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Sexual harassment is illegal and is considered a form of sexual discrimination. For business owners, sexual harassment also creates an unproductive, unpleasant working environment that robs your business of money, mental energy and lost productivity. Business owners MUST protect themselves, their businesses, and employees by implementing and enforcing a ZERO TOLERANCE for sexual harassment. In this article you will learn some background on the issue and tips on what you can do to protect yourself and your business from sexual harassment in the workplace.

What is Sexual Harassment? Sexual harassment is the unwelcome sexual attention or conduct of supervisors, co-workers, customers, venders or anyone with whom the employee interacts with on the job. Sexual harassment can come from men or women against those of the opposite sex or same sex and from peers as well as supervisors. There are two categories of sexual harassment: Quid Pro Quo and Hostile work environment.

Quid Pro Quo means "this for that" or "something for something." The employee's submission to the unwelcome behavior is made explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of employment. The employee's submission or rejection of the unwelcome conduct is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting the employee. For example, quid pro quo sexual harassment exists when a supervisor threatens to fire an employee because he or she will not comply with sexual demands, or when an employee does not receive a promotion because he or she rejected unwelcome conduct. In Quid Pro Quo harassment, the harasser is always liable AND the employer/company is always liable (even if you don't know it is happening).

Hostile Work Environment exists when the unwelcome conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with work performance and the conduct creates an intimidating hostile or offensive work environment. The conduct must be "severe or pervasive" enough that a reasonable person would find it hostile or intimidating. It is best understood by providing examples: Discussing sexual activities, telling sexual jokes, commenting on physical attributes, using demeaning or inappropriate terms, using crude or offensive language or posting "pin-up" girl (or guy) calendars or cartoons. There are varying degrees of liability for a business owner, even if you did not know it was happening! But you can protect yourself with a clear sexual harassment policy and enforcing its provisions.

Get a Written Plan! Every employer must have a sexual harassment policy and procedure for its employees. Many small businesses neglect to adopt written sexual harassment policies because they believe they are not large enough to require such a document. However, no business is immune from sexual harassment claims or from ensuing litigation. That reason alone should convince a company to create a written policy. Verbally informing employees about the company's position on sexual harassment is a good start. A written sexual harassment policy is the most effective first step you can do to protect yourself and your employees from sexual harassment in the workplace.

How Can I Create an Effective Sexual Harassment Policy? Sexual harassment policies may differ from company to company and a company should consult with professionals in customizing one for their company, but, all effective policies should include the following:

Ensure a Commitment to Zero Tolerance: The best sexual harassment policies make it clear that under no circumstances will sexual harassment be tolerated. This policy needs to be enforced every time there is a violation, even if it means losing a valuable employee. A "zero tolerance" policy, by definition, means that a company will not tolerate sexual harassment under any circumstances. In other words, policy violations are met with a swift response/remediation the first time they occur.

Implement a Clearly Defined Sexual Harassment Policy: In implementing a sexual harassment policy, a company needs to be clear about what does and does not constitute harassment. Many sexual harassment policies list examples of activities that are unacceptable in the workplace.

Clearly Defined Reporting & Response Procedures: Defining sexual harassment is not enough. A company will also need to define how employees can report incidents of sexual harassment when they occur. Employers should establish, distribute to all employees, and enforce a policy prohibiting harassment and setting out a procedure for making complaints. In most cases, the policy and reporting procedure should be in writing. More importantly, the employer should assure employees that it would protect confidentiality of harassment complaints to the extent possible.

How Can an Employer Prevent or Correct Unwanted Sexual Harassment? An employer should correct harassment that is clearly unwelcome regardless of whether a complaint is filed. For example, if there is communication or graffiti in the workplace containing racial or sexual epithets, an employer should not wait for a complaint before removing it. An employer should ensure that its supervisors and managers understand their responsibilities under the company's harassment policy and complaint procedures. Finally, an employer should keep records of harassment complaints and check those records when a complaint of harassment is made to reveal any patterns of harassment by the same individuals.

Pest Ed 2011 was a HUGE SUCCESS. We had 150 attendees in Montebello and 91 attendees in Sacramento. These are the best attendance numbers ever. I want to thank our event partner, UNIVAR, for all its hard work. John Charleston, Terry Davis, Becky Velasco and the whole UNIVAR team do a fantastic job helping me to put on PEST ED. I also want to thank our other sponsors: BASF, Bell Labs, CSI, Dow Agro, DuPont, FMC, JT Eaton, Nisus, Syngenta and the Jenkins Insurance Group.