Dive Brief:
- A Scottsdale, Arizona, wine bar has been ordered to pay $100,000 for failing to stop sexual harassment against two servers because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation and for retaliation against one for complaining about it, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
- According to EEOC, 5th & Wine allowed its management and line staff to harass the two men. The actions included “egregious name calling, comments, innuendos and touching.” The workers complained to their supervisors, but the employer took no action and, in some cases, the supervisors “actually participated in the harassment,” the commission said. When one of the men said he was going to take legal action, he was fired.
- The employer failed to defend itself in court and following a default judgment hearing, a judge found the company liable for sexual harassment and retaliation, awarding the two men a total of $100,000 in compensatory and punitive damages. The court also ordered the bar to provide training on sex discrimination and retaliation and to draft and distribute policies regarding sex discrimination and retaliation.
Dive Insight:
While the #MeToo movement has focused on harassment of women, more and more men are reporting that they have been victimized by harassment at work. The Washington Post has reported that men account for nearly one in five complaints of workplace sexual harassment with the EEOC.
As these stories come to light, employers are taking stock of their own workplaces, ramping up training, improving diversity and trying to create cultures that don't allow harassment to go unchecked.
And as illustrated in the above case, anti-retaliation training is a key component of these efforts. Managers need to know to take complaints seriously, and how to implement company reporting procedures. Often, employers require that these complaints immediately be elevated to HR; in that case, complainants should be thanked for coming forward, Jonathan Segal, a partner with Duane Morris LLP, told HR Dive in a previous interview. Telling an individual that you appreciate them bringing their concerns to you will help to avoid any inference of retaliation — a violation for which employers can be held liable, even if it is eventually determined that no harassment occurred.