Sexual Harassment is Global, Solutions are Local

A look at the basics of sexual harassment law, comparing the U.S. with Europe and Latin America, from FordHarrison attorney Angela Cummings, in a Today’s General Counsel article.  “Both in the United States and abroad,” she writes, “employers must protect their employees from sexual harassment or else face potentially costly litigation, and at times astronomical jury awards.” In the U.S. the most common legal basis for asserting sexual harassment claims is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Normally an employee files a charge claiming sexual harassment and/or retaliation for reporting the harassment, and the EEOC conducts an investigation and makes a determination. If there is a reasonable cause finding, the agency will “invite” the employer to conciliate and attempt to settle, and if the matter is not settled, either the EEOC or the employee may bring suit in federal court. Law prohibiting sexual harassment in European and Latin American countries are similar those in the U.S., but differ in some particulars…