1

Highlights of the Report by 

Commissioner Chai Feldblum

&

Acting Chair Victoria Lipnic

Rebooting Workplace Harassment Prevention
2

Come up with creative new 

ideas to prevent harassment

Explore promising ways to prevent 

and remedy harassment

Assess what we know now about 

the extent of harassment

Purpose of The Select Task Force
3

Employee Representation

-Brenda Feis, Partner, Feis Goldy, LLC

-Fatima Goss Graves, Vice President

for Education and Employment,

National Women's Law Center

-Christopher Ho, Senior Staff 

Attorney and Director, Immigration 

and National Origin Program, Legal Aid 

Society, Employment Law Center

-Thomas A. Saenz, President & 

General Counsel, Mexican American 

Legal Defense and Educational Fund

-Joseph M. Sellers, Partner, Cohen 

Milstein

-Angelia Wade Stubbs, Associate 

General Counsel, AFL-CIO

Employer Representation

-Stephen C. Dwyer, General

Counsel, American Staffing

Association

-Manuel Cuevas-Trisán, Vice 

President, Litigation, Data Protection 

& Employment Law, Motorola 

Solutions, Inc.

-Jonathan A. Segal, Partner, Duane 

Morris and Managing Principal, Duane 

Morris Institute

-Rae T. Vann, General Counsel, Equal 

Employment Advisory Council

-Patricia A. Wise, Partner, Niehaus, 

Wise & Kalas; Co-Chair, Society for 

Human Resource Management Labor 

Relations Special Expertise Panel

Academic Representation

-Sahar F. Aziz, Associate Professor 

of Law, Texas A&M University

-Meg A. Bond, Professor of 

Psychology and Director of the 

Center for Women and Work, 

University of Massachusetts Lowell

-Jerry Carbo, Associate Professor 

of Management and Marketing, 

Shippensburg University

-Frank Dobbin, Professor of 

Sociology, Harvard University

-Ariane Hegewisch, Study 

Director, Institute for Women's 

Policy Research

Diversity of Views and Expertise
4 

January 

2015 

Creation of 

the Task Force 

June 2015 

Examining the 

Scope of the 

Problem and 

Potential 

Solutions 

Washington, 

DC

October 2015 

Promising Practices 

to Prevent 

Workplace 

Harassment 

Los Angeles, CA

December 2015 

Faces of Workplace 

Harassment and 

Innovative Solutions 

Washington, DC

June 2016 

Release of CoChairs Report 

at EEOC 

Commission 

Meeting 

Select Task Force on the Study of Workplace Harassment 
5

Harassment, for purposes of the report, is defined as 

unwelcome or offensive conduct in the workplace that: 

a) is based on sex (including sexual orientation, pregnancy, 

and gender identity), race, color, national origin, religion, 

age, disability, and/or genetic information; AND 

b) is detrimental to an employee’s work performance, 

professional advancement, and/or mental health. 

Harassment” in Report: Not Limited to Illegal Harassment
6

• Offensive jokes, slurs, epithets or 

name calling

• Offensive objects or pictures.

• Unwelcome touching or contact

• Physical threats or assaults

• Ridicule, mockery, or put-downs

• Constant or unwelcome 

questions about an individual’s 

identity

• Undue attention

Range of Possible Unwelcome Harassment
7

“Not everything that is faced can be 

changed, but nothing can be 

changed until it is faced.”

-James Baldwin
8

• Workplace harassment remains a persistent problem.

• Workplace harassment too often goes unreported. 

• There is a compelling business case for preventing harassment.

• The good news:We have some creative ideas

• Leadership and accountability can prevent harassment.

Our Findings
9

• Workplace risk factors should be evaluated

• Training is important, but it needs to be the right training.

• Employers need compliance training that is effective. 

