Sexual Harassment: A Legal Perspective for Public Administrators

Abstract

Since the Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill hearings, there has been a heightened awareness in the U.S. of sexual harassment in the workplace. Recent case law has given men and women more protections against sexual harassment. At the same time, the liability of employers for acts of harassment in the public and private sector has increased. The purpose of this article is to discuss the issue of sexual harassment from a public administrator's viewpoint. Various types of sexual harassment are identified and preventive and remedial measures are provided.

A Review of Sexual Harassment Prevention Practices: Toward a Nonprofit Research Agenda

“…Complainants are more hesitant to come forward when they are not confident that their organization will follow through in a manner that is procedurally just (Rudman et al, 1995). It is important to communicate that disciplinary action was taken and ensure that the harassment has stopped (Strickland, 1995).…”

Women in Public Administration: An Integrative Review

“…One research stream related to which jobs women held in public agencies, particularly the persistence of glass ceilings and walls even after some improvement in range and hierarchical location of the jobs to which women could aspire (Mani 1997). Other articles offered legal analyses of comparable worth (Moore and Abraham 1992) and sexual harassment (Strickland 1995) along with practical advice on handling job evaluations (Tompkins, Brown, and McEwen 1990) or dealing with sexual harassment issues (Spann 1990). In addition, the journal also featured several articles that analyzed whether men and women exhibited similar behavior in organizations.…”