Since Covid-19, reports indicate that there has been an unanticipated increase in sexual harassment complaints of up to 20%, including in the remote work environment. 

Examples of online harassment include, among others:

• Inappropriate comments, jokes, pictures, or gifs in emails, message chats, or text messages; 
• Sexual or discriminatory innuendo or comments during videoconferences;
• A male colleague displays inappropriate pictures in his background that make women on a work call uncomfortable; 
• Emails or texts requesting sexual favors; sexts or video chat exposures;
• Request for calls late at night for something that could have been addressed during regular working hours;
• Misogynist communications – speaking over someone; being talked down to in a demeaning, intimidating or disrespectful fashion; or bullying behavior;

One of the most recent examples involves Jeffrey Toobin, who was caught pleasuring himself during a work Zoom call. It did not matter that he thought he had “muted his video” during the call and his co-workers were coming back to the call from a break. It did not matter that he was not intending to be seen. As one report noted, he may have been at home, but he was on a Zoom call—for work and “it is never okay to masturbate during a work meeting.”

Toobin, a senior staff writer of 27 years with the New Yorker has been fired from the magazine and has been placed on leave from his senior legal analyst job at CNN. 

The law requires employers to deal promptly with sexual harassment complaints whether they occur remotely or on sight at work and employers should consider taking the following actions: 

• Immediately adapt to the challenging times of Covid-19 and extend anti-harassment, discrimination, bullying, and inclusion policies to online platforms; 
• Assign one or more knowledgable and trained human resources personnel to handle complaints made in the remote work environment; hire a third party consultant if violator involves an executive or insufficient personnel to handle such complaints;
• Training should continue regularly on a virtual basis—using real world examples with interactive discussions on what constitutes online harassment, how to report inappropriate conduct as a victim or bystander, and review the process of how complaints are handled and resolved. Employers should emphasize that every employee from the top down must follow the company’s zero tolerance policies or face consequences, including potential termination;
• Monitor employee communications and videoconferencing regularly to check for inappropriate conduct;
• Hold supervisors accountable for inappropriate conduct not addressed during meetings or reported; 
• Provide a safe environment for complaints to be filed and heard; 
• Respond promptly to any claims in person and commit to keep such complaints and any related evidence and communications confidential and secure; 
• Establish a consistent protocol for handling of complaints, including a time line for investigation, gathering proper evidence (such as chat platform screen shots, emails, text messages, social media posts, and recordings of inappropriate messaging and pictures), interviewing or collection of witness statements, and determination of appropriate remedial action, including termination of violator;
• Keep your communications professional but caring and maintain detailed records and copious notes to help with your investigation and any litigation that may follow;
• Present the complaint, results of your investigation, and recommended remedial action, to the appropriate committee or board of your company (with experience to hear such matters) for approval; 
• Communicate the outcome to the violator and the complainant separately, and follow through with the remedial action approved by the committee or board. 

Although sexual harassment in the virtual world may present differently, it’s just as serious and harmful as any physical harassment and should be dealt with equal seriousness. 

What will you do today to be #beupstanding and help #changetheculture for an environment without #sexualharassment, #abuse and #racism? #TimesUp. Let’s #playnice. For more info on this topic and other related issues, check out  “Play Nice - Playground Rules for Respect in the Workplace,” and join us at www.thesandboxseries.com.