Employment Law · Lesson 07
Sexual Harassment
這一課問的是：員工是否遭可訴之性騷擾 — 以交易為條件或敵意環境？
ActorActObjectStandardConsequence
Issue · what this lesson is really about
Has the employee suffered actionable sexual harassment — quid pro quo or hostile environment?
這一課問的是：員工是否遭可訴之性騷擾 — 以交易為條件或敵意環境？
Trigger words & phrases that should flag this issue:
sexualharassmenthostile environmentquid pro quosupervisor
Core Terminology · 7 must-know
Tap a card to flip and reveal the meaning.
sexual harassment
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Sex-based harassment as form of Title VII discrimination.
性騷擾。
quid pro quo
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Tangible job action conditioned on sexual submission.
以交易為條件。
hostile environment
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Severe or pervasive sex-based harassment creating abusive work environment.
敵意環境。
severe or pervasive
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Required level of conduct (Harris v. Forklift).
嚴重或普遍。
vicarious liability
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Employer strict liability for supervisor quid pro quo; affirmative defense available for hostile environment without tangible action.
代位責任。
Faragher/Ellerth defense
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Employer reasonable preventive/corrective + employee unreasonable failure to use.
Faragher/Ellerth 抗辯。
retaliation
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Adverse action for reporting harassment — separately actionable.
報復。
Rule Sentence · the workhorse
Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination under Title VII; quid pro quo harassment involves conditioning tangible employment benefits on sexual submission; hostile work environment harassment requires severe or pervasive sex-based conduct creating an abusive work environment.
Sentence Anatomy · 5 roles, 5 colors
Every rule sentence breaks into five visual roles.
Actor 行為人harasser (supervisor, coworker, third party)騷擾人
Act 行為sex-based harassing conduct性別騷擾行為
Object 對象employee員工
Standard 法律標準severe or pervasive + altering conditions嚴重或普遍 + 改變條件
Consequence 後果Title VII liabilityTitle VII 責任
Casebook Snapshot · a real American case
Harris v. Forklift Systems
Holding. Hostile-environment sexual harassment requires conduct severe or pervasive enough to create an environment that a reasonable person would find hostile or abusive AND that the victim subjectively perceived as hostile. Psychological harm need not be proved — abusive environment alone suffices.
Why it matters. Harris set the dual objective/subjective severity standard. Severe/pervasive is the gateway.
Harris：敵意環境須客觀+主觀嚴重或普遍。
Common Mistakes · what trips students
✗ one comment suffices。
✓ Must be severe OR pervasive — single comment generally not severe enough unless extreme.
通常須嚴重或普遍。
✗ only women can be harassed。
✓ Sexual harassment covers any sex; same-sex covered.
任何性別皆可。
Mini IRAC · build the Application
Issue. Has P stated a hostile-environment sexual harassment claim when her supervisor repeatedly made sexual comments about her appearance, displayed pornography, and grabbed her arm aggressively over 6 months?
Rule. Hostile-environment sexual harassment requires severe or pervasive sex-based conduct creating an abusive work environment, judged objectively (reasonable person) and subjectively (victim's perception).
Application (model). P endured repeated sexual comments, pornography display, and physical contact over 6 months from her supervisor. Because hostile environment requires severe or pervasive conduct creating an abusive environment, the fact that the conduct was repeated over 6 months and included verbal, visual, and physical sexual harassment by a supervisor — clearly meeting both severity (physical contact) and pervasiveness (repeated) — means P has stated a viable hostile environment claim.
Pick the right element for each blank:
g1.
g2.
Conclusion. Therefore, P has a viable Title VII hostile environment claim.
MBE Check · multiple choice
P's supervisor demanded sexual favors as a condition for promotion. P refused and was passed over. May P sue under Title VII?
Practice Drill · tap to build the rule
Drop the chips here in correct order:
Tap chips to add → tap chips in the target to remove: