ABSTRACT
Although sexual harassment has been with us for millennia, the American public’s awareness of it rose to universality during the 1991 United States Supreme Court confirmation of Clarence Thomas when his former employee, Anita Hill, brought sexual harassment charges against him. She claimed that Thomas discussed inappropriate sexual acts with her, referred to pornographic films, and made unwelcome sexual advances toward her while he was head of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and again as an administrator in the US Department of Education. The case was significant not only because of its racial overtones (both Hill and Thomas are African American), but also because Hill was clearly a highly educated woman willing to stand up to a powerful public figure. She brought the charges against Thomas while she was a law professor at the University of Oklahoma. Since Hill’s accusations, sexual harassment has been on the radar screen of all organizations-nonprofits, schools and universities, and businesses. The number of complaints taken by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission have increased substantially. Organizations have had to take allegations of harassment seriously because of their potential financial liability for
the actions of employees, and because hostile work environments produce poor morale and low productivity.
