The Case of the Excessive Compliments
This case involves a charge of sexual harassment against Terrence Wilford by Sonia Wilson, who says that his continuous attention to her appearance is a form of sexual discrimination.
Sonia Wilson
I am so fed up with my boss. Every time I come in with a new outfit or get my hair cut he has to make some comment on my appearance. What he says sounds like a compliment, but it feels to me like he only notices my appearance, not my work. He never does this to the guys in the office. I want to tell him to quit it, but he'll have some excuse or just get offended. I don't know. One of these days I'm just going to lose my temper and then it's kiss my job goodbye.
Terrence Wilford
Excuse me? She's offended because I say she looks nice? I was raised by my mother to be a gentleman and complimenting women on their appearance is part of being a gentleman. Show me the rules where it says you can't compliment a woman on her appearance. She's probably be more furious if I never noticed. My wife sure is.
Susan Morris
I am truly bewildered by this charge. I have no idea why Ms. Wilson is offended. I would be pleased to receive such comments on my appearance.
Raymond Curtis
Yes, I think complimenting women on their appearance is sexual harassment. It's clearly discriminating between women and men, because of the stereotypes about women and men. Women are typically judged on their appearance, men on their performance. Continually calling attention to women's appearance in the workplace just reinforces this stereotype. I think this is a topic we should address in our sexual harassment training, and I'll make a note of it for our Human Resources Manager.
The Case of the Fondling Exec
This case involves a charge of sexual harassment against Jerry Sullivan by Julia Wentworth who complains that he continuously fondles his genitals in her presence when she is working.
Julia Wentworth
I want to make a complaint against Mr. Sullivan, my manager. He's driving me nuts. Every single day he makes a point to stand where I can see him and he fondles his genitals. He looks right at me when he's doing it, too. You can't mistake what he means. It's embarrassing and distracting. I don't want to talk to him about it; I don't want to talk to him at all. He's creepy. I'm not the only person he does this to; you can talk to Alice Summerby or Wilma Reece. He does it to them, too. Is this harassment? I know I'm going to have to quit if this behavior doesn't stop.
Alice Summerby
Yeah, Mr. Sullivan is a creep. He touches himself and looks straight at me when he's doing it, and I'm trying to work. I don't know what he thinks he's doing. I think he's crazy. I try not to let it bother me, because I have to keep this job. I have small kids and I really need the work. I don't want to make a fuss, because I don't want to get involved. So I just try not to notice.
Jerry Sullivan
I don't know what these women are talking about. I don't "fondle my genitals" in public. They are just complainers who don't get their work done on time and they're trying to make up some excuse. These women are lazy and incompetent and they don't belong in the workplace. Why don't they just go back home where they belong?
Harold Wilberson
I was designated to investigate the claims these women made against Jerry. I never saw him rubbing himself. I decided the women were just trying to get him in trouble. He probably wasn't doing anything but adjusting his pants. He's a big man and wears his pants kind of tight. I told those women to ignore him or tell him to quit it. There wasn't anything to it. If we let those women get away with this kind of stupid complaint, a guy won't be able to work for worrying where to put his hands or what he can say or where he can look.
The Case of Escalating Harassment
This case involves a charge of sexual harassment by Ruth Simpson against Simon Friedman. She describes an escalating pattern of incidents that she claims constitute sexual harassment.
Ruth Simpson
The harassment started very subtly and just got worse and worse until I had to quit. I was working for small computer company setting up computer systems and troubleshooting problems. At first, I didn't realize the harassment was sexual; I thought my boss was just capricious and had a bad temper. He got mad at me for taking too long at one job and he yelled at me. What was odd, however, was that he seemed to expect me to be upset and cry when he yelled at me. That became a pattern. He would get mad at me for some unexpected thing and then just keep it up until he got a reaction. I noticed, however, that when his wife was working in the office he was verbally abusive to her; it was very unsettling. One time when he was yelling at me, he poked my arm. I was upset, but this is a good job and I wanted to stay here. Then one day he grabbed his wife in the office and shook her very hard. Only a week later, he did the same to me. He grabbed my arm so hard that he left a bruise. I just gave him my notice there and then. I didn't realize that it was harassment until I got to talking with some friends how had had training in the topic at their workplace.
Simon Friedman
I did not harass this woman. She was a very bad employee. I was going to fire her anyway if she didn't quit. She took too long on jobs that should have been done quickly and she was careless. What I do with my wife is none of her business and she's making up the rest. I may have grabbed her once, but she just pushed me too far with her insolence and stupidity. I didn't hurt her, and I apologized and that should have been the end of it. I am surrounded by idiots.
Jason Black
Yeah, the boss does yell a lot. He never touched me though. I think he yelled at Ruth more than at the rest of us, but that don't constitute harassment. She's just not as good as we are. Yeah, the boss did yell at lot at his wife, but it was the same thing. She's real dense, you know. She doesn't do anything right and so he has to yell at her. I don't hold with this sexual harassment stuff; it's just women trying to get one up on the men.
Jeremy Henderson
It is clear to me that this man is abusive of his wife. He yells at her for nothing, and I have seen him grab her and shake her. He does this in front of employees, and one time he did it in front of a customer. I hate to think what happens to her at home. I don't understand why she puts up with it. I think he probably brings the same attitude toward women employees. I was really surprised when he hired a woman, but I wasn't surprised when he started yelling at her. Of course, he yells at everyone. But I think he did yell at Ruth more than at the rest of us. I didn't actually pay much attention. And he did grab her once; I saw him do it. I don't believe he ever grabbed a male employee. I don't know whether that behavior constitutes sexual harassment. I never had any training on sexual harassment. I don't know anything about it.
