Employers owe a duty to their employees to do everything they can to ensure their safety in the workplace. Unfortunately, some employers don’t do enough to protect their staff. As a result, men and women all across the country have been subjected to sexual harassment at work.
Many of our readers may have seen the news that Bill O’Reilly, host of Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor,” was the subject of a investigation that revealed sexual harassment claims by five women who worked with O’Reilly. A former guest on O’Reilly’s show, Wendy Walsh, provided this information and recently called Fox’s anonymous hotline. Walsh claimed that O’Reilly promised her a position as a network contributor, but failed to follow through with his offer after she declined to go to his hotel room after a dinner in 2013. Walsh’s attorney stated that Walsh called the hotline to get the company to take action.
As a result of this call, 21st Century Fox has hired a law firm to investigate further. The company has said that all claims of this nature are investigated through their anonymous hotline and that no employee had raised any concerns about O’Reilly there.
According to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, any unwelcome sexual advances, unwanted verbal or physical sexual conduct or requests for sexual favors can all constitute sexual harassment at work. Title VII applies to employers with 15 or more employees. If an employee is discriminated against for refusal of sexual activity, they can file a discrimination complaint with the EEOC. If the EEOC is unable to settle your complaint, you may be able to file a lawsuit against your employer.
Source: The New York Times, “Fox Asks Law Firm to Investigate Bill O’Reilly Harassment Claim,” Emily Steel, April 9, 2017