It’s been in the news. It is the subject of next week’s Hot Seat Webinar. And every week it takes down another celebrity or prominent corporate executive. Sexual harassment is one hot topic, but, what is it, actually? Is it conducted out of evil intent, pure ignorance or just plain stupidity? Is it about power? Can it exist solely in the eye of the beholder? Should we always believe the accuser, and if so, how do we protect the rights of the accused? Does the #MeToo movement empower women, or inadvertently cast them as helpless victims? Has reaction spread too far, or not far enough? Does the increasing scrutiny on this topic mean less or more opportunity for women in the workplace? Is it negatively or positively affecting traditional relationship roles?
So many questions; and for the moment, not that many answers. That is one reason we chose it as the next topic for our 3rd episode of the Hot Seat.
I recently had the opportunity to hear Employment Law Attorney Christine Sensenig give very common-sense advice as to what may or may not constitute sexual harassment in the workplace. Her performance before a local business group is one reason we invited her to be a panelist on the upcoming webinar. To fully confront and correct a behavioral issue such as sexual harassment, one must have a pretty good idea of what actions fall under its purview. For employers these days, that is essential.
The challenge for all employers is in striking the right balance. Protecting the rights of both accused and accuser is crucial during any investigation over alleged wrongdoing. However, that is more easily said than done.
For the workers’ compensation industry, the issue of sexual harassment is important on two distinct levels. As employers and workers, we need to be concerned with fostering proper behavior and preventing abuse within our operations. As entities that manage risk for other employers across a wide spectrum, the issue could represent challenges in our work; we likely have or will end up managing claims that have a direct or indirect link back to sexual harassment in the workplace. In states that offer benefits for mental injuries without the presence of a physical one, so called mental-mental states, the likelihood of stress claims resulting from sexual harassment is very real indeed.
As I indicated earlier, finding balance in this particular topic is very difficult to do. I have heard people discussing the potential of unexpected consequences from the sudden and virulent push to right previous wrongs in this area. One of those concerns is that career opportunities for women may be reduced as a result of this new focus on abuse. The theory is that male executives will be hesitant to engage in any work activity that would place them alone with a female co-worker or subordinate. This would, of course, remove those women from opportunities that normally would result in traditional career growth.
I was recently discussing this with a friend who is a CEO of another company within the industry. He confirmed that he knows men who have said just that; they will no longer involve women in situations that may put their own personal career at risk. He also made a very interesting, and I think potentially relevant, observation regarding this. He openly wondered if some of these men might be reacting this way due to concerns about their own past behavior, rather than out of concern for future false allegations. As he essentially put it, “I’m not changing the way I do anything. I’ve never behaved in a way that would cause problems.”
As I thought about it, he was right. I’m not changing the way I do anything, either. I have no qualms about being alone with any of my female associates; probably because I’ve never given them a reason to worry about being alone with me. Perhaps the saying “me thinks she doth protest too much” has application here. Except in this case the she might be a he.
Hopefully we can get some answers to this next week. I really think this webinar episode will be a very interesting event.
The Hot Seat Webinar episode is titled “Sexual Harassment in Workers’ Comp: Ignorance, Stupidity or Evil?” It will air March 29, 2018 at 2:00PM Eastern. Registration, available here, is free.
Guests for this special episode will be Artemis Emslie, CEO of MyMatrixx, Deborah Watkins, CEO of Care Bridge International and, as previously mentioned, Christine Sensenig, an employment law attorney and partner at Hultman Sensenig + Joshi. My co-host for The Hot Seat is Judge David Langham. Langham is Deputy Chief Judge of Florida’s Office of Judges of Compensation Claims.
If you want to learn more, be sure to register. If you can’t make the live event, don’t sweat it. It will be available for replay immediately after.