Zero tolerance : best practices for combating sex-based harassment in the legal profession

Zero Tolerance: Best Practices for Combating Sex-Based Harassment in the Legal Profession is a comprehensive update to the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession's previous sexual harassment material. The primary goal of this manual is to provide all too necessary tools to legal organizations and victims of harassment and bullying. It strives to enhance our common understanding of workplace abuse and expand it to include non-sexual abusive behavior, while introducing protections for individuals with a range of sexual orientations, genders, and racial and ethnic identities.

• Preface p. v
• Foreword p. xiii
• Acknowledgments p. xvii
• 1 The Problem of Sex-Based Harassment and the Need for Zero Tolerance p. 1
• 2 The Legal Framework for Sex-Based Harassment and Bullying p. 15
• What Is Sex-Based Harassment? p. 15
• Important Case Law p. 18
• State Statutes and Rules of Professional Conduct p. 21
• 3 Recent Manifestations of Sex-Based Harassment p. 27
• Gender-Based Bullying in the Workplace p. 28
• How Bullying Can Lead to Sex-Based Harassment p. 28
• Appropriate Responses to Workplace Bullying p. 30
• Implicit Bias p. 31
• What Is Implicit Bias? p. 31
• Strategies for Addressing Unconscious Bias p. 34
• 4 Training and Prevention p. 41
• Training p. 41
• Prevention p. 44
• 5 Developing and Enforcing Anti-Harassment Policies p. 47
• Essential Elements of a Sex-Based Harassment Policy p. 47
• Policy Statement p. 50
• Policy Definition of Sex-Based Harassment p. 51
• Identification of Individuals Covered under the Policy p. 52
• Complaint and Reporting Procedures p. 53
• Prompt and Thorough Investigation p. 54
• Confidentiality and Anti-Retaliation p. 55
• Sanctions/Discipline p. 58
• Responding to Complaints of Sex-Based Harassment p. 59
• General Practices p. 60
• Conducting Investigations p. 61
• Resolving Complaints; Informal Resolution p. 65
• Maintaining Written Records of Complaints p. 67
• Resolving Complaints: Legal Action p. 68
• Conclusion p. 73
• Appendix A Selected Resources on Sex-Based Harassment p. 75
• Appendix B Sample Policy Prohibiting Harassment p. 77
• Appendix C Progressive Discipline Policy Sample p. 85
• About the Editors p. 89
• About the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession p. 91