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I
n late 2017, the social media hashtag "#MeToo"
spread virally on social media by women telling their
stories of sexual harassment. While federal sexual
harassment law started with the Civil Rights Act of
1964, specifically Title VII, the virality of the social
media movement renewed awareness of the problem.
In Canada, federal sexual harassment laws are
covered under the Canadian Human Rights Act.
"I think what it did is make people more aware that
this type of behavior is prohibited," says John Wolohan,
attorney, sports law professor, and presenter at
USIndoor's 2020 Conference & Tradeshow and Certified
Arena Operator Program.
Regulations come from the U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission. The EEOC receives tens
of thousands of complaints each year, and more are
filed with state and local agencies. However, the EEOC
also estimates that about 75% of individuals who are
harassed do not file a complaint.
"There are two types of sexual harassment," says
John. "With quid pro quo harassment, there's
an exchange: you have sex with me, you get this
promotion or this position or more playing time."
Such harassment typically also goes the other
way with promises of adverse consequences
if sexual favors are denied.
The second type of harassment is
the creation of a hostile environment.
"You're degrading an individual
because of their sex, whether it's
because of jokes or offhand
comments that you make on a daily
basis, or a poster on your wall."
The EEOC notes that harassment
extends to making offensive comments
about a person's sex in general and states
that simple teasing does not typically fall under the
SEXUAL
HARASSMENT
by Michael Horn
definition of harassment, except when it becomes "so
frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive
work environment or when it results in an adverse
employment decision."
Importantly, the law makes no distinction about
whether the harassment is male-male, male-female,
or female-female. Anyone can be the instigator, and
anyone can be the victim.
However, John notes that hostile environment
harassment can be difficult to determine. "It's both
subjective and objective. Are you feeling threatened?
Are you feeling that it's a hostile environment? And
then the question is, would others feel the same way?"
In particular, John says there's
a difference between being
asked to do sexual
favors in
