Sexual harassment is unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature in the workplace that is severe or pervasive enough to create a hostile work environment or to condition a job benefit on submission to sexual demands. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits this conduct, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces it at the federal level. In Maryland, employees are also protected under State Government Article Section 20-602 of the Annotated Code of Maryland. The behaviors that qualify fall into two recognized categories, quid pro quo and hostile work environment, and they appear in physical, verbal, non-verbal, and digital forms.
In other words, a boss who is prone to harassing his female employees is likely aware that if they are too obvious about it, their victim may report them. So they switch gears and downshift into less obvious behavior that leaves the victim uncertain as to whether or not illegal harassment even happened. If you wonder if the uncomfortable behavior you are experiencing at work is considered harassment, the discussion below may shed some light on the topic for you.
Key Takeaways: What Kinds Of Behaviors Are Considered Sexual Harassment
Here is what Maryland employees should know about recognizing sexual harassment at work.
- Sexual harassment generally falls into two categories: quid pro quo, where a job benefit is conditioned on submitting to sexual demands, and hostile work environment, where unwelcome conduct becomes severe or pervasive.
- Harassment is not limited to physical contact. Unwelcome comments, jokes, suggestive looks, gestures, and sexually explicit messages can all qualify.
- Digital communications, including texts, emails, and social media messages with unwelcome sexual content, can count as sexual harassment regardless of when or where they were sent.
- Employers can be held responsible under Title VII and Maryland law if they knew or should have known about the harassment, whether it came from a supervisor, coworker, client, or vendor, and failed to act.
Two Basic Types of Sexual Harassment Behaviors
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) defines sexual harassment as requests for sexual favors, uninvited and unwelcome sexually oriented advances, or any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature within the workplace.
Having sexual thoughts about a co-worker alone is not harassment. For it to be considered harassment, the behavior must be both severe and pervasive.
There are two broad categories within which illegal sexual harassment behaviors fall.
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Experiencing Sexual Harassment At Work? You Don’t Have To Handle It Alone.
Speaking up about unwelcome behavior at work takes courage, and it’s normal to feel unsure about what to do next. At Smithey Law Group, we’ll listen to what you’ve experienced with care and help you understand what options are available to you.
Schedule A Free ConsultationQuid Pro Quo
Quid pro quo sexual harassment occurs when a supervisor, manager, or other person with workplace authority conditions a job benefit on the employee’s submission to a sexual request. The benefit can be a promotion, raise, favorable assignment, continued employment, or any other tangible employment action. A single incident can support a claim, because the harm is the abuse of authority itself rather than a pattern of behavior.
Hostile Work Environment
This type of harassment can be far less obvious than quid pro quo.
A hostile work environment exists when an employee is subjected to unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that is severe or pervasive enough to alter the terms and conditions of employment, judged by the reasonable person standard. The conduct does not need to come from a supervisor. Coworkers, clients, and vendors can all create this kind of environment, and the employer can be held liable if it knew or should have known about the behavior and failed to take corrective action. A single extreme incident can qualify, but most hostile work environment claims involve a pattern of conduct that builds over time.
Physical Harassment
Physical sexual harassment is unwelcome touching, body contact, or proximity that has a sexual character. Examples range from clearly unlawful conduct like unwanted kissing, groping, or sexual assault, to subtler conduct like uninvited shoulder massages, lingering too close, blocking paths, or repeated brushing against the body. Routine workplace contact like a handshake or a brief tap on the arm does not qualify on its own.
But what about the supervisor who routinely stops to linger over your desk and massage your shoulders? Or whisper into your ear on a regular basis? If these actions are unwelcome and make you uncomfortable, they can constitute sexual harassment. Repeatedly touching, pinching, cornering you, or lingering too closely to your body can all constitute sexual harassment. Whereas more innocuous touching like high-fives, handshakes, or an occasional light touch on the arm or shoulder probably do not comprise harassment.
Conduct is considered sexual harassment if it is unwanted, improper, or offensive; if acceptance or refusal influences employment decisions; or if it creates an intimidating, hostile, or humiliating work environment.
