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In CBS’s follow-up reporting, an HR expert explained to Sexting
King and O’Donnell the difference between “quid pro quo” and The ski industry relies on younger demographics to fill entry-
“hostile environment sexual harassment,” legal terms used to level positions and to grow talent into future supervisory
define the two main types of sexual harassment in the workplace. and leadership positions. Notably, a survey conducted by the
Quid pro quo is a Latin term that means “something Statistic Brain Research Institute in 2016 reported that 59
for something” or “this for that,” and is not ambiguous. percent of young adults ages 20 to 26 have sent or received a
Essentially an employee is asked to perform a sexual favor sext message.
for a boss who has the power to reciprocate by granting It’s not surprising, given the ubiquitous presence of smart
or denying desired working conditions including wages, phones and social media. These channels provide an avenue
assignments, promotions, schedules, etc. The conduct of not only for sexting but also anonymous cyber bullying,
Hollywood power broker and producer Harvey Weinstein including sharing of images and spreading rumors about a
is a blatant example of quid quo pro harassment. Aspiring coworker’s sex life, which can compromise an employee’s
actresses felt the pressure to acquiesce to his demands, so reputation in seconds. (It doesn’t help that our culture is
they would be cast in movie roles. Insiders who knew of the becoming increasingly desensitized to such behavior thanks
conduct were afraid of losing their jobs and protected the to magazine articles such as Cosmopolitan’s “10 Things Guys
mogul’s severe and pervasive behavior in one of the most Really Want You to Sext.”)
wide-spread scandals to rock Hollywood since the accusa- While some people may consider such exchanges harm-
tions and mistrial of accused sexual predator Bill Cosby. less, engaging in this type of activity is dangerous territory,
A hostile work environment is not so black and white. whether in or outside of the workplace. The risk and occur-
It is defined as a pattern of behaviors that create an intimi- rence of sexting to or among employees should be on every
dating, hostile, or offensive work environment. CBS’s King supervisor’s radar so he or she can be prepared to intervene.
and O’Donnell asked the HR expert questions from the Sharing these types of texts can add up to textual harass-
personal perspective as female coworkers and seemed gen- ment, cyber bullying, a pervasive unwelcome environment, a
uinely confused and uncertain how to identify and classify “third-party harassment” accusation (in which any employee,
escalating unwelcome sexual conduct. That confusion is witness, or onlooker affected or offended by the conduct may
understandable. After all, most of us spend nearly all our make a harassment claim), and lawsuits.
waking hours at work, particularly in the resort industry.
Many of our workers date co-workers, meet their significant
others on the job, or affectionately call close colleagues “my
work husband” or “work wife.” Gender dynamics in the The Law
workplace can be complex. So, when does conduct that starts Title VII applies to organizations with 15 or more employees,
innocently enough become a pattern of unwanted behavior including state and local governments. It also applies to
and rise to the level of sexual harassment? employment agencies and to labor organizations, as well as to
To determine the extent of quid pro quo or hostile work the federal government.
environment sexual harassment, courts consider whether As defined by the US Equal Employment Opportunity
conduct was “severe and pervasive” and whether a “reason- Commission, harassment is unwelcome sexual behavior,
able woman” would consider that behavior offensive. (The requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical acts
“reasonable woman” standard is a guideline for determining of a sexual or sex-based nature, or any verbal or physical
what constitutes sexual harassment, based on suppositions conduct of an offensive nature when:
about what a reasonable woman would find objectionable.)
The continuum of unwanted sexual behavior is compel- • submission is made explicitly or implicitly a term or condi-
tion of employment,
lingly illustrated in the #MeToo movement, in which many
women, and some men, have shared their experiences of • an employment decision is based on the acceptance or
rejection of the conduct, or
severe and pervasive conduct on social media. On one end of
the spectrum is hostile work environment behaviors such as • such conduct interferes with the individual’s work perfor-
mance or creates an intimidating or offensive
telling sexually explicit jokes and making repeated requests work environment.
for dates. Behavior can then escalate to other forms of verbal,
visual, and aggressive physical sexual harassment, culminat- Source: https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/poli-
ing in demands for sexual favors, stalking, and sexual assault cies/pages/cms_000554.aspx
including rape (see figure 2).

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