Sexual Harassment Training

Harassment in the Workplace

What is Sexual Harassment?

• Hostile Work Environment: Regular and repeated actions or items displayed around the workplace that unreasonably interfere with job performance or create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.
  
  
• "Quid Pro Quo" ("Something for Something"): Usually involves a person of power (such as a supervisor) who threatens if a person does not go along with sexual advances, and/or rewards if a person does go along with such advances.

Harassment is NOT:

• Compliments
• Caring/honest concern
• An honest work performance evaluation
• Accidental
• A one-time incident unless it is severe

Quid Pro Quo is almost always considered harassment.

Perception is what is real. It doesn't matter what the harasser believes he or she was doing or what the intention was; if the victim believes it was harassment, it might have been.

• The victim or harasser may be male or female.
• The victim does not have to be the opposite sex.
• The harasser does not have to be a supervisor.
• The harasser does not have to be an employee of the company.
• The victim could be anyone affected by the offensive behavior.
• The harasser's conduct must be unwelcome.

If you think you have been harassed

• Let the individual know that the attention or action is unwanted.
• Keep a written record. Include dates, times, places and witness names, and a description of what occurred.
• Ask others with whom you work if they have felt the same way.
• Report it to your campus Supervisor, to any Vice President, or to the Director of Human Resources.

You may read the full policy in the Staff Policies and Procedures Manual.