• Employers should consider workplace civility training and bystander 

intervention training

• An It’s On US campaign in the workplace could be a game changer

Our Findings Continued..
10
11

Approximately 43% of federal sector 

charges alleged harassment

43%

FY 2015 Federal Sector 

Complaints Alleging Harassment

Approximately 31% of private sector 

charges alleged harassment

31%

FY 2015 Private Sector 

Charges Alleging Harassment

Harassment Charges and Complaints: A Persistent Problem
12

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Sex Race Disability Age

45

34

19 

15

45.2 

37.1 34.8 

26.7 Private Sector

Federal Sector

Harassment Charges and Complaints by Category 

Fiscal Year 2015 
13

 Solid data on sex based harassment: 25-60%

 Some date on sexual orientation and gender 

identity harassment: 35-58%

 Little data on racial and ethnic harassment: 40-70%

 Next to no data on harassment based on disability, 

religion, or age

Prevalence of Workplace Harassment

What do the Survey Data Say?
14

25%

40%

60% 

• Most Conservative Estimate: 25% of 

women experience “sexual harassment,” if not 

defined in the survey.

• More Accurate Estimate: 40% of women expe

rience unwanted sexual attention or sexual coercion, 

even if they don’t label it as “sexual harassment.”

• Most Accurate Estimate: 60% of women 

experience unwanted sexual attention or sexual 

coercion, OR sexually crude conduct or sexist 

comments in the workplace. 

Prevalence of Sex-Based Harassment: Varying Definitions
15

Approximately 70% of 

employees never even 

complain internally.

70%

Upwards of 85% of 

people never file a 

formal legal charge.

85%

Harassment is HUGELY UNDER-REPORTED
16

 Humilitation

 Ostracism

 Damage to Reputation

 Damage to Career

 Retaliation

 Inaction

 Blame

 Disbelief

FEAR

Why the Under-Reporting? 
17

• One study found that 75% of employees 

who spoke out against workplace 

mistreatment faced some form of 

retaliation.

• Other studies found that sexual 

harassment reporting is often followed by:

– organizational indifference

– trivialization of the harassment 

complaint

– hostility and reprisals against the 

victims

Fears of Retaliation Are Well-Founded
18

“The most reasonable response to harassment in many 

organizations is not to report it, not to file a complaint, 

not even to speak to management about the problem.”

-Professor Lilia Cortina, University of Michigan

(Testimony to the Select Task Force)
19

• Endure the behavior

• Avoid the harasser

• Downplay the gravity of the situation

• Seek support from family and friends

• Leave the job, if one can

Common Responses to Harassment
20

A Compelling Business Case:

Employers Should Care about Stopping Harassment
21

• Employers should care about stopping harassment because harassment is 

wrong – and, in many cases, illegal. 

• Workplace harassment will always cause harm to the target and can actually 

ruin an employee’s life.

• Moral obligation and legal duty are not the complete story, though. 

Employers should also stop harassment because it makes good business 

sense.

Harassment is Wrong
22

$698,700,000

Between FY2010 to FY2015, employers paid $698.7 million during EEOC’s 

pre-litigation enforcement process to employees alleging harassment

Direct Financial Costs– EEOC Processes
23

In just one year, EEOC secured 

$125 million in its pre-litigation 

process AND $39 million in 

EEOC’s litigation, for employees 

alleging harassment
24

• Costs also include monetary relief 

obtained by private plaintiff’s 

attorneys for their clients

• Federal agencies also pay 

monetary damages for harassment 

claims

Plus....
25

• Adverse impact on health & workplace productivity of the target of 

harassment

• Adverse impact on health & workplace productivity of coworkers who 

witness harassment

• Job Turnover

• Reputational Harm

Indirect Financial Costs
26

• Psychological Harm: depression, anxiety, PTSD, negative mood, eating disorders, 

self-blame, anger, substance abuse

• Physical Harm: headaches, exhaustion, sleep problems, Nausea, weight changes, 

cardiovascular issues, gastric issues, respiratory issues

• Workplace Productivity: decreased productivity, job dissatisfaction, work 

withdrawal, disengagement, tardiness, excessive absenteeism, work time spent 

discussing the harassment

Health Impact & Workplace Productivity of the 

Target of Harassment
27

• Workplace tension

• Effect on Workplace functioning

• Effect on physical and 

psychological health

Health Impact and Workplace Productivity of 

Coworkers
28

Job turnover is potentially the largest single component of 

the overall cost of harassment.

