Contact Center Employee Awarded $400,000 Summary Judgment For On The Job Sexual Harassment / Emotional Distress
David Filwood
CEO | TeleSoft Systems | People & Process Improvement For Contact Centers
Contact Center customer service is powered by women.
Roughly 80% of Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) are female.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a report in 2022 on ‘Harassment in the US Workplace’.
The top 3 industry sectors with the highest sexual harassment incidents were all jobs where the majority of the workforce is female.
Restaurants & Hospitality was Number 1 – followed by Retail at Number 2 – and Contact Centers were ranked Number 3.
In Most Jurisdictions Around The World It’s Illegal To Sexually Harass The CSRs Working In Your Contact Center
Someone in a position of power cannot use that position to treat their CSRs unfairly.
Coworkers are also not allowed to harass someone based on their gender – or anything related to their sexual orientation.
Workplace Sexual Harassment is bullying or coercion of a sexual nature – and refers to "unwanted sexual advances” – whether touches / looks / pressures to have sex / even jokes.
Sexual harassment can also take the form of treating coworkers less favorably because of their gender – even if such conduct is nonsexual in nature.
For example – referring to female employees in derogatory or demeaning names is considered sexual harassment – even though it involves actions that are not themselves sexual in nature.
Sexual harassment can range from inappropriate comments & emails to stalking – and sexual assault can be anything from unwanted physical touch to rape.
Despite all this being legally banned – it still happens regularly to CSRs.
24% Of Female CSRs Report Experiencing Sexual Harassment On The Job
This statistic from the EEOC’s 2022 report on ‘Harassment in the US Workplace’ is a stark reminder of the reality many CSRs face on the job every day.
Workplace Sexual Harassment is an unacceptable form of misconduct that can have a devastating impact on a CSR’s mental & emotional well being – adding to the already high levels of stress that come with the job.
Victims of sexual harassment can experience long term depression – symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – feelings of self doubt / self blame / stress & anxiety / sleep disturbances / physical aches & pains – and sexual harassment may lead to suicidal and other self destructive behaviors.
Some CSRs report discriminatory comments or jokes on the job.
Other CSRs report unwanted touching or other physical contact.
Still other CSRs report that they were asked to provide sexual favors in exchange for things like a raise / promotion / better schedule.
When we hear yet another story about CSR sexual harassment – along with the typical deafening silence from the enablers in the company who knew all along what was going on – we instinctively know that it’s wrong.
Whether it comes from a manager / supervisor / coworker – on the job sexual harassment is not something that should happen to any employee.
But it still keeps on happening – despite being illegal and morally wrong.
For Fear Of Ridicule / Losing Their Jobs / Not Being Believed – Only 15% Of Victims Of Workplace Sexual Harassment Feel Empowered To File A Written Complaint
According to a recent ‘Victims of Workplace Sexual Harassment’ study from the National Institute of Health (NIH) – victims prefer to quit their job in order to escape the aggressor – or they simply wait and hope that the problem will go away over time.
Sexual Harassment Isn’t An Issue To Be Taken Lightly
Ignoring complaints of sexual harassment can quickly grow into an epidemic of toxic on the job behaviors.
Employers who fail to provide meaningful preventive & corrective measures to address Workplace Sexual Harassment in its early stage risk greater problems later on – and broader liability.
Contact Center employers should be aware that even though most sexual harassment charges don’t reach the stage of a trial – when they do victims often obtain judgments in the hundreds of thousands – and sometimes into the millions.
If you allow sexual harassment to flourish in your Contact Center you’ll pay a high price in terms of poor CSR morale / high turnover / lower productivity / lawsuits.
At Age 19 ‘JM’ Began To Work As A CSR In An Iowa Based Contact Center
According to her statement of claim – ‘JM’ alleged that within her first few weeks on the job – her supervisor “began sitting next to her in her cubicle, touching her inappropriately and making sexually charged comments.”
‘JM’ alleged that her supervisor told her about 20 times that she looked ‘sexy’ – told her that “she had nice legs” – repeatedly grabbed her rear end – and about 5 times threw money at her and asked "how much?"
‘JM’ alleged that she and her female coworkers were repeatedly referred to by the male supervisor as ‘sluts’ and ‘whores’.
‘JM’ repeatedly rebuked her supervisor’s unwanted advances and reported his conduct to the company’s Human Resources recruiter involved with her employee onboarding.
The HR recruiter stated that this was simply a matter of "two members of the same organization experiencing mutual attraction" – and that ‘JM’ had caused or contributed to the supervisor’s conduct.
‘JM’ also claimed that on several occasions a Contact Center floor manager saw or should have seen the supervisor’s conduct – but did nothing.
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‘JM’ remained on the supervisor’s team – and now began to also receive inappropriate sexual comments from a male coworker – who she alleged made her feel unsafe at night when she walked to her car.
‘JM’ stated that she felt humiliated / intimidated / stressed – and that she suffered from panic attacks / sleeplessness / depression.
The court documents also allege that she had suffered post traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD).
‘JM’ alleged that she filed a written complaint with her employer – who denied that ‘JM’ submitted any reports before quitting her position after just 3 months on the job.
‘JM’ sought damages from her employer – and after two years – a trial concluded that the supervisor had committed assault and battery – and that the Contact Center employer had been negligent in the hiring / supervising / retaining of both the supervisor and the male coworker making inappropriate sexual comments.
‘JM’ was awarded $400,000 for past and future emotional distress.
Contact Center Employers Should Make Sure They Protect Themselves From Potential Sexual Harassment Lawsuits
The best way is to have a clear & comprehensive written anti sexual harassment policy in place that forbids managers / supervisors from dating the CSRs that report to them – or whose terms & conditions of employment such as pay raises / promotions / advancement are potentially affected by them.
In cases of alleged sexual harassment – the anti sexual harassment policy should alert all parties to their rights / roles / responsibilities.
Policies should clearly set out how claims of sexual harassment will be dealt with.
When deciding if an employer has met its duty to respond to a sexual harassment claim – tribunals (such as the EEOC) are likely to think about:
Every employee should know about your Contact Center’s anti sexual harassment policy and the steps in place for resolving complaints.
This can be done by:
An effective anti sexual harassment policy can limit harm to CSRs and reduce liability for the company.
With a written policy in place – should any sexual harassment occur – businesses have some measure of legal protection – because they can demonstrate that they took preventive measures to avoid or stop it.
An effective anti sexual harassment policy also promotes the equity & diversity goals of companies and makes good business sense.
Taking steps to keep your work culture toxic free will help make sure that sexual harassment doesn’t take root and have a chance to grow in your Contact Center.
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