Sexual harassment: A fine line

David Letterman has admitted a string of ‘creepy’ affairs with subordinates. Is that a form of sexual harassment?

Sometimes, it's hard to define harassment.
(Image credit: Corbis)

When did sexual harassment become illegal?

Only three decades ago. Before the women’s movement challenged the status quo, women who ventured into the workplace had little recourse when they were subjected to sexual comments, groping, and pressure to sleep with the boss. The first time a court recognized sexual harassment as legitimate grounds for a legal complaint was in 1977, when a federal appeals court ruled in favor of a woman fired for refusing her boss’ sexual advances. Breaking from years of rulings that said relations between the sexes were outside the court’s purview, the judges decided that the boss was liable for violating the anti-discrimination provisions of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The next step forward came in 1980, when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission formally defined sexual harassment. If “unwelcome sexual advances” or lewd comments or behavior created “an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment,” it was sexual harassment.

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