Sexual Harassment for Consultants?

Medcoop asks: "My friend is working as a consultant for a government institution, and is having a difficult time with his direct supervisor (the person who hired and manages him). She has been repeatedly asking him out (even though she is several decades his senior), and keeps referencing her preference for younger men. This isn't exactly sexual harassment, however, as he hasn't said 'No, and please stop asking.' The problem is that if he says the above, there won't be any more work for him there. He's not really fired, but just not asked back for other work. Where does this situation fall with respect to the law? Does anyone have any advice for him?"

Comments

Go to HR

[wowbagger]

Your friend should go the the Human Resources department, and file a complaint.

Then, if your friend's contract is terminated without cause, he can bring a whistle-blower suit.

But I doubt that will happen. I think this is a more likely scenario:

Your Friend <knocks on doorframe>
HR person: Hello, come in, how may I help you?
YF: Well, it's like this - I'm a contractor, and my supervisor from this shop keeps hitting on me. I've asked her to stop, but she keeps doing it. Here's a copy of the last letter I wrote to her about it....
HR <snatching letter>: Let me see that. Hmmmmm, ummmhmmm. OK. Do you wish to file a formal complaint?
YF: I'd like this to stop. If it stops without a complaint, that would be best, but....
HR: OK. Excuse me. I must go kill somebody now. <Exits office at warp speed.>

Believe me - IF your friend documents the request to stop the harrasment, they will be VERY careful about any action against him - even if they WERE going to terminate his contract for some other reason, they will make sure to have all their ducks, their friend's ducks, and any ducks that happen to be passing by on migration in a row before they do.

Whistle-blower suits cause a lot a pain and suffering to organizations....

Re:Sexual Harassment

[Chelloveck]

Wrong. You have to ask someone to stop doing something, and they have to continue doing it, for it to be sexual harassment.

Wrong wrong. The offender doesn't even have to know he (or she) has offended anyone. The way harrassment (sexual and other) policies are written at many companies, "harrassment" is defined as any behavior that someone else thinks is harrassing. Regardless of how innocently it was intended, regardless of whether the offender was asked to stop.

ObWarStory: I was fired from my last position for "harrassment". You see, I posted a link on our intranet "general chat" forum to a movie review that happened to contain an ethnic slur. (It was a very funny review, and I'd considered it humorous usage in a "Blazing Saddles" kind of way.) When HR questioned me about it I was shocked. It was a humorous article, which I presented for its humor value. I honestly never meant to offend. I offered to do whatever was necessary to put things right; public apology, private apology, whatever. No good. I was summarily canned. Not only didn't I get a chance to apologize, I never even found out who I offended. Just, "pack your things and get out." (And, after seeking real legal counsel, I found I had no grounds for action against the company.)

Anyway, harrassment is in the eye of the one offended. Maybe not in terms of the law, but probably according to whatever employee handbook a company has.

That said, I really don't know what to say to this guy. Going to HR may result in his boss getting fired with no recourse, which would be a bad thing if she's otherwise a good manager. But he certainly shouldn't have to put up with it, either. If he's afraid of repercussions talking to her directly about it, maybe he could go to her boss and mention it.