INTRODUCTION
Anyone can be sexually harassed regardless of sex, gender identification, or age. Both men and women can be targets of sexual harassment, and it can be peer against peer, supervisor against employee, and even subordinates against supervisor (Enright, 2020). Data on the lifetime prevalence of sexual harassment vary, likely due to variances in reporting and how individuals define harassment in their life. Stop Street Harassment’s nationally representative 2018 online survey indicated that 81% of women and 42% of men over the age of 18 reported experiencing sexual harassment in the workplace sometime during their lifetime (Raj et al., 2021). According to a Marketplace-Edison Research Poll, those in the south (25%) were the most likely to have experienced sexual harassment at work. The northeast was the next highest at 21%, and the west and Midwest were the lowest at 18% and 17%, respectively (Edison Research, 2018). Case Study 1 Jason is a newly promoted director of behavioral health. He worked hard for this promotion and is eager to fulfill his responsibilities as part of the management team. Jason currently serves on an interdisciplinary task force. The organization’s chief executive officer (CEO) frequently attends these task force meetings. After one of these meetings, the CEO stops Jason and asks that he make an appointment to discuss Jason’s ideas. Jason is flattered and makes the appointment with Mark Williams, the CEO. When Jason arrives, Mark encourages him to sit down next to him on the couch in his office. Pictures of Mark’s wife and three children are displayed prominently around Case Study 2 Carolyn is a lead case manager in a busy outpatient clinic. During monthly staff meetings, William, another case manager, makes it a point to sit next to Carolyn. He enjoys sharing pictures of pornography and jokes that contain numerous sexual innuendos with her. Carolyn has firmly told him that these behaviors offend her, and she insists that he stop. William laughs Case Study 3 Dana is a newly licensed social worker. She is a bit intimidated by her colleagues, who have worked at her clinic for at least several years. Martin is a clinical social worker with 20 years of experience. Although he provides excellent patient care, he has a reputation for being arrogant and a bit of a bully with younger colleagues. His behavior has been tolerated over the years because of his excellent clinical skills. One afternoon Dana is in the utility room gathering supplies. Martin follows her into the room and shuts the door firmly behind him. He blocks her exit from the utility room. “You know Dana, you’re new here—young and inexperienced. I could help you out and help you get ahead in this place. I have connections. I’ve worked here forever. I can stop other people from giving you a hard time. All you have to do is to be nice to me.”
Between fiscal years (FY) 2018 and 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) received 98,411 allegations charging harassment in the workplace. Of these, 27,291 (35.4%) alleged sexual harassment. Women filed 62.2% of these harassment charges and 78.2% of all sexual harassment charges FY 2018–2021. Of note, in the two years following the #MeToo movement going viral (October 2017), the number of sexual harassment charges received by the EEOC temporarily increased from 6,696 (FY 2017) to 7,609 (FY 2018) and 7,514 (FY 2019) only to then decrease in both FY 2020 (6,587) and FY 2021 (5,581), below pre-#MeToo numbers (Office of Enterprise Data and Analytics [OEDA], 2022). This basic-level course will help Illinois Healthcare professionals identify sexual harassment in the workplace, prevent it, and take appropriate action if it occurs. the office. As Jason begins to explain his ideas, Mark nods and places his hand on Jason’s upper thigh. Mark smiles and says, “You know, Jason, I really admire you. You have a great work ethic and innovative ideas. I am in a position to help you advance in your career. I think we could become good friends and enjoy ourselves outside of the workplace as well. Our friendship could benefit both of us, and no one ever needs to know.” Jason is horrified. “What do I do?” he thinks. “This guy is a married man with kids who is propositioning me! He could really mess up my career. What do I do? Whom do I tell? Would anyone believe me?” and tells her she is a prude and needs to lighten up. “I’ve shown this stuff to most women in this clinic, and you’re the only one that can’t take a joke,” he says. Carolyn doesn’t care what other people do or do not do. As soon as the meeting concludes, she marches to the human resources office to file a sexual harassment complaint per organizational policy. Martin then grabs Dana with both arms and forcibly kisses her on the lips. Dana breaks free and slaps William across the face. The behavioral health manager enters the utility room and witnesses the slap. Martin immediately shouts, “She assaulted me! I’m going to file charges and get her fired!” Dana immediately begins to shout her own accusations. The manager has Dana and Martin accompany her to the human resources department. The manager is following hospital protocol to seek human resources mediation for these types of conflicts. Each of these scenarios presents a severe event that requires action. The applicable laws and necessary steps will be discussed in detail in this course.
ILLINOIS PUBLIC ACT 100–0554
On November 16, 2017, Governor Bruce Rauner signed Illinois Public Act 100–0554, which was directed to respond partly to a growing anti–sexual harassment movement in the workplace. The act (passed by legislators in 2018 as Public Act 100-0762) bans members of the General Assembly from using any public funds, including their member office allowances, as “hush money” to keep persons who say they have experienced sexual harassment silent or as part of a settlement to stop an allegation or investigation into sexual harassment accusations. Additionally, as part of this law, starting on January 1, 2020, professionals licensed by the state of Illinois must complete at least one hour of sexual harassment prevention training (Illinois General Assembly, 2019).
The state of Illinois defines sexual harassment within two main types: Hostile work environment and quid pro quo (literally, something for something): Sexual harassment is unwanted, deliberate, or repeated sexual behavior. Sexual harassment can include the display of sexually suggestive objects, signs, magazines, or pictures or the sending of sexually suggestive emails or text messages to persons who do not want this attention. Sexual harassment can also be a subtle or direct requirement that a sexual or social relationship is part of your job, housing, or educational performance. For example, making any part of your job (such as wages, promotions, references, or working conditions), any part of your housing (such as your rent, your security deposit, or lease renewal), or any part of your educational
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