Job Turnover
29

• Employers often make a wrong cost-benefit analysis when faced with 

allegations of harassment against a highly valued employee. 

• Employers are often tempted to ignore misconduct for fear of cost to 

the organization.

• In reality, the cost of allowing harassment to go unchecked is higher 

than the cost of losing a highly valued employee.

The Perils of the Superstar Harasser

 
30
31

• Workplaces that tolerate 

harassment have more of 

it. 

• And workplaces that are 

not tolerant of harassment 

have less of it.

A Common Sense Research Finding
32

• Values: Leaders believe harassment is wrong and 

should not occur in the workplace. Leaders convey a 

sense of urgency in stopping and preventing harassment.

• Authenticity:Workers believe that leaders mean what 

they say. 

• Awareness: Leadership knows about the prevalence

of workplace harassment: e.g., via climate surveys.

• Accountability: Leaders address harassment in a swift, 

effective, and proportionate manner. Leadership holds 

managers accountable for stopping harassment

Leadership: It Starts at the Top
33

• Frontline managers must be trained on how to 

respond to reports or observations of 

harassment in a swift and correct manner. 

• Frontline managers must be held accountable 

for their responses to harassment – using 

discipline or accolades

• The extent of harassment in a manager’s division 

is not necessarily best measured by the 

number of complaints from that division. 

Front Line Management is Key
34

“One organization I worked with several years ago asked me if I had new 

courseware for use with some previously trained managers. When I asked 

them what they wanted to accomplish, they indicated that several individuals 

were continuing to tell off-color jokes and make inappropriate comments. 

While I welcomed the opportunity to be of service, it seemed to me the 

issue was not what training to do next but rather why these 

decision-makers hadn’t taken steps to deal with these individuals’ 

behavior and failure to perform to clear standards.”

-Stephen Paskoff, founder of Employment Learning Innovations, Inc. 

8 Fundamentals of a Civil Treatment Workplace
35

• Checklist One: Leadership and Accountability

• The first step for creating a holistic harassment prevention program is for the 

leadership of an organization to establish a culture of respect in which 

harassment is not tolerated. Check the box if the leadership of your 

organization has taken the following steps:

• ◻ Leadership has allocated sufficient resources for a harassment prevention effort

• ◻ Leadership has allocated sufficient staff time for a harassment prevention effort

• ◻ Leadership has assessed harassment risk factors and has taken steps to minimize

those risks

• Based on the commitment of leadership, check the box if your organization has 

the following components in place:

• ◻ A harassment prevention policy that is easy-to-understand and that is regularly 

communicated to all employees

• ◻ A harassment reporting system that employees know about and is fully resourced and 

which accepts reports of harassment experienced and harassment observed

• ◻ Imposition of discipline that is prompt, consistent, and proportionate to the severity 

of the harassment, if harassment is determined to have occurred

• ◻ Accountability for mid-level managers and front-line supervisors to prevent and/or 

respond to workplace harassment

• ◻ Regular compliance trainings for all employees so they can recognize prohibited forms 

of conduct and know how to use the reporting system

• ◻ Regular compliance trainings for mid-level managers and front-line supervisors so they 

know how to prevent and/or respond to workplace harassment

• Bonus points if you can check these boxes:

• ◻The organization conducts climate surveys on a regular basis to assess the extent to 

which harassment is experienced as a problem in the workplace

• ◻The organization has implemented metrics for harassment response and prevention 

in supervisory employees' performance reviews

• ◻The organization conducts workplace civility training and bystander intervention training

• ◻The organization has partnered with researchers to evaluate the organization's 

holistic workplace harassment prevention effort

Checklist on 

Leadership 


36

• There are factors that may put a work

place at risk for harassment.

