North Carolina Sexual Harassment attorney, Kathryn Abernethy, sits down and explains the three types of sexual harassment in the workplace. Kathryn helps differentiate between the three primary types of sexual harassment with hostile work environment, quid pro quo, and sexual assault. This is part of a recurring series where Kathryn helps explain North Carolina employment law on YouTube. The transcription of the video is below if you would prefer to read it. Please call us to schedule a consult with attorney Abernethy.
Transcript:
So, when you’re dealing with potential sexual harassment claims, there are really 3 categories that I think sexual harassment claims tend to fall within. So, on the spectrum of perhaps least concerning to perhaps the most concerning conduct you can encounter in the workplace, first would be hostile work environment, sexual harassment.
Hostile Work Environment Sexual Harassment
So hostile work environment basically means severe and pervasive harassment. That harassment can be verbal. It can be a mixture of verbal and text messages. It can be innuendo in the workplace. There are a lot of different things that can fall into the category of harassment.
Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment
Next on the spectrum, we would have what’s called quid pro quo sexual harassment. This is a very specific type, and usually when you’re talking about quid pro quo sexual harassment, you’re talking about a supervisor and subordinate relationship.
Because the sine qua non of quid pro quo harassment, if that’s enough Latin for one sentence, is that the supervisor is either explicitly or implicitly demanding sexual favors or acquiescence in exchange for some benefit in the workplace such as a promotion, not getting fired, or getting a raise.
You know, this is the classic âhow bad do you want it, babe?â sort of question that somebody might ask you if you went in and asked for a raise, for example. That’s classic quid pro quo sexual harassment.
Sexual Assault in the Workplace
And then on the extreme end, do you have actual sexual assault that occurs in the workplace? And unfortunately, I have had some clients who’ve had that happen to them. Those cases are often the most complex and the most difficult because you want to make sure your client is preserving all their rights from a criminal enforcement standpoint.
In other words, you want to make sure that they are timely reporting if they were raped or sexually assaulted, and they are timely reporting that sexual assault to the appropriate authorities. If they were raped, they’re getting a rape kit done. Evidence is being preserved of the sexual assault while they are also reporting it to their company and pursuing it civilly as sexual harassment. So those cases often are complicated to manage.
