Related Lawsuits on the Rise
EEOC Tackling Teen
Sexual Harassment
by Katharine F. Meyer
& Steven John Fellman
NATO Washington Counsel
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC) recently announced that sexual harassment and discrimination
against
teens is increasing in the United States. Because of this,
the EEOC has launched a campaign to teach younger workers
about their rights in the workplace. The EEOC specifically
noted that, along with restaurants and retail stores, movie
theatres commonly hire younger people for jobs. Therefore,
it is probable that the exhibtion industry will be affected
by this new campaign. This makes it more important than
ever for movie theatre operators to educate their employees,
and for each exhibition company to have a strict sexual
harassment policy in place.
The EEOC stated that since 2002 about 40
lawsuits related to teen sexual harassment have been filed
or settled. Before
2002, only a few lawsuits had been filed by teens with
the EEOC. There may be several reasons for this increase.
Not only may sexual harassment and discrimination be on
the rise, but also teens today are better educated. They
may be able to better determine what is inappropriate behavior
in the workplace.
Also, in many industries, teens are in managerial
positions. For example, it is likely that a senior in high
school
may be supervising other students in a theatre. It is important
to inform these teens that conduct that may be commonplace
on school grounds (lewd comments or sexual jokes, for instance)
is unacceptable in a workplace environment.
The EEOC wants all teens to be aware of
their rights in the workplace. Therefore, its awareness
campaign will include
presentations to high schools and distribution of educational
materials to employed teens. The EEOC also plans to hold
educational forums with employers and workers. Teen employees
of theatre companies may be attending some of these EEOC
presentations.
As a result of the government’s new focus on teen
sexual harassment, exhibitors should be properly educating
their managers and employees about sexual harassment and
discrimination. Below is a list of actions theatre operators
should take to help prevent sexual harassment in the workplace:
1. Have a strict anti-harassment policy in
place.
Recent court decisions have held that an
employer is liable
for “hostile work environment” sexual harassment
by its supervisors regardless of whether the employer
knew or should have known about its occurrence unless
(1) the employer exercised reasonable care to prevent
and correct promptly any sexual harassment behavior;
and (2) the plaintiff unreasonably failed to take advantage
of any preventative or corrective opportunities provided
by the employer or to avoid harm otherwise. The Supreme
Court has stated that all companies should have an anti-harassment
policy.
Any anti-harassment policy should include:
a. A clear statement that any harassment,
but specifically sexual harassment, is prohibited;
b. Examples of conduct that amount to harassment;
c. A detailed and comprehensive internal complaint procedure;
d. Assurances to employees that all harassment complaints
will be investigated promptly and shall be kept confidential;
and
e. A statement that prohibits retaliation against employees
who report harassment, file a charge of harassment, or
cooperate with the investigation of a harassment action.
It is important to note that all harassment is not just
sexual in nature. Harassment claims can arise from inappropriate
conduct based on race, disability, national origin, religion,
or other protected status. Therefore, any policy should
protect against all types of harassment.
2. Educate employees on the policy, and
train supervisors on how to avoid sexual harassment and
to deal with sexual
harassment complaints.
All employees should be periodically reminded
about a company’s
anti-harassment policy, and should be educated as to what
types of conduct may be viewed as sexual harassment. The
anti-harassment policy should be distributed to all employees.
Let all employees know the company will take action against
any employee who violates the anti-harassment policy. Special
training should be given to supervisors to allow them to
spot harassment and to intervene quickly if inappropriate
behavior is observed. 