Verbal Harassment
Verbal sexual harassment is unwelcome spoken or written speech of a sexual nature directed at, or made in the presence of, an employee. The behavior does not need to involve direct propositions to qualify. Repeated comments, jokes, innuendos, and questions about a person’s sex life or appearance can all support a hostile work environment claim when they are pervasive enough. These types of verbal behaviors qualify as well:
- Calling an adult a girl, boy, hunk, babe, honey, stud, sugar, or any unprofessional (and often derogatory) pet name;
- Making repeated comments on someone’s appearance, clothes, hair, or physique;
- Sexual innuendos;
- Asking about sexual preferences, history, fantasies, and the like;
- Repeatedly requesting or pressuring someone for dates;
- Telling sexually oriented jokes and stories;
- Veering discussions to the topic of sex;
- Disseminating rumors about someone’s sex life or preferences; and
- Making any sexually charged noises like whistling, kissing sounds, smacking lips, or howling.
Basically, any sexually charged repetitive verbal behavior can be sexual harassment.
Non-Verbal Harassment
Nonverbal sexual harassment includes actions that make someone uncomfortable without spoken words.
Examples are:
- Staring at someone or repeated lingering glances;
- Looking a person “up and down” in a suggestive manner;
- Following someone around the office or workplace;
- Blocking someone’s path;
- Inappropriate staring;
- Licking lips in a provocative way;
- Winking suggestively;
- Blowing kisses;
- Giving intimate, inappropriate gifts, or repeated gifts for no apparent reason;
- Making suggestive gestures;
- Showing someone sexually suggestive or explicit visual images; and
- Leaving inappropriate and suggestive notes.
You Don’t Have To Figure This Out By Yourself.
Whether you’re still deciding if what happened counts as harassment, thinking about reporting it internally, or ready to explore a legal claim, our employment attorneys can walk through your situation with you and lay out what each option actually involves.
Schedule A Free ConsultationIs Looking at Someone Harassment?
Persistent leering or staring can be sexual harassment or evidence supporting other forms. Not all looking qualifies as leering or staring. Leering involves eye movement and facial expressions suggesting sexual interest.
Generally, any non-verbal communication that is sexually charged and makes the recipient uncomfortable constitutes non-verbal sexual harassment behaviors.
Digital Sexual Harassment
Digital sexual harassment is unwelcome sexual conduct delivered through email, text messages, instant messaging, social media, or any other electronic channel connected to the workplace. Courts treat digital harassment the same as in-person harassment when the messages are sent by a coworker or supervisor and affect the employee’s working conditions. The harasser does not need to be physically present, and the messages do not need to be sent during work hours, for the conduct to qualify.
For example, email and texting give us the ability to send links to one another. This means that a perpetrator of sexual harassment can now send someone links to sexually charged material any time of the day or night. They don’t even have to be at work or in the victim’s presence to harass employees or coworkers. Or worse, they can send their targets nude photos, sexually coarse jokes, sexual stories, or even pornographic material whenever the mood strikes. All of these forms of digital communications are sexual harassment if the recipient does not welcome them.
Let Us Help
The professionals at the Smithey Law Group are passionate about protecting your rights in the workplace. If you feel uncomfortable with someone’s behavior at work and are uncertain if it constitutes sexual abuse and harassment, you can make an appointment to discuss it with one of our knowledgeable attorneys. They can assess the facts and circumstances you are confronted with at work and advise you on whether sexual abuse and harassment are occurring and what to do about it next. Likewise, if you are an employer who is not sure about actions happening in your company, we welcome a chance to clarify your legal rights and responsibilities. Call us at 410-919-2990 or contact us online today to set up a meeting where we can discuss your options.
What Kinds Of Behaviors Are Considered Sexual Harassment? Common Questions
Straight answers to what Maryland employees ask most about recognizing and responding to sexual harassment at work.
Sexual harassment is unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that is severe or pervasive enough to create a hostile work environment, or that conditions a job benefit on submitting to sexual demands. It can include unwanted touching, sexual comments or jokes, suggestive looks or gestures, and unwelcome sexual messages sent by email, text, or social media.
Quid pro quo harassment happens when a supervisor conditions a promotion, raise, or continued employment on submission to sexual demands, and a single incident can be enough. A hostile work environment develops when unwelcome sexual conduct, from a supervisor, coworker, client, or vendor, becomes severe or pervasive enough to change the terms of your job.
Yes. Unwelcome sexual comments, images, or messages sent through email, text, instant messaging, or social media can count as sexual harassment, regardless of when they were sent or whether you were physically at work when you received them.
Yes. Under Title VII and Maryland law, an employer can be held responsible if it knew or should have known about the harassment and failed to take action to stop it, regardless of whether the harasser was a supervisor, coworker, client, or vendor.
