Hippocrates (or the Pythagoran writer of the oath) was well aware that patients or their caretakers frequently “fall in love” with their physicians and openly express the desire for an affair. But experience shows that often patients/caretakers are psychologically vulnerable, and later regret their actions. That is why the Hippocratic oath expressly forbids physicians from having sexual relationships with patients or with anyone living in their household: because even 2500 years ago, it was recognized that such relationships were ethically tainted, even if both people “agree” to the affair.
In today’s workplace, if women are to have equal opportunity to use their skills, they need to be able to do so in a workplace where they do not have to put up with a sexualized environment in the workplace, be it repeated dirty jokes, “roaming hands”, or (more seriously) sleeping with one’s supervisor/employer in order to keep one’s job.
Hence Sexual Harassment laws.
From the EEOC website:
Sexual harassment can occur in a variety of circumstances, including but not limited to the following:
- The victim as well as the harasser may be a woman or a man. The victim does not have to be of the opposite sex.
- The harasser can be the victim’s supervisor, an agent of the employer, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or a non-employee.
- The victim does not have to be the person harassed but could be anyone affected by the offensive conduct.
- Unlawful sexual harassment may occur without economic injury to or discharge of the victim.
- The harasser’s conduct must be unwelcome.
This brings us to David Letterman.
He has not had a love affair with an equal: he admits to having sex with several of his employees.
Ah, but now his “defenders” say “they asked for it”.
Well, maybe…HOW DO YOU KNOW?
True, many women agree to seduction, and indeed sometimes even institute the sexual encounter. And, of course, some women (and men) benefit from their actions.
But did you know that if a woman (or man) is promoted because they agree to having sex with their employer, not only can they sue, but all their co workers, who did not get that promotion or other advantages can sue under the EEOC law?
Letterman’s blackmailers will probably be prosecuted, but both Letterman and his employers could find that the problem won’t stop there:
.David Lande, a New York City-based civil attorney whose cases have included sexual harassment, said Letterman presumably was in a position of power with a voice in hiring, firing and promotions.
“So, to the extent that he had control over these factors with the women he was involved with, he could be subject to liability,” he said. “I am sure CBS lawyers are reviewing the matter very carefully.”
Such lawsuits could cost his employers, past and present, big money.
Not only is sexual harassment illegal, it can also cost big employers lots of money. In 2005, Ford (F) agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle sexual harassment charges and to pay up to $10 million to train employees to prevent sexual harassment. Lowe’s Companies (LOW) paid $1.72 million to settle such charges made by three employees. Many other examples suggest that settlement amounts are often at least $1 million.
How frequent is sexual harassment in the workplace?
In Fiscal Year 2008, EEOC received 13,867 charges of sexual harassment. 15.9% of those charges were filed by males. EEOC resolved 11,731 sexual harassment charges in FY 2008 and recovered $47.4 million in monetary benefits for charging parties and other aggrieved individuals (not including monetary benefits obtained through litigation).
So, although David Letterman’s on screen apology and joking may get him a “pass” from the jaded audience, he still faces more problems.
I suggest the CBS lawyers contact all of those he remembers having sexual relationships with (and all of those who he didn’t have a relationship and felt that they were passed over unfairly for promotions or raises for that reason), and pay them not to sue.
Alas, if he “gets away with it” in public opinion, the feminist movement will have suffered another setback for women’s rights in the workplace.
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Nancy Reyes is a retired physician living in the rural Philippines. Her website is Finest Kind Clinic and Fishmarket.
6 users commented in " Hey, Dave, it’s the Law…Sexual Harassment is Illegal "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackYOU ARE 100 PERCENT WRITE WITH THE LAW ON
SEXUAL HARASSMENT IS ILLEGAL
Oh please, who wouldn’t want to sleep with David Letterman.
Sexual harassment is disrespectful, illegal, unethical and totally unacceptable. But…one sometimes wonders why complaints of sexual harassment surface several months or years after the occurrence of sexually unacceptable behavior. There are always “reasons” but are they good enough to delay a solution to this burgeoning problem in the corporate world? One can also wonder whether, in certain circumstances, the alleged victim may be partly responsible for the sexual harassment in question. Sexual harassment and bullying in the workplace (and elsewhere) needs to be addressed via appropriate training, monitoring and follow-up. This is not a matter which can be taken lightly. Moreover, ethics goes far beyond the law. Therefore, winning a case in court does not eliminate guilt, although it may appear to do so, in the eyes of several members of society.
Maxwell Pinto, Business Author: leadership, ethics, teamwork, women in the workforce, trade unions, etc.
http://www.strategicbookpublishing.com/Management-TidbitsForTheNewMillenium.html
Nancy:
Excellent Article!
Please email me on your next article about Letterman so I can Tweet it.
Ken
Nancy:
Also you & Patricia Montemurri (pmontemurri@freepress.com)should team up and write another article about Letterman on this matter. She also had an excellent article about this http://bit.ly/175krE . I’m also going to email her about this.
Ken
I really love Dave’s show. It has given me really funny moments through the years, and his dry wit is nothing short of brilliant.
That said, I have to address what I see as his underestimating the subtleties of this entire matter, his lack of sensitivity, and for the first time, his getting it really, really, wrong.
A man in David Letterman’s position should know that his behavior in the workplace has to be beyond reproach. It’s as simple as that. And with his money and popularity, why would he need to dip his pen in the company ink? As a Black American (I am not African), I am hypersensitive to the stain of slavery and its impact on American culture. A woman who services her boss at his request, regardless of how well-presented, is being used for material consumption, and not respected solely for the quality of her ideas or the standard of her character. Black women had to do the same, as their masters pretended that their sexuality was so rampant that they were begging for it. Hence the off-the-scale sexual reputation of black women.
Would the female staff at The Late Show have had equal opportunity for favor with their employer – David Letterman – regardless of their intimate ties to him, or lack thereof? A good workplace would guarantee it; there simply would be no question. I don’t think Letterman deserves to skip happily past this one, because he simply doesn’t get it.
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