Description
One of the female nurses who joined the Emergency Centre in a local hospital fourteen months ago was selected to attend a training seminar on Emergency Care, in a neighboring state for one week. The nurse traveled together with her male supervisor who had the authority to make appointments, hire staff and also recommend staff for promotion. During the seminar, the supervisor invited the female nurse to the hotel lounge after the training.
The female nurse felt compelled to accept the invitation from her supervisor and hence agreed to meet him in the lounge the next day after the afternoon training session. While at the lounge, the supervisor made several comments about the nurse’s breast. When she failed to respond to the comments, he told her that she needed to loosen up while at the same time warning her that if she continued with her behavior, he would make her life very hard at work.
The nurse declined to respond to all the advances made by her supervisor during the seminar. After returning to her work station, she did not get her promotion which was due after fifteen months of work. The nurse later quit her job indicating that the job environment had become hostile for her hence making it difficult for her to perform.
Ethical Principles
One of the ethical principles that are violated in the case is that of discrimination. Sexual harassment in the workplace constitutes an act of discrimination on the basis of sexual decisions of an employee (Charmaraman, Jones, Stein, & Espelage, 2013). For example, in this case, the female nurse was denied a promotion that was due upon the completion of fifteen months given that she declined the sexual advances that were made by the supervisor. The supervisor also verbally expressed that he would make her life unbearable given that she had declined to respond to his sexual advances. As a result, the supervisor had declared that he would overlook her work abilities based on her refusal to accept his advances which amounts to discrimination.
The case also signifies a situation where the ethical principle that guarantees an employee the freedom of choice was violated. For example, upon receiving the invitation, the female nurse indicates that she felt compelled to meet the supervisor at the lounge.
Thus, the request to meet the supervisor was placed in a manner that made it obligatory for the nurse to agree to the invitation. Hence, she was not given the option to make a conscious decision whether to meet the supervisor. The issue becomes an ethical question when one is dealing with a person who is their senior such as a supervisor as it is highly unlikely that they would be able to decline the request (Clancy, 2011).
Title VII Protected Class
The case involves the sexual discrimination which is a Title VII Protected Class as outlined in the Civil Rights Act of the year 1964. The act indicates that employees should not be discriminated against based on their gender or decision made in line to their gender. According to the act, failing to grant a promotion to an employee who declines sexual advances amounts to sexual harassment and discrimination (McLaughlin, Uggen, & Blackstone, 2012). The employees who fall victim to the sexual harassment, are allowed to press charges on the perpetrators of sexual discrimination.
State and Federal Laws Violated
The situation indicates a violation of the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which is a Federal Law that outlines unlawful practices that can be meted out on an employee such as when the employer discriminates against an individual employee regarding compensation, conditions or privileges of employment (Macfarlane, 2011). The law outlines sexual harassment as one of the forms of discrimination that can occur against an employee whether in the physical form or emotional form (Franks, 2012). The situation outlined in the case is a violation of Chapter 760 of Florida Statues which states that it is unlawful for an employee to be discriminated against on the basis of sex and other characteristics such as color, religion as well as age.
Evidence-based Method for Prevention
One of the most effective methods that have been applied to prevent the occurrence of sexual harassment is the establishment of anti-sexual harassment policy which is shared with all employees when joining the organization. The policy serves to alert all involved parties to their rights and responsibilities. Thus, the sexual harassment policy has been shown to reduce harm and liability on the different parties while ensuring that the there is equity within the organization (Clancy, 2011). The policy also outlines the measures taken to address the issues related to sexual harassment when they occur.
Another effective method of preventing sexual harassment in the organization is through the provision of training to the employees. Most literature on sexual harassment indicates that some individuals engage in sexual harassment without their knowledge. As a result, offering training on what constitutes sexual harassment will empower the employees to avoid engaging in actions that constitute sexual harassment.
Policy
The organization pledges to maintain a work environment that is devoid of sexual harassment which constitutes an unlawful act that discriminates on the basis of gender.
The organization considers sexual harassment to include any form of sexual activities that lead to an uncomfortable work environment such as unwelcome sexual advances, unwanted sexual attention, lewd depictions, sexual comments as well as requests for favors that are sexual.
Employees who experience sexual harassment are legally allowed to sue the company or establish contact with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for assistance. Therefore, the company intends to ensure continually, that none of the staff experiences sexual harassment.
The company seeks to inform all the employees that they are responsible for ensuring that the workplace environment is devoid of any form of sexual harassment. The employees are encouraged to report any instances of sexual harassment to the Sexual Harassment Coordinator or any supervisor.
Changes to the Human Resource
In order to make changes to the human resources policies in the human resource department, the process would include holding consultative meetings. During these meetings, the human resource department would engage the employees in discussions of the changes that are to be made with a view of accommodating their opinions (Diekmann, Walker, Galinsky, & Tenbrunsel, 2013). The next stage would involve drafting the new policies and distributing them to the employees for final reading. During this stage, the employees would be trained on the implications of the new policies while allowing them to raise any issues that could hinder the implementation of the policies. Once the training is completed, the final copies would be printed and distributed for the staff to sign and adopt.
References
Charmaraman, L., Jones, A., Stein, N., & Espelage, D. (2013). Is it bullying or sexual harassment? Knowledge, attitudes and professional development experiences of middle school staff. Journal of School Health, 83(6), 438-444.
Clancy, S. (2011). Queer Truth: The Need to Update Title VII to Include Sexual Orientation. Journal of Legislation, 37(1), 119-141.
Diekmann, K., Walker, S., Galinsky, A., & Tenbrunsel, A. (2013). Double victimization in the workplace: Why observers condemn passive victims of sexual harassment. Organizational Science, 24(2), 614-628.
Franks, M. (2012). Sexual harassment. Maryland Law Review, 71(3), 655-704.
Macfarlane, K. (2011). The improper dismissal of Title VII Claims on “Jurisdictional” exhaustion grounds: How Federal Courts require that allegations be presented to an Agency without the resources to consider them. Civil Rights Law Journal, 21(2), 213-257.
McLaughlin, H., Uggen, C., & Blackstone, A. (2012). Sexual harassment, workplace authority, and the paradox of power. American Sociological Review, 77(4), 625-647.