Information on Sexual Harassment

History

Theory

Background

International

Page Maintained
by Nancy Wyatt

Chronology
While most histories of sexual harassment begin in 1964 when Congress passed Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Constance Jones in her book Sexual Harassment identified incidents of sexual harassment back to the 1830s when increased numbers of women began working in the textile mills in New England. She noted that printers in Boston conducted a campaign of intimidation to force women out of their jobs in that industry in 1835. Of course, there was no term to describe this course of action; the term "sexual harassment" was coined by feminists in the 1960s.
Following is a chronology of sexual harassment law drawn mainly from two sources:

Jones, Constance. (1996). Sexual Harassment. New York: Facts on File.
Szymansky, Sharon and Cydney Pullman. (1994). Sexual Harassment at Work: A Training Workbook for Working People. New York: The Institute.

1964 Congress passed Title VII of the Civil Rights Act which prohibits discrimination at work on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin and sex.

Congress created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

1969 The U.S. Department of Defense drafted a Human Goals Charter, establishing a policy of equal respect for both sexes.

1972 Congress passed the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, giving the EEOC power to enforce Title VII.

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits sex bias in educational institutions that receive federal funding.

1976 A lower court in Washington, D.C. recognized quid pro quo sexual harassment as discrimination in Williams v. Saxbe.

1977 A Connecticut court ruled that quid pro quo sexual harassment constitutes sex discrimination in education in Alexander v. Yale University.

The Washington, D.C. Circuit Court ruled that quid pro quo sexual harassment is sex discrimination.

1978 The Civil Service Reform act barred sexual discrimination in federal employment.

Lin Farley published The Sexual Harassment of Women at Work.

1979 Congress held hearings to investigate sexual harassment in the federal government, and the White House Office of Personnel issued a directive prohibiting sexual harassment.

Catherine McKinnon published Sexual Harassment of Working Women: A Case of Discrimination.

The United Nations adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

1980 Illinois became the first state to ban sexual harassment of state employees.

EEOC drafted Guidelines on Discrimination Because of Sex.

Brown v. City of Gutherie established a legal precedent for hostile environment sexual harassment claims.

1981 In Bundy v. Jackson, the court concured with the definition of hostile environment sexual harassment, holding that employers can be liable for sexual insults and propositions even if the worker did not lose any job benefits as a result.

1982 Eleventh Circuit Court in Henson v. City of Dundee clarified legal definitions of quid pro quo and hostile environment sexual harassment.

1983 The Fourth Circuit Court in Katz v. Dole held that a person's past conduct does not waive her protection against "unwelcome" harassment.

The Delaware District Court upheld a claim of discriminatory sexual harassment by an employee who did not receive the same consideration as a co-worker who participated in a sexual relationship with a supervisor.

The Sixth Circuit Court in Shellhammer v. Lewallen upheld a charge of sexual harassment by a tenant who was evicted for not posing nude for her landlord, establishing that sexual harassment by landlords or building supervisors violates the Fair Housing Act.

1984 The Council of Ministers of European Communities mandated that member states work to improve respect for women in the workplace.

1985 The Washington, D.C. Circuit Court in McKinney v. Dole held that physical violence that is not sexual could be sex-based harassment if shown to be unequal treatment that would not have taken place but for the employee's sex.

The United Nations adopted the Nairobi Forward-Looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women.

The International Labour Organisation published its Equal Opportunities and Equal Treatment for Men and Women in Employment Guidelines.

1986 The United States Supreme Court in Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson held that "A claim of hostile environment sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that is actionable under Title VII; the language of Title VII is not limited to "economic" or "tangible" discrimination and harassment leading to non-economic injury can violate Title VII; and the mere existence of a grievance procedure in the bank and the bank's policy against discrimination, coupled with respondent's failure to invoke that procedure, do not necessarily insulate the bank from liability."

1990 The Council of Ministers of the European Community issued a definition of sexual harassment to member states.

The EEOC updated Guidelines on Discrimination Because of Sex, adding regulations on definition and prevention. These guidelines defined sexual favoritism as a form of sexual harassment.

1991 Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1991 to amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to strengthen and improve Federal civil rights laws, to provide for damages in cases of intentional employment discrimination, to clarify provisions regarding disparate impact actions, and for other purposes.

