What to Do if an Employee is Being Sexually Harrassed

Sexual harassment isn’t a topic that’s easily discussed, and because of that, many incidents go unreported. According to NPR, the frequency of sexual harassment incidents vary by industry, but no particular industry is immune to cases of sexual harassment. It’s important that you know what to do if one of your employees is being sexually harassed.

Identify Potential Sexual Harassment Incidents

Often, employees who are victims of sexual harassment in the workplace don’t want to get into or cause trouble, so they use words and phrases that aren’t too harsh or incriminating when describing the incident. Your employee might say "he bothers me” or “she makes me uncomfortable” instead of directly accusing the offender of sexual harassment. If you notice an employee using phrases that could indicate he/she is being sexually harassed, discuss the issue privately. Reassure the employee that anything said during the discussion is confidential, and gather as many details as possible to help you determine whether or not the employee is actually being harassed sexually. If you determine that the employee is being sexually harassed, encourage the employee to report the incident. Remember, most of the time, employees who are being sexually harassed don’t want to get in trouble or get the offender in trouble. They simply want the harassment to stop. It’s up to you to work with your employee to ensure he/she is no longer a victim of harassment.

Take Every Complaint Seriously

The worst thing you can do is ignore a sexual harassment complaint from an employee. Even if you believe the employee reporting the incident is overreacting or making the story up, you need to report the incident so that it can be properly investigated. Most companies have employees in the human resources (HR) department who investigate claims of sexual harassment. If you work for a small company that doesn’t have an HR department, consult the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines to learn how to conduct an effective unlawful harassment inquiry. If the victim ends up suing your company, his/her lawyer is likely to use these guidelines to determine if the claim was properly investigated.

Document Everything

Detailed documentation is an important part of every sexual harassment claim, so make sure each incident report contains as much information as possible. Your documents should include direct quotes, a timeline of each incident and all of the facts. The more documentation you have, the better. Make sure you keep your documentation clear and concise.

No one wants to discover that instances of sexual harassment are occurring within their company, but it does happen. Educating your employees on sexual harassment in the workplace and knowing what to do if one of your employees is sexually harassed helps to protect your company and employees.

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