Patrick Miller-Bartley
Tue, 10/25/2022
Five years have passed since the unofficial start of the #MeToo movement. The phrase, first conceived of by activist Tarana Burke, became the name of a movement when actress Alyssa Milano tweeted out a request that people who had experienced sexual assault or harassment use the hashtag. In the ensuing years, individuals, institutions, and organizations have all responded, seeking to both support those who have experienced sexual assault and harassment and prevent it from happening in the first place. Much of this response focuses on the workplace, and includes legal responses, such as the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund, and legislative responses, from lawmakers at all levels of government.
At the federal level, Congress passed H.R. 4445, doing away with predispute arbitration clauses in cases involving sexual assault allegations. State legislatures across the country have taken a more expansive approach, passing nearly 300 #MeToo related bills, requiring antiharassment training, expanding accountability for government officials, and limiting the use of NDAs, among other topics. States have also passed legislation regarding equal pay, family leave, and specific protections for workers in more vulnerable sectors, like hospitality and domestic work. This activity was not constrained to blue states: legislatures in Louisiana, Texas, West Virginia, and Tennessee have all enacted new laws designed to address workplace harassment and discrimination.
Certain states have also sought to make it easier for workers to bring sexual harassment lawsuits, lowering the burden that employees must meet in order to show harassment. While federal sexual harassment law requires a showing that such harassment is “severe and pervasive,” Washington state, for example, now requires employees to show only that it “affects the [plaintiff’s] employment,” or “interferes with [their] work performance.” In California and New York, a single incident can be sufficient to show an unacceptable environment of harassment. Additionally, in California, employers may now be liable for harassment their employees suffer at the hands of third parties if they knew, or should have known, that it was occurring. Individuals, rather than just their employers, may also now be held liable for sexual harassment in California.
The #MeToo movement appears to have had some modest effect on harassment lawsuits, with the EEOC indicating that plaintiffs recovered $61.6 million for harassment claims in 2021, versus $46.3 million in 2017. Additionally, sexual harassment charges accounted for 27.7% of all EEOC harassment charges from 2018-2021, versus 24.7% from 2014-2017. And from 2017 to 2018, the number of sex-based harassment claims filed with the EEOC jumped from 12,428 to 13,055. While such claims then decreased by 2021, so did all claims, with some attributing this decrease to remote work during the pandemic.
Nevertheless, workers continue to experience high rates of sexual harassment. A 2022 survey of STEM professionals, for example, revealed that 62% of respondents experienced workplace sexual harassment, while only 29% had filed formal claims.
MSE has a history of, and commitment to, representing workers who have faced unlawful discrimination in the workplace. Even before the #MeToo movement, MSE helped workers assert their right to a harassment-free workplace, and it continues to do its part to build upon the gains of the past five years. If you have experienced sex-based discrimination or harassment in your workplace, please do not hesitate to reach out through our website: https://www.mselaborlaw.com/practice-areas/metoo-in-the-workplace, or via email: info@mselaborlaw.com
