Facebook[/caption]Gordon Matilla---Significant torment develops from sexual harassment, an emotionally-charged act. Social media further complicates matters and allows the problem to spread into wider and wider areas, therefore causing more widespread and intense abuse. In many cases, as it extends the workplace, employers can be liable for some of what happens..
Social media provides new outlets for workplace interactions to occur, some of which can be negative and harmful. As of March 2013, there were more than one billion active Facebook users. Nearly 700 million of these people post at least once daily. With so much interaction, the workplace boundaries have become blurred. It should also be noted that employers can be held liable for some of these problems of sexual harassment..
What is sexual harassment? Generally, if an individual, or a group of people, exhibit unwelcomed sexual behavior towards another, it constitutes sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is not confined to one specific act. But can include a number of behaviors, that include, but are not limited to, the following:
- suggestive behavior
- sexual jokes or questions
- physical contact
- offensive gestures
Sexual harassment does not have to be explicitly sexual in nature. The conduct must simply be directed toward the targeted individual because of his or her gender. Sexual harassment is gender neutral in the sense men can harass women and women can harass men, and members of the same sex can sexually harass one another.
An attorney tells us there are two types of sexual harassment, quid pro quo and hostile work environment. Quid pro quo sexual harassment occurs when an employer demands sexual favors from a subordinate under the threat of job-related consequences, such as job-retention, promotion, or performance reviews. Hostile work environment sexual harassment involves situations where the victim's employer(s) or coworker(s) acts in such a way that the inescapability of their improper conduct makes the victim feel uncomfortable because of his or her sex, thus making the work environment "hostile." This commonly occurs as the result from ongoing physical contact or inappropriate comments.
Social media has expanded the confines of the workplace and home boundaries, so a given employer must realize employees are digitally connected. Therefore an employer can be held responsible if an employee is being harassed by a coworker whether in the office or in the digital world.
Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube allow sexual harassment, as employees have the tools to post offensive words or pictures about one another. They can also be involved in cyber-bullying. An employer has the duty to address this problem when it occurs.
Employers can request information regarding their employees' social media accounts if a sexual harassment claim is made. Employers can't ask for access to social media accounts for employment purposes but does have the right to act wisely in stopping sexual harassment.
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