• While existence of a risk factor does n

ot mean that harassment will occur, an

alyzing workplace risk factors is a good 

means of prevention.

Workplace Risk Factors: Situational Awareness
37

• Homogenous workforces

• Workforces with many young workers

• Isolated workspaces

• Cultural and language differences in the workplace

• Workplaces that rely on customer service or client 

satisfaction

• Decentralized workplaces

Risk Factors for Harassment
38

• Workplaces where work is monotonous or consists of low-intensity tasks

• Workplace cultures that tolerate or encourage alcohol consumption

• Workplaces with significant power disparities

• Coarsened social discourse outside the workplace

Additional Risk Factors for Harassment 
39

Risk Factor Risk Factor Indicia Why This is a Risk Factor for 

Harassment

Risk Factor-Specific Strategies 

to Reduce Harassment*

Homogenous workforce Historic lack of diversity in the 

workplace

Currently only one minority in a 

work group (e.g., team, department, 

location)

Employees in the minority can feel 

isolated and may actually be, or at 

least appear to be, vulnerable to 

pressure from others.

Employees in the majority might feel 

threatened by those they perceive as 

"different" or "other," or might simply 

be uncomfortable around others 

who are not like them.

Increase diversity at all levels of the 

workforce, with particular attention 

to work groups with low diversity.

Pay attention to relations among and 

within work groups.

Workplaces where some 

employees do not conform to 

workplace norms

"Rough and tumble" or single-sexdominated workplace cultures

Remarks, jokes, or banter that are 

crude, "raunchy," or demeaning

Employees may be viewed as weak or 

susceptible to abuse.

Abusive remarks or humor may 

promote workplace norms that 

devalue certain types of individuals.

Proactively and intentionally create a 

culture of civility and respect with 

the involvement of the highest levels 

of leadership.

Pay attention to relations among and 

within work groups.

Cultural and language 

differences in the workplace

Arrival of new employees with 

different cultures or nationalities

Segregation of employees with 

different cultures or nationalities

Different cultural backgrounds may 

make employees less aware of laws 

and workplace norms.

Employees who do not speak English 

may not know their rights and may 

be more subject to exploitation.

Language and linguistic characteristics 

can play a role in harassment.

Ensure that culturally diverse 

employees understand laws, 

workplace norms, and policies.

Increase diversity in culturally 

segregated workforces.

Pay attention to relations among and 

within work groups.

Coarsened Social Discourse 

Outside the Workplace

Increasingly heated discussion of 

current events occurring outside the 

workplace

Coarsened social discourse that is 

happening outside a workplace may 

make harassment inside the 

workplace more likely or perceived 

as more acceptable.

Proactively identify current eventsnational and local-that are likely to be 

discussed in the workplace.

Remind the workforce of the types 

of conduct that are unacceptable in 

the workplace.

APPENDIX C 

CHART OF RISK FACTORS AND RESPONSES 

Chart on 

Risk Factors 


40

• Leadership

• Policy

• Reporting Procedures

• Training

• Creativity

A Holistic Harassment Prevention Effort
41

• Drafted in simple and clear language

• Clear explanation of prohibited conduct, including examples

• Protection against retaliation for employees who make complaints or 

participate in the investigation

• Clearly described complaint process with multiple, accessible 

avenues of complaint and a prompt, thorough, and impartial

investigation

• Assurance that the employer will protect the confidentiality of 

harassment complaints to the extent possible

• Assurance that the employer will take immediate and proportionate 

corrective action and respond appropriately to behavior

Anti-Harassment Policies 
42

Checklist Two: An Anti-Harassment Policy

An anti-harassment policy is a key component of a holistic harassment 

prevention effort. Check the box below if your anti-harassment policy 

contains the following elements:

