CASE ANALYSIS: PEER AND THIRD PARTY HARASSMENT

CASE STUDY: THE HARASSING CLIENT AND EMPLOYEE PROTECTION

Harassment does not always come from within. Imagine that the artist Michelangelo is working on designing a chapel and the main client, Pope Julius II, starts making lewd comments to him and touching him every time he inspects the work.

Michelangelo is afraid to complain for fear that the company will lose the contract. In this case, the organization has a legal obligation to protect its employee, even if the aggressor is a vital customer or an external third party.

The POSH Act and international regulations state that the employer is responsible for ensuring a safe environment.

Management should intervene, talk to the customer, or reassign the employee so that he or she does not have to interact with the harasser.

Ignoring harassment by a third party for "business reasons" is a compliance violation that can result in lawsuits and damage to corporate reputation for failing to provide safety.

HANDLING OFFENSIVE JOKES AND TOXIC TEAM CULTURE

Let's look at environmental harassment in masculinized industries. Suppose Amelia Earhart goes to work as a pilot for an airline where all her colleagues are men.

They don't touch her, but they fill the hangar with calendars of naked women, hide their tools, and make constant jokes about how "women can't drive".

Even if there is no direct sexual proposition, this constitutes gender-based harassment and a hostile environment.

Management cannot excuse this as "shop culture" or "harmless banter." If Amelia reports discomfort, the company must act.

Visual harassment (posters) and tool sabotage (urinating in the toolbox, as mentioned in industry examples) are forms of intimidation designed to drive women out of the workspace.

The committee should sanction those responsible for creating this toxic environment, regardless of whether or not physical contact occurred.

CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN GRAY AREAS OF BEHAVIOR

There are subtle cases where the line is blurred. Imagine that the poet Dante Alighieri stares at his colleague Beatrice for hours, in the elevator and in meetings, without saying a word to her.

Beatrice feels intimidated and watched. Although Dante argues that "staring is not a crime" and that he admires her platonically, persistent, nonverbal behavior that creates discomfort qualifies as harassment (leering or stalking).

For HR, this is a case of "impact vs. intent." The committee must assess whether a "reasonable person" would feel threatened.

If Beatrice has communicated her discomfort (directly or through a manager) and Dante continues, harassment is se