliation for
filing a discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any way in an investigation,
proceeding, or lawsuit under these laws.
• Anti-discrimination laws also prohibit harassment against individuals for opposing
employment practices that they reasonably believe discriminate against individuals, in
violation of these laws.
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Retaliation