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1. Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly
a term or condition of an individual's employment;
2. Submission to a rejection of such conduct is used as a basis
for an employment decision affecting the individual; or
3. Such conduct unreasonably interferes with an individual's
work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive
working environment.
The critical questions asked by the court are usually whether
the sexual advances are really unwelcome and whether the conduct
is severe enough to have a significant impact on the work environment.
Sexual harassment can consist of an offensive or unwanted physical
touching, but it can also be a pattern of obscene, lewd or suggestive
comments. In most cases, however, crude or off-color jokes do
not, by themselves, constitute unlawful sexual harassment.
An individual's sexually provocative speech or suggestive style
of dress may be relevant in determining whether sexual advances
made toward such a person are really unwelcome as the law requires.
If you believe that you are the victim of sexual harassment,
one course of action you may want to consider is whether to notify
the Supervisor of the employee involved. An employer generally
will not be found to be responsible for failing to correct this
type of misconduct if responsible officials are not notified
that it is occurring. Further information concerning the technical
requirements for making legal claims of this type can be obtained
from The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, The Pennsylvania
Human Relations Commission, or an attorney knowledgeable in this
field. TEL-LAW Message No. 1700, dealing with employment discrimination,
provides additional information regarding the procedural aspects
of pursuing such claims.
If you need an attorney and don't have one, the Lawyer Referral and Information Service can help.
Call Us Monday - Friday from 8:30 AM - Noon and 1:15 PM - 3:00 PM
at (814) 459-4411. |
