https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/10/politics/senate-vote-sexual-misconduct-law/index.html
Wow!! Talk about a major win for employees! No longer will employers be able to hide behind forced arbitration hearings when they get accused of sexual harassment. And all of the current agreements get voided out.
When people were getting hired for jobs and presented with their employment contract, it was either sign it as is, or walk away from the job. I don’t think anyone, ever, liked signing the contract, but what were you going to do? It was take it or leave it. Most people took it.
Fortunately, I’ve never been through, or known anyone who has been through, an arbitration hearing for sexual harassment. But I’ve known people that have been sexually harassed. You know, having that one guy continually ask you out on dates even though you’ve turned them down enough times now they should take the hint, or the guy like in the picture above who gets a little to “hands on” while looking over your shoulder.
But when does innocent touching or pursueing become sexual harassment? Pretty much when those on the receiving end say it is. Sure, a guy may want to pursue you to try and go out on a date and you want to play “Hard to Get”. That can’t be deemed sexual harassment. However, if after the 2nd or 3rd time you tell the person you have absolutely no interest, and the person continues, then yes, that does become sexual harassment.
How is the pursuer supposed to know though? Communication! The person on the receiving end is the one in the drivers seat. If the receiver doesn’t tell the pursuer to stop, they’ve given them the green light. But when the receiver tells the pursuer to stop, now they are in dangerous waters if they continue.
Like the couple in the picture above (and the positions could certainly be reversed), if the receiver doesn’t say anything about it, they are leaving the door open for it to continue. Now the persuer should also be reading non-verbal signals as well to assess if the touching is acceptable or not.
If I was the one seated and my Supervisor, male or female, wanted to let me know of a good job done by giving me a few pats on the shoulder, I would be accepting of that as a congratulations. But if either put their hand on me like this guy did, I would take serious offence to that, even if I was attracted to the guy.
It is so great though, that now if this sort of thing happens in the workplace, that companies will no longer have that arbitration shield to hide behind. And Hallaluha that the agreements that had been previously signed have been thrown out the window!
For far to long have companies and individuals been able to get away with sexual harassment. Hopefully, with this new law in place, that will start to end.
A Little Bit of This and That 