Minnesota workers have a right to enjoy a safe workplace environment. Does your work environment suffers from harassment and other such negativity? If so, you have a right to fight this.
Today we will examine sexual harassment in specific. This type of harassment impacts workers across the nation. We will focus on non-physical sexual harassment. Though it gets less attention than its physical counterpart, it is no less damaging.
Non-sexual sexual harassment
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission examines sexual harassment at work. The first thing to note is that sexual harassment does not have to be sexual. It also does not need to be physical. Most cited examples often involve physical acts of sexual harassment. This can include groping or inappropriate touch.
But sexual harassment can also involve any offensive remark related to a person’s sex. This means it is against the law to make derogatory remarks or harassment based on what sex a worker is. A common example involves rude remarks about a woman’s workplace eligibility. In this situation, there is no sexual innuendo. But the law still considers this sexual harassment.
Non-physical sexual harassment
Sometimes, sexual harassment is sexual but does not involve physical touching. This often comes in the form of cat-calling or lewd comments. Even circulating sexual rumors behind a person’s back is harassment. This includes spreading rumors about someone’s sexual life or partners.
Any gender or sex may suffer as a sexual harassment target. Likewise, any gender or sex can act as either a harasser or a victim. This is all crucial for workers to know to protect their rights.