Employment Breakfast - What the New Wave of Sexual Harassment Claims Could Mean for Your Company

Presentation Materials

• audio

The names of rich and powerful male celebrities have been rolling off the virtual presses in recent months, as political, entertainment and business careers have been brought to an abrupt end by a new wave of charges of sexual harassment and sexual assault. What gives? Haven’t we made substantial progress on this issue in recent years?

Apparently not. Many credible claims of serious, even criminal, sexual misconduct are emerging from across the time spectrum. These claims have given rise to the #metoo phenomenon and forced us to question whether we became complacent, or whether we fell short in our efforts to end harassment (at least in the workplace), or whether the problem is a fundamental problem of human nature too complex to be remedied with policies and procedures.

Whatever the cause of today’s wave of sexual misconduct claims, employers have to take note and redouble their efforts in this area. On January 11, Jim Erwin and Lily Rao led a discussion about new risks and new approaches to protecting your employees, and keeping your company out of the wrong kinds of headlines.