|  Sexual Harassment
In the 1990s, sexual harassment became a highly visibile part of American pop culture. In 1991, Anita Hill testified in a televised United States Senate hearing that Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas sexually harassed her when she worked for him in the early 1980s at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Thomas was confirmed, but by a very close vote of 52-48. Some of the Senators who voted for confirmation were defeated for re-election in 1992. In 1994, Paul Corbin Jones accused President William Jefferson Clinton of sexually harassing her when he was Governor of Arkansas and she was an Arkansas state employee. In 1998, Jones' lawsuit was dismissed, but a deposition President Clinton gave about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky, a former White House intern, triggered an investigation by Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr that resulted in Starr recommending to the United States Congress that President Clinton be impeached.
Sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual advances and requests for sexual favors. Other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitutes sexual harassment when submission or rejection of this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. The two types of harassment are quid pro quo and hostile environment. Quid pro quo, or "this for that," exists when an employee's supervisor or a person of higher employment rank demands sexual favors from a subordinate in exchange for tangible job benefits. Hostile environment, or environmental harassment, is a pattern of intimidating, hostile, or offensive behaviors which affect the person being harassed.
Federal laws on sexual harassment have existed since Congress passed Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments. Title VII prohibits sex discrimination in employment; sexual harassment is considered a form of sex discrimination. Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in education. The laws began to have effect when in 1980, and again in 1988, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued guidelines to define sexual harassment.
The courts have defined sexual harassment more precisely, and have been involved in resolving key issues. In 1986, in the Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson case, the Supreme Court ruled that quid pro quo sexual harassment was a form of sex discrimination under Title VII. In the Meritor case, the Supreme Court made a very important distinction. It affirmed that a victim may comply voluntarily with sexually harassing behavior, but may not welcome it. If it is unwelcome, it is sexual harassment. The Meritor case also set a precedent because it established employer liability for acts of sexual harassment committed by its employees. The Court ruled that quid pro quo and environmental harassment are two distinct claims, but that they can and often do occur at the same time. It is necessary, however, to distinguish between them when employer liability is being determined; the employer is always liable in quid pro quo harassment, but may not always be liable in hostile environment cases.
In education, the United States Supreme Court significantly expanded protection for student victims in Christine Franklin, Petitioner v. Gwinnett County Public Schools and William Prescott, on February 26, 1992. For the first time, students had the right to win monetary damages from schools that receive federal funds. This decision provided strong motivation for schools to engage in a proactive strategy to prevent sexual harassment.
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