The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has two lawsuits – one against each of two employers - for failing to maintain harassment-free environments for young workers.

In one suit, the EEOC alleges that an Applebee's franchisee in Chelsea, Alabama, allowed a sexually hostile work environment to persist over time for at least six female employees, including teenagers. The harassment included sexual comments, unwanted advances, and offensive conduct by the male general manager, other male employees, and customers.

In the second lawsuit, the EEOC alleges a gymnastics training facility in Mississippi subjected female employees, including teenage coaches, to severe and pervasive sexual harassment. The president and majority owner of the facility allegedly made sexual advances, offered money for sex, and sent sexually charged messages to employees and students.

The EEOC has emphasized the vulnerability of young workers:

"Young workers are particularly vulnerable to harassment and other forms of workplace discrimination because they have less work experience, are less likely to know when someone crosses a boundary, and may be afraid to report an older or more powerful harasser," said EEOC General Counsel Karla Gilbride. "The EEOC will defend the rights of these young workers and hold accountable the employers who failed to protect them."  https://www.eeoc.gov/newsroom/eeoc-sues-two-employers-sexual-harassment-teens (Sept. 30, 2024).

Commentary

Sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome and inappropriate behaviors – like sexual remarks or physical advances - in a workplace or another professional or social situation. It can include behaviors such as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and verbal, physical or digital harassment of a sexual nature.

Sexual harassment is illegal when it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or results in an adverse employment decision, such as being fired or demoted. https://www.eeoc.gov/sexual-harassment

According to the EEOC:

"Discrimination happens to employees of all ages, but offenders sometimes single out teen workers because they think they won't know any better. Sometimes, too, people commit acts of discrimination because they don't know any better."  https://www.eeoc.gov/newsroom/eeoc-reaches-out-high-schoolers-combat-workplace-harassment-teens-0

Organizations that employ or accept minors as volunteers should make certain minors know what the definition of sexual harassment; that sexual harassment is prohibited; how to report sexual harassment; and that retaliation for reporting sexual harassment is not permitted.

These safety standards should be communicated to all minor workplace participants, but also communicated to parents/guardians as well.

Other steps employers should take to prevent sexual harassment include:

• Incorporate into your mission that workplace participants be treated equally, fairly, and respectfully, regardless of age or experience
• Establish policies, procedures, and standards that promote equality, require civility, and respect boundaries and adhere to policies, including policies that prohibit sexual harassment
• Enforce your organization's policies, procedures, and standards, including those that prohibit sexual harassment
• Encourage all workplace participants, including younger workers and teens, to report sexual harassment that they view, discover or reasonably suspect is occurring
• Avoid hiring or selecting applicants or workers with a history of sexual harassment
• When hiring require work and personal references and ask the references if the applicant has a history of sexual harassment, sexual harassment complaints, uncivil or disrespectful behavior, and/or ignoring boundaries. If the answer is yes, move onto another applicant
• Review the public social media pages of applicants to determine if they engage others in a civil and respectful manner and if they respect the boundaries of others, including peers and younger individuals
• Make certain all workplace participants, including younger workers and teens, go through an orientation program, which will include policies prohibiting discrimination and harassment
• Discipline any employee — regardless of title, status, or duties — who engages in, encourages, or promotes sexual harassment, is uncivil to workplace participants, and/or ignores boundaries of others and/or the organization
• Discipline any employee — regardless of title, status, or duties — who makes a knowingly false claim of sexual harassment
• Make certain all terminations are based on provable and documented objective factors, related to job performance, and not based on subjective, arbitrary, or illegal factors, including terminations for reporting, complaining, and/or providing testimony about sexual harassment
• Make certain that new leadership treats existing employees equally, fairly, and legally prior to hire or transfer and does not have a history of sexual harassment, sexual harassment complaints, uncivil or disrespectful behavior, and/or complaints regarding respecting boundaries of others
• Document all actions related to termination or discipline of workers, including workers accused of sexual harassment
• Require all workplace participants, including younger workers and teens, to take sexual harassment prevention training in a language they understand
• Require all workers to take diversity equality and inclusion and civility training in a language the trainee can understand
• Provide several safe and effective means for workplace participants to report sexual harassment
• Consider prohibiting sexual and/or intimate relationships between coworkers, including such relationships involving younger workers and teens
• Clearly communicate, through policies, procedures and postings, the means and process by which workplace participants can report sexual harassment
• Avoid situations in which teen employees work extended periods of time without adult supervision
• Eliminate situations where teens are working one-on-one with other teens or adults
• Make certain that parents and/or guardians are included in all important communications with minor employees, including communications regarding wrongdoing committed by, or against, them, such as harassment and/or assault
• If a minor employee is sexually assaulted, make certain to report the assault to law enforcement and to parents/guardians
• Allow for a means by which workplace participants can report sexual harassment anonymously without fear of retaliation
• Investigate all reports and reasonable suspicions of sexual harassment in a thorough, prompt, and objective manner
• Consider the use of third-party investigators for sexual harassment investigations that involve executive management, more than one complainant, charges of sexual assault or abuse or where there is a conflict of interest with investigators that are workplace participants
• Prohibit retaliation against workplace participants who report or complain about sexual harassment or who are involved in investigations regarding sexual harassment
• Provide a safe and effective means for workplace participants, who report or complain about sexual harassment or who are involved in investigations regarding sexual harassment  to report retaliation