News Flash: Almost Half of Harassers Return to Their Jobs

It probably should come as no surprise but even after "Me, Too," almost half the people who harass others at work can go back to work as if nothing happened, according to a new study as reported by newswise.com.

New research from Michigan State University revealed that almost half of accused harassers can go back to work when disputes are settled by arbitrators – or, third-parties who resolve disputes. 
The findings, published by the Hofstra Labor & Employment Law Journal, newswise.com reports, closely examine the outcomes of arbitration awards involving harassers, as well as providing insight as to whether arbitration is the best solution to addressing workplace harassment. 
“With all of the issues our society is facing right now, I wanted to figure out why we weren’t doing a better job addressing harassment in the workplace,” the web site quotes Stacy Hickox, associate professor in MSU’s School of Human Resources and Labor Relations. “I knew that it was challenging for employees to bring a claim of harassment to employers but wanted to know what employers are doing about actually responding.” 
Hickox and co-author Michelle Kaminski, associate professor in MSU’s School of Human Resources and Labor Relations, examined 60 arbitration cases in which employees accused of harassment were challenging their punishment. In most cases, the employee was discharged and seeking to return to work.
They found that only 52% of the cases upheld the punishment of getting fired. In 13% of cases, the accused harassers were allowed back to work without any punishment. In the other cases, 12% could come back to work with no back pay; 20% of the cases reduced the discipline to a suspension and 2% were reduced to a warning.
Like most women in business, I, too, was harassed by a vice president at the corporation where I worked.  We'd taken a trip together and foolishly, I realize now, stayed over Saturday and sat at the pool, me in my, well, let's put it delicately, not quite there bikini.
Then, in the limo going home, he jumped me.  I, very young at the time, thought it was a joke and laughed and pushed him off.  About three months later, I was given a choise: transfer to their location in Minnesota (I lived in Connecticut), or be fired.
Looking back, I realize I was young and foolish, and didn't know any better.  These days, I don't put myself in situations like that, any more.  He of course continued to rise in the company.
I was very surprised by the number of people who were proven to be harassers and were allowed to come back to work,” Hickox notes. “It is interesting that the employer’s anti-harassment policies play a part in whether the harasser’s discipline was upheld. Policies that included specific examples of harassment were more often associated with the discipline being upheld.” 
The issue, Hickox points out at newswise.com, is that accused harassers have rights as well and can claim they were disciplined without just cause. Some return to work because employers fail to provide enough proof that the harassment occurred, while others are reinstated because arbitrators are wedded to employers’ policies – with no gray areas. Arbitrators also reinstate harassers because he or she has long tenure with the employer.  
“To be sure that these harassers aren’t allowed back into the workplace, employers need to look much more closely at harassment policies, as well as the power they give arbitrators in resolving these cases,” Hickox explains.
Hickox and Kaminski found that in many cases, a company thought their employee accused of harassment should have received a tougher punishment; however, an arbitrator is wedded to the corporate policies and if a company’s policy doesn’t clearly prohibit the harassment, the arbitrator can’t enforce it. Therefore, they recommend that anti-harassment policies be carefully crafted. 



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