 An unequivocal statement that harassment based on any protected 

characteristic will not be tolerated

 An easy-to-understand description of prohibited conduct, including examples

 A description of a reporting system - available to employees who experience 

harassment as well as those who observe harassment - that provides 

multiple avenues to report, in a manner easily accessible to employees

 A statement that the reporting system will provide a prompt, thorough, and 

impartial investigation

 A statement that the identity of an individual who submits a report, a 

witness who provides information regarding a report, and the target of the 

complaint, will be kept confidential to the extent possible consistent with a 

thorough and impartial investigation

 A statement that any information gathered as part of an investigation will be 

kept confidential to the extent possible consistent with a thorough and 

impartial investigation

 An assurance that the employer will take immediate and proportionate 

corrective action if it determines that harassment has occurred

 An assurance that an individual who submits a report (either of harassment 

experienced or observed) or a witness who provides information regarding 

a report will be protected from retaliation from co-workers and supervisors

 A statement that any employee who retaliates against any individual who 

submits a report or provides information regarding a report will be 

disciplined appropriately

 Is written in clear, simple words, in all languages commonly used by members 

of the workforce

Checklist on 

Effective 

Harassment 

Prevention 

Policies


43

• Well-resourced with well trained investigators

• Takes complaints seriously and offers a supportive environment

• Protects against retaliation and keeps information confidential to the 

extent possible

• Provides timely responses and investigations

• Is fair to all parties 

– Consider testing your procedures to see 

how well they work in practice.

Reporting and Investigation Procedures
44

• Checklist Three: A Harassment Reporting System and Investigations

• A reporting system that allows employees to file a report of harassment 

they have experienced or observed, and a process for undertaking 

investigations, are essential components of a holistic harassment 

prevention effort.

• Check the box below if your anti-harassment effort contains the following 

elements:

• ◻ A fully-resourced reporting process that allows the organization to respond 

promptly and thoroughly to reports of harassment that have been experienced 

or observed

• ◻ Employer representatives who take reports seriously

• ◻ A supportive environment where individuals feel safe to report harassing 

behavior to management

• ◻Well-trained, objective, and neutral investigators

• ◻Timely responses and investigations

• ◻ Investigators who document all steps taken from the point of first contact 

and who prepare a written report using guidelines to weigh credibility

• ◻ An investigation that protects the privacy of individuals who file complaints 

or reports, individuals who provide information during the investigation, and the 

person(s) alleged to have engaged in harassment, to the greatest extent possible

• ◻ Mechanisms to determine whether individuals who file reports or provide 

information during an investigation experience retribution, and authority to 

impose sanctions on those who engage in retaliation

• ◻ During the pendency of an investigation, systems to ensure individuals 

alleged to have engaged in harassment are not "presumed guilty" and are not 

"punished" unless and until a complete investigation determines that harassment 

has occurred

• ◻ A communication of the determination of the investigation to all parties and, 

where appropriate, a communication of the sanction imposed if harassment was 

found to have occurred

Checklist on 

Reporting 

Procedures


45

Training, Oh Training
46

Traditional Training, 

Standing Alone, 

Is Not Enough
47

• There is some really bad training

out there. 

• Training is sometimes done 

primarily to avoid legal liability

• Training is often done in a vacuum,

not as part of a holistic 

harassment prevention effort. 

Problems with Traditional Harassment Prevention Training
48

• Compliance training is critical.

• Effective compliance training has 

certain essential components.

• There are other types of effective 

training worth exploring.

Effective Training
49

Compliance training is not training to change 

your mind, it’s training 

to keep your job.”

