Susan Fowler, writing for the New York Times, notes that it is now abundantly clear that sexual harassment is pervasive in every industry. While getting rid of it will not be easy, we now know some facts that will help:
- We have to stop the practice of forced arbitration as a condition of employment. Forced arbitration takes away our rights to sue in court and can legally bind us to keep silent about what has happened to us. A recent Supreme Court decision confirming that employers can continue this practice means that we need new federal legislation to make this change.
- We need legislation at the state and federal levels to protect employees.
- Some progress has been made at the state level in Washington state and California.
- We need much more progress at the federal level, including new legislation to eliminate forced arbitration as a condition of employment.
- Existing law only covers workplaces with fifteen or more employees.
- Federal statutes of limitations for filing a claim can be as short as 180 days.
- Damages can be capped at $300,000.
- Weak laws fail to protect women.
- Corporate policies and procedures protect the company but not the employees.
- Secret settlements protect offenders and keep patterns of abuse out of the public eye.
- Human resources departments focus on protecting organizations from legal liability rather than protecting employees.
- No consensus exists on how to report a repeat offender who goes from job to job or to address more minor infractions with measures short of suspension or firing.
- Low wage workers are now more willing to speak up about sexual harassment, but it’s not clear who they should tell.