The Sixth Circuit Court ruled in Robinson v. Jacksonville Shipyards that all pictures -- not limited to pornography -- in which the model "is posed for the obvious purpose of displaying or drawing attention to private portions of his or her body" constitute a hostile environment.

The Ninth Circuit Court in Ellison V. Brady adopted a reasonable woman standard as the appropriate test to be applied in determining whether conduct is sufficiently severe or pervasive to create a hostile work environment.

The Eighth Circuit Court heard the first class action sexual harassment suit in Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite. The Court ruled in favor of the seventeen women miners who alleged sexual harassment so severe that some carried knives to work for self-protection and several were forced to go out on disability because of depression. However, the Court awarded miniscule damages and, in effect, limited the ability of a defendant to obtain emotional distress discovery in a sexual harassment case

Anita Hill submitted a confidential affidavit to the Senate Judiciary Committee, charging that Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas had sexually harassed her from 1981 to 1983. Senate hearings on this charge were held in October; the charge and the hearings were to have long-lasting effects on the nation's understanding of sexual harassment

1992 The EEOC reported a 62% increase in the number of harassment complaints received between 1991 and 1992.

The United State Supreme Court in Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools held that victims of sexual harassment can sue their schools for monetary damages under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. This decision overturned the District Court ruling that the student who was sexually harassed could receive no damages since the teacher who had harassed her had resigned.

Senator Brock Adams (D-WA) was accused of sexual harassment and terminated a bid for re-election. Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI), Senator Dave Durenberger (R-MN), and Senator Bob Packwood (R-OR) were also charged with sexual harassment.

1993 The Defense Department released its final report on sexual harassment at the 1991 convention of the Navy's Tailhook Association implicating 117 officers in the sexual abuse of 83 women and 7 men and citing 51 others for lying to investigators. Only 7 officers were disciplined before the statue of limitations ran out, but the Secretary of the Navy. H. Lawrence Garrett resigned at the request of Secretary of Defense Richard B. Cheney. Assistant Chief of Naval Operations Vice Admiral Richard M. Dunleavy retired at reduced rank as a result of his lack of effort to stop the harassment.

The Second Circuit Court in Karibian v. Columbia University held that a plaintiff in a quid pro quo harassment case need only allege an unwelcome sexual advance plus the reasonable fear of a job-related reprisal to prove sexual harassment, not actual economic harm.

The New Jersey Supreme Court in Lehmann v. Toys "R" Us upheld the reasonable woman standard and also held that an employer has an affirmative duty to take prompt remedial action to end harassment.

The United State Supreme Court in Harris v. Forklift Systems Inc. held that to be actionable as hostile environment harassment, conduct need not seriously affect an employee's psychological well being or lead the plaintiff to suffer injury.

1994 A federal court in California in Doe v. Petaluma held that if a school had notice of peer sexual harassment and failed to take appropriate corrective action, the school is liable under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

A trial court in California in Weeks v. Baker & McKenzie ruled that the law firm had failed to end harassment against the plaintiff and awarded her $7.1 million in punitive damages.

1998 The United States Supreme Court in Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services held that sex discrimination consisting of same-sex sexual harassment is actionable under Title VII. Title VII's prohibition of discrimination "because of � sex" protects men as well as women.

The United States Supreme Court in Faragher v. City Of Boca Raton held that an employer is vicariously liable for actionable discrimination caused by a supervisor.

The United States Supreme Court in Ellerth v. Burlington Industries held that under Title VII, an employee who refuses the unwelcome and threatening sexual advances of a supervisor, yet suffers no adverse, tangible job consequences, may recover against the employer without showing the employer is negligent or otherwise at fault for the supervisor's actions.

The United States Supreme Court in Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School District held that damages may not be recovered for teacher-student sexual harassment in an implied private action under Title IX unless a school district official who at a minimum has authority to institute corrective measures on the district's behalf has actual notice of, and is deliberately indifferent to, the teacher's misconduct.

1999 The United States Supreme Court in Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, et al. held that a private Title IX damages action may lie against a school board in cases of student-on-student harassment, but only where the funding recipient is deliberately indifferent to sexual harassment, of which the recipient has actual knowledge, and that harassment is so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it can be said to deprive the victims of access to the educational opportunities or benefits provided by the school.