According to information posted at the website www.womensissues.about.com, studies suggest that anywhere between 40-70% of women and 10-20% of men have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace.

As posted at the www.EEOC.gov website, the number of sexual harassment discrimination complaints/suits filed and resolved under Title VII is 25% higher today than it was in 1992, while the monetary benefits have more than tripled (and that doesn’t include monies awarded/obtained through litigation).

Sexual harassment in the workplace is a very real and on-going problem and every business owner must take specific steps to prevent sexual harassment from happening and to stop it immediately should it happen.

The business owner who does not address this issue is at risk of losing big in a sexual harassment lawsuit.

What is Sexual Harassment?

Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Who can be a victim of sexual harassment?

• The victim and the harasser can be of opposite sex or the same sex.

• The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, an agent of the employer, or even a non-employee.

• A victim does not have to be the person directly harassed but could be anyone affected by the offensive conduct.

What constitutes sexual harassment?

While each incident needs individual evaluation, a broad definition of sexual harassment can be:

Subjection of a person to unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, unwelcome sexual comments and/or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, when that person’s submission to or rejection of this type of conduct explicitly or implicitly affects that person’s employment and/or unreasonably interferes with his/her work performance and/or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.

Next: Avoiding Sexual Harassment Lawsuits

My article above, about sexual harassment, was published in the Construction Business Owner Magazine. =)