-Jonathan Segal, Select Task Force Member
Good Compliance Training

50

1) Uses a live, interactive trainer

2) Provides examples tailored to the specific workplace

3) Explains unacceptable conduct, not illegal conduct

4) Provides information to change behaviors, not attitudes

5) Explains easy steps on how to report unwelcome conduct

6) Teaches managers how to respond to unacceptable conduct, including in 

hard situations
51

Checklist Four: Compliance Training

A holistic harassment prevention effort provides training to employees regarding 

an employer's policy, reporting systems and investigations. Check the box if your 

organization's compliance training is based on the following structural principles 

and includes the following content:

• Structural Principles ◻ Supported at the highest levels

• ◻ Repeated and reinforced on a regular basis

• ◻ Provided to all employees at every level of the organization

• ◻ Conducted by qualified, live, and interactive trainers

• ◻ If live training is not feasible, designed to include active engagement by 

participants

• ◻ Routinely evaluated and modified as necessary

• Content of Compliance Training for All Employees ◻ Describes illegal harassment, 

and conduct that, if left unchecked, might rise to the level of illegal harassment

• ◻ Includes examples that are tailored to the specific workplace and the specific 

workforce

• ◻ Educates employees about their rights and responsibilities if they experience 

conduct that is not acceptable in the workplace

• ◻ Describes, in simple terms, the process for reporting harassment that is 

experienced or observed

• ◻ Explains the consequences of engaging in conduct unacceptable in the workplace

• Content of Compliance Training for Managers and First-line Supervisors ◻

Provides easy-to-understand and realistic methods for dealing with harassment that 

they observe, that is reported to them, or of which they have knowledge or 

information, including description of sanctions for failing to use such methods

• ◻ Provides clear instructions on how to report harassing behavior up the chain of 

command, including description of sanctions for failing to report

• ◻ Encourages managers and supervisors to practice "situational awareness" and 

assess the workforces within their responsibility for risk factors of harassment

Checklist on

Compliance 

Training

  
52

Other Trainings that Hold Promise....
53

• Focused on creating a civil and respectful

workplace for all.

• Not focused on status-based characteristics.

• Teaches employees to increase their self-awareness

of respectful behavior. 

• Provides employees with the skills to control their 

actions and reactions to people and situations. 

Workplace Civility Training
54

“Workplace incivility might act as a sort of ‘gateway drug ’ to 

more egregious forms of abuse, including illegal harassment.”

-Professor Lilia Cortina, University of Michigan 

Testimony to the Select Task Force on the Study of Workplace 

Harassment 
55

• Deployed frequently on college campuses to 

reduce sexual assault.

• Teaches students to recognize warning signs of 

sexual assault. 

• Creates a sense of collective responsibility and 

confidence to intervene.

• Empowers students by giving them the realistic, 

actionable options for intervention. 

Bystander Intervention Training
56

• Unacceptable Behavior: Workers would know what behavior is unacceptable. 

(Compliance Training)

• Collective Responsibility: Workers would feel collectively responsible for 

having a harassment-free workplace

• Tools and Training: Workers would be given tools and training for intervention, 

specific to that workplace.

• Rewards, not Retaliation: Workers who stop harassment would be rewarded, 

not retaliated against.

What would this look like in the workplace? 
57

• EEOC agreements in the private sector (settlements, conciliations, & 

consent decrees) and the federal sector can require effective:

– Policies

– reporting and investigation procedures

– compliance training. 

• The three checklists for those aspects of a prevention effort, as well as 

the checklist on leadership, can be used in guiding agreements. Get 

them here

EEOC Can Help Create Holistic Prevention Efforts
58

• EEOC’s agreements should always require 

effective compliance training.

• EEOC can also encourage employers to use 

workplace civility training and

bystander intervention training.

• EEOC can also encourage employers to 

work with researchers to study their 

workplaces pre and post training to see 

what harassment prevention efforts 

are effective.

EEOC’s Role in Encouraging New Training
59

An It’s on Us campaign in the workplace.
60

• It’s On US is an awareness campaign aimed at ending 

sexual assault on college campuses

• About 400,000 people have taken the It's On Us pledge

and students have hosted almost 2,000 events on over 

500 college campuses. 

• The campaign has 95 partners, including businesses, nonprofit organizations, and sports organizations. 

It’s On Us Campaign
61

EEOC wants to act as a 

catalyst to help launch an 

“It’s on Us” 

campaign in the workplace.

IT’S ON US - IN THE WORKPLACE
62

Questions and 

Comments?