Where exactly did Henry go wrong? Standing motionless in front of his manager’s desk, trying to gather his thoughts about what he just heard. Words like Lawyer, federal court, and charges are still echoing in his ear. A coworker whom Henry knows has accused him of sexual harassment. It is at this time that Henry, and thousands of other employees in this Country find themselves in hot water. In an interview conducted at the Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC) of 688 past and present restaurant employees, “66% of female and more than half of male restaurant employees reported having been sexually harassed by managers”. An even more alarming number, 80% female and 70% male, were harassed by co-workers. The numbers don’t lie, sexual harassment is a common problem in the workplace. As the social butterfly within his division, Henry often spent his morning making his rounds throughout the office. He spoke to everyone he came in contact with, and had hugs and nicknames for those he routinely worked with. Those that knew Henry well were aware of his “happy go-lucky” demeanor, and had become accustomed to his morning routine. What Henry had not stop to realize through his years at the company, is that the times have changed. What was previously considered harmless or viewed as “just his way of saying hi” can now land you in substantial legal troubles. Things have changed
Just one year following Anita Hill’s 1991 testament to a Senate Judiciary Committee, about the sexual harassment she had suffered at the hands of then, Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reported a 50 percent increase in sexual harassment filings (New York Times 2011). In more recent news, some of Hollywood’s a-list actors have seen their careless acts/comments of a sexual nature land them in hot water. Man Men actor, Paul Johansson recently had dispute claims of sexual harassment from BuzzFeed’s staffer Susan Cheng. Cheng who was conducting an interview with Johansson discussing how to handle office jerks, claims the actor put his arms around her and made inappropriate comments about serial rapist and making out in meeting rooms with visitors. Although the accusations in these two cases are far more deliberate in nature compared to those of Henry’s case, the tolerance for such or similar behavior in today workforce is becoming all but eliminated. Awareness In today’s environment, employers have to make sure they remain aware of what’s going on within their workforce. What exactly constitutes sexual harassment anyway? Well according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) website; “It is unlawful to harass a person (an applicant or employee) because of that person’s sex. Harassment can include “sexual harassment” or unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature”
The EEOC website goes on to state that the law on harassment does not prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments or isolated incidents. But is does state that when those types of behaviors become frequent, and create a hostile/offensive work environment, that those types of behaviors become illegal, thus becoming harassment. One of the biggest things employers can do to mitigate the frequency of any unwanted types of behavior is staying ahead of the situation.

Our role
Establishing Policies and procedures for handling sexual harassment is probably one of the best preventive measures an employer can make. Employers should establish acceptable and unacceptable standards of conduct, and make these standards well known and visible. Everyone from the employer to the employees should be well versed in the company policies. Another key part of establishing policies is the complexity of enforcing them. Contrary to popular belief, harassment policies that require the accusers to report up a chain of command, are not the easiest of avenues for the accusers. Although streamlined in theory for ease of reporting, from my military experience, this line becomes complicated when the accused is in the reporting chain. To supplement this shortcoming, employer should create alternate lines of reporting to eliminated intimidation factors and bias reporting. Crowd Control
The common denominator in most high profile sexual harassment claims/cases is supervisors and subordinates. The Lackland AFB, MTI sex scandal rock the Air Force to its core in 2012. Over 61 basic trainees sexually harassed and assaulted by 32 different Instructors over a 3yr span. It was the largest sex scandal in basic training history. Of the multiple sexual harassment cases or claims that take place in America every day, those involving supervisors and subordinates are the most socialized in the media. For this reason alone, companies need to have policies prohibiting, or at a minimum, notification management of supervisor/subordinate relationship. Managements approach to these relationship can be an explosive situation if not handled promptly and properly. Accusations of concealment and favoritism are sure to disrupt productivity, morale and ultimately produce an unprofessional/hostile work environment. See it through Making policies for every sexual harassment situation in the world is no good if employers and not following up their initiatives and seeing claims/complaints through to the end. Investigating claims immediately shows the victims that you’re adamant about your position against harassment. The longer claims/complaints go un-attended to, the longer the road to recovering trust within the employees. Secondly I believe it’s equally important for management to quickly eliminate any fear or concerns or retaliation against the accuser. According to an article in The National Law Review, retaliation by an employer is a violation of every anti-discrimination law at the federal level, accounting for 42.8% of all EEOC charges in FY 2014. To foster the best possible situation for any employer to eliminate sexual harassment in their business, the accuser has to be free of fear from retaliations. Just like any situation where actions are taken to produce a change in behavior, following up and monitoring are essential to securing the desired changes. Conclusion Odds are that many work centers across America will have at least one Henry come through its door at some point in time. Whether these individuals are acting out of the goodness of their heart, or have ulterior motives, the reality is sexual harassment is a common problem in the workplace. In my opinion, the best approach any employer can have is a thorough awareness of what sexual harassment is, know their role in preventing harassment by establishing policies and enforcing standards, and seeing the policies through to the end to ensure accurate and fair treatment for all parties involved.

. http://www.westchestermagazine.com/Westchester-Magazine/November-2009/Sexual-Hysteria/ http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/22/opinion/sexual-harassment-20-years-later.html?_r=0 http://www.natlawreview.com/article/sexual-harassment-mistakes-employers-make http://time.com/3478041/restaurant-sexual-harassment-survey/