Sexual Harassment Defined Oklahoma

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There are many ways to define sexual harassment. Generally it includes any type of unwelcome sexual advance, requests for sexual favors, and/or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. When such conduct unreasonably affects an individual's employment and/or unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment, it is generally considered sexual harassment and is legally actionable.

The victim may be either a woman or a man, and the victim and harasser do not have to be of opposite sexes. In 2008, the EEOC received move than 13,000 sexual harassment complaints, and male employees filed over 18 percent of them. The harasser can be the victim's manager, supervisor, employer, supervisor or even a non-employee.

The victim does not have to be the person harassed but could be anyone affected by the harassment. Unlawful sexual harassment may occur without the victim suffering monetary injury. The key is that the harasser's conduct must be unwelcome by the victim.

You should also inform the harasser directly that the conduct is not welcomed and must stop. The next step is to immediately contact management and report the incident. The victim should use the employer complaint and grievance system and make sure that the company's rules in this regard are followed to the letter. This will become important if there is litigation, since the defense will try to claim that the victim did not provide adequate notice to management and did not follow company protocol in reporting the harassment.

For more information on Sexual Harassment and Employment Law visit GotTrouble.com