Employment attorney and chief human resources officer Charlotte Miller tells SHRM that "few people bring claims, and fewer win cases, because the law is narrow."
Instead, the focus should be on respect and culture. "When you talk about the law, you discuss the concept of pervasiveness (How many sexual jokes can you tell in a year before it is sexual harassment?) or unwelcomeness (Did the recipient laugh [or] joke?)," she notes. "The hairsplitting about those concepts may make for great litigation but [also] a horrible workplace."
Miller, instead, advocates an approach where proper behavior is modeled in real time. "Instead of the legal jargon, let's focus on an environment of respect where people understand acceptable interaction because they see it, not because they read and signed a policy," Miller says. "Model respect through language, actions and daily interactions. Don't joke about being 'politically correct' or keeping out of trouble with HR."