Practice Areas and Legal Definitions

Sexual Harassment:
Sexual harassment is any unwanted and unwelcome sexual behavior.  It involves a broad range of conduct, including such verbal harassment as derogatory comments, explicit sexual comments and descriptions of sexual exploits, leering or requesting sexual favors.  The term also describes physical harassment, ranging from inappropriate touching to outright sexual assault. In order to be classified as illegal the conduct in question must be both unwelcome and offensive to the victim.

Sexual harassment is a form of sexual discrimination, prohibited in employment settings under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  Title IX of the 1972 Education Act makes sexual harassment in schools or other educational settings unlawful.  The Federal Fair Housing Act also provides protection against sexual harassment, and most states have enacted legislation making it unlawful.

The Expanding Definition of Sexual Harassment:
As a legal term, “sexual harassment” is constantly being redefined and broadened in courts and legislatures. The United Stated Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has defined sexual harassment as: “Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitutes sexual harassment when submission to or rejection of this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.”  This definition also includes the following assumptions:

• The harasser may be a man or woman, and the victim need not be of the opposite sex.
• The perpetrator may be a direct supervisor, other manager, co-worker or even a non-employee such as a client.
• It is not necessary for the victim to have been fired or suffer economic injury for the behavior to be considered sexual harassment.
• The conduct must have been “unwelcome” by the victim

Sexual harassment is not just a matter for the federal courts. Most states have their own particular definitions and laws covering these types of workplace situations.

Unwelcome Comments and Behavior:
Sexual harassment involves unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and similar conduct of a sexual nature. The key word is “unwelcome.” For example, two individuals “flirting” are not engaged in sexual harassment, because neither views the attention as unwanted. In a sexual harassment situation, there is a perpetrator and a victim who is uncomfortable with the comments or behavior.  Sexual harassment takes various forms:

• Physical harassment, such as unwanted touching, impeding or blocking movements
• Verbal harassment, including jokes, comments, innuendos, derision, name-calling and malicious rumors
• Non-verbal harassment, such as letters, looks, graffiti and such behavior as displaying pornography in the work area

Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment :
Harassment may involve a “quid pro quo” or be considered harassment that creates a hostile environment in the workplace.  In quid pro quo cases, the victim suffers from employment decisions resulting from rejection of prohibited behavior. The threat of economic loss is sufficient to meet this definition. A pattern of such behavior need not be proven; a single incident is sufficient.

An individual who is not being harassed may nonetheless be considered a quid pro quo third-party victim. That occurs when the employee suffers economically or loses other potential benefits to another employee who gained advantage by submitting to the harassment.

Hostile Work Environment Created by Sexual Harassment:
In the case of sexual harassment that creates a hostile environment, the unwelcome behavior unreasonably interferes with the victim’s ability to perform his or her job, creating an intimidating or offensive work environment.  It is not necessary to demonstrate economic damage, such as the loss of a promotion. Not only managers or employees, but also customers can create such a hostile work environment.

A hostile work environment may be created by continual requests for sexual favors, use of vulgar language, questions of a sexual nature, language and conduct that demeans or degrades, explicit and/or offensive photos or graphic material that is displayed.

When Harassment Is Illegal:
Contrary to popular belief, it is not illegal for a supervisor to harass an employee simply because he or she doesn’t like the employee’s work or doesn’t like the employee as an individual.  Harassment is illegal only if it is based on some protected characteristic of the employee, such as his or her age, race, national origin, sex, religion or disability.

In addition, harassment must be “severe and pervasive” in order to violate the law.  Courts have held that the government cannot make American workplaces pristine, but may ensure only that they are not “hostile and abusive” to an employee because the employee is a member of a protected class.  Therefore, isolated or occasional use of racial or ethnic slurs, or sporadic dirty jokes, while offensive, will not violate the law.  On the other hand, one incident of harassment, if it is severe enough, may be enough to violate the law.  An example might be a sexual assault or a beating by coworkers. Likewise, harassment which is continual or which pervades the work environment is actionable.  Such behavior includes constant dirty jokes or comments, repeated unwelcome passes or a workplace decorated with pornographic posters.

Finally, the harassing behavior must be offensive to the reasonable person and to the employee.  Behavior which offends a highly sensitive employee, but which would not offend a reasonable person in the same situation, would not violate the law.  Likewise, behavior that might offend a reasonable person, but that clearly did not offend the employee, will not create a right for damages.  Some courts define a “reasonable” person as an average employee in same the protected category as the employee, for example, a reasonable female employee or a reasonable Hispanic employee; other courts consider the reaction of a generic reasonable person.  In determining whether the employee was offended personally, a court or jury will consider whether the employee willingly participated in the conduct, and whether he or she used reasonably available avenues of complaint to protest the conduct.

If you or someone you know in Ohio needs the assistance of an experienced Cincinnati Sexual Harassment Attorney, call F. Harrison Green today at 800-891-5273, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your initial consultation.

If you or someone you know in Ohio needs the assistance of an experienced Cincinnati Sexual Harassment Attorney, call F. Harrison Green today at 800-891-5273, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your initial consultation.

ADDRESS OF THE FIRM:

F. Harrison Green

EDUCATION:

• Attended Indiana University at Bloomington, Indiana 1964-1966
• B.A., University of Mississippi at Oxford, Mississippi, 1968
• J.D., University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, 1972

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

• Associate with Roger B. Turrell & Associates, Middletown, Ohio, 1972-1974
• Partner, Newlin, Green & Weinrich, Middletown, 1974-1976
• Owner, F. Harrison Green Co., L.P.A., 1976 to present
• Judge, Butler County Court, 1978-1982

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:

• American Bar Association
• Ohio State Bar Association
• Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers
• Cincinnati Bar Association
• Delta Theta Phi Law Fraternity
• Federalist Society
• Indiana State Bar Association

ADMITTED TO PRACTICE IN THE FOLLOWING JURISDICTIONS:

• State of Ohio, 1972
• State of Indiana, 2000
• United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, 1972
• United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, 1972
• United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• Admitted Pro Hace Vice in 18 state jurisdictions

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES:

• Wyoming F. & A.M., Lodge 186
• Scottish Rite, Valley of Cincinnati
• Syrian Shrine, Cincinnati, Ohio
• Lions Club International, Oxford, Ohio
• Oxford Presbyterian Church