I'm going to be spending the next couple of hours taking two online courses about harassment and discrimination in the workplace. Do you have questions about such things? Would you like to know which states ban age discrimination for teenagers? Are you wondering how you can gracefully turn down an inappropriate invitation for drinks with the boss, without weakening your chances of getting a promotion?
I'll post the tidbits I find interesting or perplexing in the comments. Feel free to toss in your questions and I'll field them if I can.
jake [email] said at 7:24 PM 10-30-2007: Alaska, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Michigan, Virginia, North Carolina, DC, Maryland, New Jersey, and New Hampshire prohibit age discrimination for 18 year olds and up.
Oregon, Kansas, New York, Vermont, and Minnesota do the same for public employees only.
Everywhere else in the US only prohibit ageism against people 40 and up.
jake [email] said at 7:36 PM 10-30-2007: One of the interesting things is that employers are responsible for the actions of third parties. So if a UPS person is always making lewd remarks to a receptionist, or if a client makes racist jokes during every sales call, a supervisor is supposed to intervene.
This creates a responsibility for a general atmosphere of civility, that I think is a useful prerogative.
brandon [email] said at 8:17 PM 10-30-2007: Seems pretty reasonable. Schools are generally held accountable for damages from harassment, if prior knowledge fo the harassment without reasonable action to correct the problem can be shown.
jake [email] said at 8:55 PM 10-30-2007: Apparently, asking regular questions about a coworkers home life after they ask you to stop may be considered harassment, even if they're suffering domestic abuse and you're concerned about it.
jake [email] said at 9:18 PM 10-30-2007: You can tease somebody every once in awhile as long as you don't say anything too offensive, or keep doing it after they act offended.
jake [email] said at 9:25 PM 10-30-2007: If somebody has a broken leg and can't play during your company softball game, you CAN tease him or her mercilessly that day. But don't keep it up after that.
jake [email] said at 9:34 PM 10-30-2007: Ways of responding to others when confronted about your actions:
* I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. I’ll try to be more sensitive in the future.
* Thanks for sharing your feelings with me. I really had no idea I was offending you. If I say or do something that offends you again, please let me know.
* I’m really glad you told me. I enjoy working with you and I want you to feel good about working with me.
* I’m glad you told me, and that we were able to work this out together. I want you to know I very much respect your feelings.
jake [email] said at 10:39 PM 10-30-2007: The Facts: A nurse was sexually harassed by an 84-year-old patient recovering from penile implant surgery. The patient hounded the nurse for sex and lied to others that they had slept together at a Motel 6. The nurse complained to her supervisor, and the hospital attempted to stop the harassing conduct by counseling the patient and even providing the nurse a walkie-talkie to report complaints. Despite these actions, the harassment continued with the patient trying to run the nurse down in his electric scooter!
The Ruling: The lower court found that the employer’s response to the harassment of the nurse by a third party was insufficient and awarded the nurse $180,000. The California Supreme Court approved, holding that employers can be liable for failing to take reasonable steps to stop the sexually harassing behavior of customers, vendors, patients, clients and other non-employees.
