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EEOC Definition of Sexual Harassment

Purpose: Use this job aid as a reference guide to the definition of sexual harassment and to the concepts that help define the associated behaviors, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. According to the EEOC, "Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitutes sexual harassment when submission to 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."

Related definitions and concepts

• unwelcome behavior : Verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, or visual display of sexual materials, any of which are unsolicited and unwanted by the receiver and not encouraged.
• severe behavior : The degree that a single incident of a sexual nature is offensive. This concept helps establish the degree to which behavior is unwelcome and offensive.
• pervasive behavior : Offensive sexual comments, gestures, or actions occurring repeatedly over a period of time. This concept also helps establish the degree to which behavior is unwelcome and offensive.
• reasonable person : A hypothetical standard of behavior against which someone's reaction to conduct can be measured or compared. This concept can be used to help determine how offensive or intimidating specific behavior might be to a hypothetical reasonable person. Harassing conduct can be evaluated from the objective standpoint of a reasonable person rather than the personal standards of the individual allegedly harassed.