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Third-Party Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is any unwelcome behavior towards a person that leads to humiliation or intimidation in the workplace. An employee can be harassed sexually by a manager, co-worker, or subordinate. At times, sexual harassment is committed by people who do not work with you in your company. People like clients, vendors, independent contractors, or customers can sexually harass an employee.

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Harassment In The Workplace

Harassment In The Workplace

Whether sexual harassment has been committed by employees or outsiders, it is the responsibility of the employer to take steps to end the harassment or face legal charges. There are different kinds of sexual harassment in the workplace, and at EasyLlama our goal is to train employees and employers on sexual harassment and discrimination through an engaging and intuitive experience that everyone can relate to.

Employers must deal accordingly with third-party harassment experienced in the workplace in order to protect employees from humiliation and intimidation by clients or vendors. When an employee experiences harassment in the workplace, an employee becomes deeply upset, thus affecting their productivity and morale.

What Is Third-Party Sexual Harassment?

What Is Third-Party Sexual Harassment?

Third-party sexual harassment is harassment committed by someone else who is not an employee of the company. Perpetrators of this kind of harassment may include customers, clients, or vendors that come onsite or interact with employees. This type of harassment may also include independent contractors working for the company, and employees of a different company that comes to offer different services to your company. For example, this may include caterers who cater for company events or security guards who are responsible for the security of the building where your company does business.

Examples of Third-Party Sexual Harassment

Examples of Third-Party Sexual Harassment

Third-party harassment is defined as sexual harassment if it is severe or pervasive, creating an abusive or hostile work environment for an employee. There are many examples of third-party harassment that can happen to employees in the workplace:

  • A delivery man asks the company receptionist for a date and she declines, but the same delivery man keeps asking the receptionist for a date repeatedly and does not want to accept her answer. Every time he comes to bring a delivery, he keeps commenting on the appearance of the receptionist. This is clear third-party sexual harassment.
  • A client intentionally touched an employee inappropriately during a business lunch meeting, despite the employee requesting the client to stop touching them inappropriately. This is considered third-party sexual harassment.
  • A customer constantly flirts with a salesperson and always asks inappropriate personal questions. This leaves the salesperson feeling embarrassed. This is sexual harassment.
What to Do if You Suspect Third-Party Harassment in the Workplace

What to Do if You Suspect Third-Party Harassment in the Workplace

Employers should create a harassment-free workplace by ensuring that their employees are aware of third-party harassment and what employees should do in case they encounter inappropriate behavior from vendors, clients, or customers. As an employer, you are legally responsible for sexual harassment of your employees by a third party if you had prior knowledge of the harassment and you did not take immediate and appropriate action. For example, when an employee complains of harassment by a client, the employer should immediately investigate and know what is going on. If an employer finds out that inappropriate behavior took place, the employer should act immediately.

Employers should also be careful not to penalize an employee who has been sexually harassed. Penalizing employees that report sexual harassment by clients, vendors, or customers is illegal retaliation. An employee should not be punished for coming forward

Employers should also be careful not to penalize an employee who has been sexually harassed. Penalizing employees that report sexual harassment by clients, vendors, or customers is illegal retaliation. An employee should not be punished for coming forward to report a third-party harassment. Whether you are an employer or an employee, claims of third-party harassment can be tricky. An employer needs to carefully protect their employee as they try to maintain good work relations with outsiders. Employees also need to know how to exercise their rights, including a right to work freely without being penalized for reporting sexual harassment. At EasyLlama, we train employers and employees on how to deal with third-party harassment in the workplace. We aim to help employers develop a better workplace environment and create a better culture for your employees.

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