In Latin, “quid pro quo” means “something for something.” Put bluntly in the context of sexual harassment, it means “you have sex with me, and I won’t fire you.” “Quid pro quo" sexual harassment is a form of discrimination based upon sex and may consist of unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors or other verbal, visual or physical conduct of a sexual nature when, (1) submission to the conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment, or (2) submission to or rejection of the conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting that individual. In determining whether conduct constitutes sexual harassment, a court must consider all of the circumstances, including, (1) the nature of the unwelcome sexual acts or words; (2) the frequency of the offensive encounters; (3) the total number of days over which all of the offensive conduct occurs; and (4) the context in which the alleged sexual harassing conduct occurs.
Not only is sexual harassment illegal. The law also prohibits:
- Racial harassment
- Religious harassment
- Age-based harassment
- Harassment based on disability
- Harassment based on ethnicity or national origin
- Retaliation
Most people are familiar with workplace sexual harassment claims. Harassment in professional, business, and educational relationships are also illegal.
Sexual Harassment Topics: