Plaintiff told the jury that the branch’s general manager commented on her breasts, groped them, smacked her in the head with his penis, and masturbated on her chest while restraining her.

Plaintiff said that her call to the company’s sexual-harassment hotline went unreturned.

Aaron’s says it will appeal and called the jury “runaway”; however, plaintiff’s counsel pointed out that the jury deliberated for nearly three days.

My prediction? The verdict will stand, within the statutory limits. The complained-of conduct was extremely egregious and of a long duration, and it would appear that the jury found that Aaron’s Inc. knew about it through the hotline but failed to do anything, given the punitive damages award.

Source: http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/world/2011/06/13/massive-pay-out-over-sexual-harassment (via Reuters)

According to the article, the India-based Centre for Transforming India has said that 88 percent of women inside India’s outsourcing community experienced sexual harassment on the job. The vast majority of those–83 percent–did not report it. The article also talks about an Indian woman, who worked for Nokia Siemens, who killed herself in 2008 after repeated harassment.

Now it turns out Steve McPherson, President of ABC’s Entertainment Group, resigned three weeks after a harassment investigation was initiated in response to what sources say are multiple harassment claims.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, “[s]ources said the alleged incidents involved several women, including some executives and on-air talent. The inquiry expanded to include email. A source said an incident at a company retreat, witnessed by more than one staffer, was also part of the inquiry.”

Meanwhile, a former assistant prop master on “House, M.D.” alleged hostile work environment, discrimination, and retaliation.

Last but not least, a former extra on “Bones,” who is an aspiring actress and is represented by Gloria Allred, alleges actor David Boreanz sexually harassed her.

But it’s not necessarily all bad news for the entertainment industry. Maybe Lifetime can make a movie or two out of it. Seriously, though, without judging the truth of the allegations (all or most of which have been denied), the entertainment business has a long history of alleged problems with sexual harassment and retaliation. And any company that ignores harassment claims does so at its extreme peril.

SHRM polled 467 randomly-selected members across the country. According to the findings, released in April 2010, when asked whether sexual harassment claims are on the rise, more than half of those responding reported no change in the number of claims, while 25% reported an increase and 18% a decrease.

The good news is that almost two-thirds of the respondents said their company had not received any sexual harassment claims within two years of the poll.

As for training, four out of five respondents said their organization provided sexual harassment prevention training to their employees. out of those, more than one-third provided training annually, with 22% training every other year and 2% every 3 to 5 years. (Other responses included “as needed” or as part of new-hire orientation.) And four out of five of those providing anti-harassment training provide it to all their employees.

Interestingly, nearly one-fifth of respondents reported that an equal number of men and women had made sexual harassment claims at their organization.

Source: SHRM Survey (with link to downloadable survey at the bottom)

Most claims by men are against other men. Sometimes, the allegations are that they are being picked on by other men for being gay or being seen as gay or too effeminate. Other allegations claim unwelcome sexual advances.

Consistent with this trend, the percentage of lawsuits filed by the EEOC on behalf of men hit an all-time high of 14 percent last year. The EEOC says it intends to send a message that such behavior is unacceptable and unlawful and must be taken seriously.

One of the lessons? Employers should take harassment complaints seriously, regardless of the gender of the person making the complaint or the person about whom the complaint is made.

Source: Sam Hananel AP article: http://heraldsun.com/view/full_story/6576036/article-More-men-file-workplace-sexual-harassment-claims

Initially, Massa claimed health problems led to his resignation and also suggested he was being pushed out by Democrats for political reasons. However, he later told Fox News, “I wasn’t forced out. I own this. I take full and complete responsibility for my misbehavior.”

Now some Republican members are questioning whether Democrat leadership, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, learned of the allegations months before. However, a resolution calling for an examination of this issue was essentially tabled by a 402-1 vote on a motion by Democrats to refer the harassment allegations to the Ethics Committee.

Sources: CNN.com article by Ed Hornick; “Disgraced ex-Rep. Eric Massa’s long trail of bizarre behavior includes home shared with staffers,” NY Daily News.com

She says that she was harassed due to her pregnancy and that producers refused to allow her to come back after pregnancy leave, then fired her. She also claims this conduct was part of a pattern and that she saw directors harass and fire two other pregnant models.

According to the lawsuit, coworkers made comments about the size of her breasts and waist. The show’s stage manager allegedly made a number of jokes and comments about her weight, including proclaiming, “Wide load coming through” when he saw her.

She miscarried five months into her first pregnancy, allegedly due to severe stress. When she informed a female producer about it, she was told that the miscarriage was “nature’s way of getting rid of a bad baby.”

My take? If she can prove the comments and conduct and can prove that the harassment caused her miscarriage, CBS could be looking at a price that it will not like at all behind door number one (to mix game-show metaphors). (Remember my blog from last year on the $2 million plus verdict against the City of Los Angeles for a case where the jury found pregnancy harassment resulted in a stillborn birth?)

Source: Karina Brown, Courthouse News Service

Here’s an article about the topic, with some information and guidelines for workplace dating. I’m not so sure about the last guideline (“Have Fun”), which talks about the positive effect of workplace dating from one person’s perspective. Sure, there are potential benefits. But from what we’ve seen and read, the risks far outweigh the benefits, to employees and especially to employers.

From the Houston Chronicle’s Chron.com business section

Have you had your training? 3 weeks left! If you can’t fit it in by the end of December, you might want to schedule the training for as soon as possible in 2010.