10.2190/HRHT-AK1X-5E55-1M9Y HRHTAK1X5E551M9Y 309 SEXUAL HARASSMENT: DIFFERENT STANDARDS FOR DIFFERENT RACIAL AND ETHNIC GROUPS? 309 321 20021107 20021107 20021107 20021107 HRHTAK1X5E551M9Y.pdf http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=HRHTAK1X5E551M9Y 4 MICHAEL MARMO HERVÉ QUENEAU Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio To date, the courts have experienced considerable difficulty in determining what constitutes a sexually hostile work environment. Although the courts have not agreed on whether to use a reasonable-person or a reasonable-woman standard in deciding whether a sexually hostile work environment exists, our article raises a further complication: Should the courts also consider the ethnicity and race of the harassed person, because perceptions of sexual harassment also depend on these characteristics? Our article suggests that applying different standards based on the harassed person's race/ethnicity is neither legally effective nor socially desirable. We argue that the most legally appropriate and socially desirable standard by which to judge sexual harassment cases is a modified reasonable-person standard that takes into account the relevant individual and group characteristics of the person allegedly harassed. Duplessis vs. TDC, 835 F. Supp. 671, at D. Maine, 78, 364, 1993. A. Barak, Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Sexual Harassment, in Sexual Harassment: Theory, Research, and Treatment, W. O'Donohue (Ed.), Allyn & Bacon, Needham Heights, Massachusetts, pp. 301-311, 1997. University of Missouri, 78 Lab. Arb. (BNA), 417 (1982). State vs. Gallegos, 104 N.M. 247; 719 p.2d 1268; N.M. App., 1986. O. M. Espin, Psychotherapy with Hispanic Women, in Handbook of Cross-Cultural Counseling and Therapy, Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut, pp. 157-174, 1985. Radtke vs. Everett, 442 Mich. 368 Mich., 75, 664-665, 1993. K. McKinney, "Mitsubishi Settlement," Bloomington, Pantagraph, p. 1, June 12, 1998. H. N. Fullerton, Labor Force 2006: Slowing Down and Changing Composition, 120, Monthly Labor Review, pp. 23-38, 1997. Garcia vs. Andrews, 867 S.W. 2nd 409, Tex Ct. App., 75, 320, 1993. M. Munter, Cross-Cultural Communication for Managers, 36, Business Horizons, pp. 69-69, 1993. R. Adler and E. Pierce, The Legal, Ethical, and Social Implications of the "Reasonable Woman" Standard in Sexual Harassment Cases, 61, Fordham Law Review, pp. 773-827, 1993. Daemi vs. Church's Fried Chicken, 931 F.2d 1379, at 10th Cir., 1991. M. Jones-Correa and D. Leal, Becoming Hispanic: Panethnic Identification Among Latin American-Origin Populations in the United States, 18, Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, pp. 214-254, 1996. Ellison vs. Brady, 924 F.2d 872 at 9th Cir., 65, 626, 1991. D. C. Locke, Increasing Multicultural Understanding (2nd Edition), Sage, Newbury Park, California, 1998. B. Zsembik and D. Llanes, Generational Differences in Educational Attainment Among Mexican Americans, 77, Social Science Quarterly, pp. 363-374, 1996. L. L. Lee and N. Stone, Handbook of Asian-American Psychology, Sage, Thousand Oaks, California, 1998. R. Unikel, "Reasonable" Doubts: A Critique of the Reasonable Woman Standard in American Jurisprudence, 87, Northwestern University Law Review, pp. 326-375, 1992. Faragher vs. City of Boca Raton, 524 U.S. 775, 45, 341, 1998. U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, Sexual Harassment in the Federal Workplace: Trends, Progress, and Update, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1995. G. Marin and B. V. Marin, Research with Hispanic Population, Sage, Newbury Park, California, 1991. J. A. Blumenthal, The Reasonable Woman Standard: A Meta-Analytic Review of Gender Differences in Perceptions of Sexual Harassment Standard, 22, Law and Human Behavior, pp. 33-57, 1998. J. B. Pryor, E. R. DeSouza, J. Fitness, C. Hutz, M. Kimpf, K. Lubbert, O. Pesonen, and M. Erber, Gender Differences in the Interpretation of Social-Sexual Behavior: A Cross-Cultural Perspective on Sexual Harassment, 28, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, pp. 509-534, 1997. M. G. Gowan and R. A. Zimmerman, Impact of Ethnicity, Gender, and Previous Experience on Juror Judgements in Sexual Harassment Cases, 26, Journal of Applied Psychology, pp. 596-617, 1996. J. Morishima, Special Employment Issues for Asian Americans, 10, Public Personnel Management Journal, pp. 384-392, 1981. State of North Dakota v. Leidholm, 334 N.W. 2d 811 N.D., 811, 1983. M. Marmo and H. Queneau, Sex Harassment: Does Race Matter? 1, Journal of Employment Discrimination Law, pp. 124-134, 2000. M. E. DeForest, Spanish-Speaking Employees in American Industry, 27, Business Horizons, pp. 14-18, 1984. H. Gans, Second General Decline: Scenarios for the Economic and Ethnic Futures of Post-1965 American Immigrants, 15, Ethnic and Racial Studies, pp. 173-192, 1992.