Although most companies have detailed policies against sexual harassment, employers often find themselves in a difficult pinch when it comes to defining, proving, and disciplining sexual harassment in the workplace. Thus, companies deal with complaints in vastly different ways. For example, retaliation against workers who complain about sexual harassment is an issue that better be addressed since the Supreme Court has stepped up its concern. "There are obviously laws against harassment, but defining exactly what that is is hard, and so is applying those laws to a particular set of facts and deciding what a company does about it," said Ron Peppe, a vice president of the Association of Corporate Counsel in Washington, DC, an umbrella group for lawyers who work for in-house legal departments.
"So it's a gray area sometimes, because there are no hard-and-fast rules." Indeed, the sexual harassment policy at Caritas Christi Health Care, which has received reports from at least 10 women that its president allegedly sexually harassed them, appears straightforward. Its definition of harassment includes "sexually charged looks and gestures" and "unnecessary touching of an individual," such as hugging, both of which are complaints made about Haddad. Its "progressive discipline policy" includes written warnings, suspensions, and termination.
Despite the explicit enumeration of acts that would be considered harassment, the alleged harasser disputed that his behavior was sexual harassment, describing the gestures instead as innocent reflections of the culture in which he was raised. “Sexual harassment is such a messy area,” said Jay Shepherd, a Boston lawyer who specializes in employment law and teaches sexual harassment training courses for employers. “In many ways, it’s one of the most difficult areas of employment law because it’s always ‘he said, she said’ or ‘he said, he said.’ ”

Questions

1. Should the president of Caritas Christi Health Care be fired? Why?

2. Why is the handling of sexual harassment cases considered complicated?

3. Explain in your own words why consistency in handling sexual harassment claims is important.