Factual Background You are the Human Resources Director for

Factual Background You are the Human Resources Director for an accounting firm that employs 12 accountants and support staff. Nine (9) of the employees are women, and the environment is very friendly. It is very common for coworkers and supervisors to socialize after work and on weekends. After a happy-hour holiday party where employees were expected to attend, one of the 3 male employees comes to your office to file a complaint, claiming he has been the victim of numerous sexual jokes and comments at various social events, including the holiday party. He has detailed information and lists of potential witnesses. You investigate the matter and find that although various comments and jokes were made, you determined that none of the statements would have been considered offensive based on the standards of your harassment policy. In harassment cases, courts use the “reasonable woman” standard of what constitutes offensive behavior. In this case, you determined that a reasonable woman would not have found the behavior offensive; yet this male employee was obviously affected by the behavior and it is now affecting his work production. Your Assignment: Assuming your organization has a harassment policy that is very generic and uses the “reasonable woman” standard, would you consider making changes to the policy after this case? If so, what changes would you make, and what would be the implications for these changes?

Solution

When the victim of sexual harassment is a male employee, it is not possible to use the \"reasonable woman\' standard. The \"reasonable person/ women\" standard applies to the plaintiff only. A reasonable woman standard allows the fact finder to inquire whether a reasonable woman in the plaintiff\'s position would have felt that the respondent\'s actions constituted sexual harassment. So, the policy has to be changed by replacing the \"reasonable women\" to \"reasonable person\" standard. Several authorities and many research works have shown that men and women have different perceptions regarding what constitutes sexual harassment. So, the policy should be framed in such a manner that the standards need to bifurcate the differences between the perceptions of a reasonable man and a reasonable woman. Then on a case-by-case basis, it should be applied. If such change is made in the policy, both the male and female employees\' protection can be ensured.