In the midst of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced in a June 14, 2018 press release that it had recently filed several harassment lawsuits against employers throughout the county. The EEOC stated these lawsuits “should reinforce to employers that harassment – on all bases – is a violation of federal law”. The seven lawsuits referenced in the press release were all filed within two days of a meeting of an EEOC task force on harassment in the workplace.  The meeting, entitled “Transforming #MeToo into Harassment-Free Workplaces: A Reconvening of the EEOC’s Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace,” took place on June 11, 2018.

Sexual Harassment Litigation

The EEOC lawsuits include allegations against a marine dealership for racial and sexual harassment from supervisors toward the welders they supervised. The EEOC also sued a trucking company for allowing an independent contractor trucker to sexually harass and threaten a female employee while they drove together. The majority of the lawsuits involve offensive sexual comments, unwelcome touching, and derogatory racial terms.  The overall trends of these lawsuits include actions of supervisors toward employees and how the sexual harassment tends to occur in isolated areas of the workplace. The cases emphasize the failure of employers to prevent or address this inappropriate conduct and the allowance of retaliation against those who report this conduct.

The EEOC regularly sues employers for violations of federal employment discrimination laws. However, the agency’s group announcement of the cases in connection with the meeting of the harassment task force is notable. This action should remind employers that the federal government can prosecute businesses who allow harassment to occur in their workplaces. Employees may separately sue their employers under the same and other laws.

EEOC Task Force on Study of Harassment in the Workplace

EEOC Commissioners Chai R. Feldblum and Victoria A. Lipnic chair this task force. It also consists of academics, attorneys, employer and employee advocacy groups, and unions. The task force reconvened on June 11, 2018, with a focus on sexual harassment.

The EEOC task force encourages employers to avoid becoming a defendant in an EEOC (or employee) lawsuit. In June 2016, the EEOC task force reported on the causes, effects, and methods of preventing harassment in the workplace. The report detailed seven main findings:

1. Workplace harassment continues to be a problem. In 2015, about one-third of EEOC charges involved a form of workplace harassment.
2. Workplace harassment is consistently unreported. Victims of harassment often don’t report because of fear of retaliation or inaction in response to their complaints.
3. There is a compelling business case for addressing harassment and preventing further harassment. This includes direct costs, such as legal fees, along with its damaging effect on all workers, which results in lower productivity, higher turnover, and reputational harm.
4. Leadership and accountability are necessary. Workplace culture has a significant effect on the existence of harassment. Leadership must communicate its commitment toward addressing and preventing harassment.
5. Workplace training needs to change. Training is most effective when it is tailored to a specific workplace and includes relevant examples of unacceptable behavior.
6. New approaches to training must be explored. Studies on bystander intervention training and workplace civility training have shown promising results.
7. Harassment in the workplace won’t stop on its own- it’s on us. Harassment will only stop once everyone at the workplace has a shared sense of responsibility for stopping and preventing harassment.

EEOC Sexual Harassment Statistics

The June 11 meeting highlights the EEOC’s focus on addressing sexual harassment. Although it is just one form of unlawful workplace harassment, sexual harassment has served as an impetus for awareness over the past year. In 2017, the EEOC received 6,696 charges concerning sexual harassment. From these, the EEOC obtained $46.3 million on behalf of employees sexually harassed at work. To avoid joining these statistics, employers must implement effective anti-harassment policies and complaint procedures after analyzing the risk factors of their specific workplace. Then they must take all allegations of harassment seriously. This includes conducting a prompt investigation, taking appropriate remedial action, and preventing retaliation.