NOW WHAT?Where the Law Draws the Line
by Joan C. Williams
Many of the sexual harassment cases making headlines involve criminal
behavior. Sexual assault and related off enses are defi ned in diff erent ways in
diff erent states. To take just one example, New York law prohibits “forcibly
touching the sexual or other intimate parts of another person for the pur-
pose of degrading or abusing such person or for the purpose of gratifying the
actor’s sexual desire.” The statute helpfully adds that this “includes squeez-
ing, grabbing or pinching.” It should not be surprising or puzzling that such
behavior is not acceptable.
Gentlemen, you already know not to invite a woman to discuss a job and then
meet her wearing a bathrobe and expose yourself. Charlie Rose reportedly
did that, and according to several women, Harvey Weinstein did that— and
more. Masturbating in work contexts is not only unacceptable but illegal, yet
that’s what Louis C.K. did. One does not stick one’s tongue down the throat of
someone during a discussion of job prospects, as two women have claimed
NPR’s Michael Oreskes did. You do not kiss a colleague and lick her, as actor
Andy Dick did.
Men do not expect to report to work and have their crotch grabbed. Women
don’t, either. It should not be frightening or confusing to be told this. But we
understand why men are scared: Most sexual harassment does not involve
sexual assault, and if you’ve ever told an off - color joke at work, asked out a
colleague, or maybe been a little handsy at a holiday party (or know someone
who has), we bet you’ve been thinking a lot about sexual harassment lately.
Employment law has a sober and balanced approach that is fully protective
of the rights of men accused of sexual harassment. It defi nes two kinds of
sexual harassment:
Quid Pro Quo Harassment
Making sexual favors a condition of any workplace opportunity is illegal under
federal law. To win a lawsuit alleging it, a woman has to prove that someone
with authority over her threatened to take a negative employment action un-
less she engaged in a sexual behavior— or promised her a promotion, raise, or
other benefi t if she did. Congressman John Conyers paid thousands of dollars
to a staff er who said she was fi red for refusing his sexual advances. According
to accounts published in New York magazine, Roger Ailes tied women’s work
prospects to sex again and again: “If you want to play with the big boys, you
have to lay with the big boys,” he told a woman seeking a contract with the Re-
publican National Committee in 1989. “No girls get a job here unless they’re
cooperative,” he is reported to have said to a frightened 19- year- old in the