The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has announced the meeting of a select task force to address ongoing concerns about sexual harassment in the workplace. This will be the third public meeting of this task force, featuring two panels devoted to combating harassment in several forms and iterations. This task force comes as sexual harassment claims remain steady and surveys detail how 1 in 3 women report being sexually harassed at work.
The first panel will include speakers and experts on a wide range of bases of harassment, including age, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity. The second panel will discuss the use of social media to combat harassment. This second panel is particularly vital as nearly 25 percent of the harassment being reported was via "lewd texts or emails."
This task force comes as sexual harassment claims remain steady and surveys detail how 1 in 3 women report being sexually harassed at work.
"Sexual harassment hasn't gone away," say Michelle Ruiz and Lauren Ahn, the authors of a Cosmopolitan survey on sexual harassment. "It's just taken on new forms."
The tone of these discussions by the EEOC has changed over the years, moving away from how best to enforce against acts of harassment to embrace strategies oriented around preventing harassment. In past panels, experts have emphasized the importance of top-down thought leadership, stating that "management sets the tone" of workplace interactions. Other EEOC findings on effective ways to reduce harassment included:
- Buyers putting pressure on companies
- Making witnesses and bystanders part of the solution
- Varied access points for reporting harassment
- Prompt investigations and disciplinary action when warranted.
If you have experienced harassment at work from a co-worker or supervisor, call The Meyers Law Firm today. We will review your claim and give you our expert legal advice as to how to proceed.