"What is sexual harassment?" is the most obvious and most frequently asked question about the subject and the most difficult to answer as well. The difficulty stems from the fact that what is defined as sexual harassment can vary from one situation to another, from one person to another. There are no lists of right and wrong behaviors because what is sexual harassment in one instance is not necessarily sexual harassment in another.

This best-selling handbook helps employees at all levels stop inappropriate, illegal, and costly behavior that is taking place on the job. It is also used effectively as a handout in training programs. More than 100,000 have been used to date by all types and sizes of companies and organizations. 6th Edition 2005.

Guidelines for Managers, Supervisors, and Employees Contents

The Most Asked Questions

What's This All About?
Exactly What Is Sexual Harassment?
When Did It Get To Be Such a Serious Problem?
Why Should I Worry About It?
Can I Be Sued Personally?
What Are My Responsibilities?
Is It Really That Big a Problem?
Aren't Those Just a Few Isolated Cases?
Don't Women Harass Men, Too?
So Now It's Illegal to Ask for a Date?
Can't I Open a Door Or Light a Cigarette?
What's Wrong With Compliments?
Isn't It Some People Just Can't Take a Joke?
Whose Fault Is It?
Don't They Really Like All That Attention?
What About Freedom of Speech?
How Can I Be Sure It's Sexual Harassment?
What About Other Kinds of Harassment?
What About Homosexual Harassment?
What About Harassment Away From Work?
What Do the EEOC Guidelines Say?
What Does the Law Say?
What Has the Supreme Court Said?
What Are Steps to Prevent Harassment?
What If An Employee Complains About Harassment?
What Should Managers and Supervisors Do?
What If I've Done Something Offensive?
What If Someone's Bothering Me?

Further Thought

Getting Started
Costs of Sexual Harassment

Sexual Harassment Studies and Surveys

Sexual Harassment: Yes or No?

Case Study #1

Case Study #2

EXCERPT: From the Introduction: More than thirty years ago, in the mid 1970s, federal courts began hearing the first sexual harassment cases. Since then sexual harassment has continued to be a widespread problem and misunderstood by many people.

What looks like a simple question with a simple answer--"What is sexual harassment?"-- is still the most frequently asked question and the most difficult to answer as well. The difficulty stems from the fact that what is defined as sexual harassment can vary from one situation to another, from one person to another. There are no lists of right and wrong behaviors because what is sexual harassment in one instance is not necessarily sexual harassment in another.

This book provides managers, supervisors, employees and other people interested in the issue with helpful, practical, no-nonsense guidelines that can be immediately applied to all kinds of situations--at work, at school, or even in social situations.

This handbook is for managers and supervisors because they have direct responsibility for preventing and stopping the sexually harassing behaviors of their subordinates and of themselves in the workplace. They are the ones who must frequently decide what is and what is not sexual harassment on the job. To do this they need skills and a clear understanding of the problem. Defining one employee's behavior as sexual harassment of another must be done on a case-by-case, individual basis, with less than clear-cut rules to follow. When the two employees involved end up on opposite sides, with the supervisor or manager caught in the middle, it can be a very complicated decision and a difficult situation to say the least.

The handbook is also for non-supervisory employees since they must be held responsible for their actions toward other employees in the work environment. All employees need to understand sexual harassment, what it is and why it is a problem, in addition to knowing the rules and regulations.

And finally, this book is for anyone interested in the problem of sexual harassment, who wants to understand it and know what to do about it. It is to give everyone a quick, but useful, look at this issue.

Sexual Harassment: Guidelines for Managers, Supervisors and Employees is a tool to help people prevent and stop inappropriate, illegal and costly behaviors in the workplace. It will be most effective if used as a resource in training programs which include lectures, videos, questions and answers, and discussion opportunities.

ISBN: 1878269313, 38 pages, paperback, $7.00

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