Sexual harassment has transformed the workplace into a dangerous place. It has become a place where an innocent remark can threaten a very good career. It's not like the old days when a kiss was just a kiss, a wink was just a wink, or a joke was just a joke. These innocent actions will no longer be acceptable in the workplace, unless you want to risk ending up before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for violating Title Seven of the Civil Rights Act. 1964, which prohibited employment discrimination on the basis of race. gender, belief, religion or country of origin. Following the Clarance Thomas and Bob Packwood cases, cases of sexual harassment have increased enormously. In 1990, the EEOC processed 6,127 complaints; by 1993, the annual total had almost doubled to 11,908. Sexual harassment laws need to be clarified because people's lives are changing in negative ways. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get an original essayWhat is sexual harassment? There are actually two definitions: the common sense/behavioral definition or the guidelines set by the EEOC and the courts. The common sense or behavioral definition of sexual harassment is “deliberate and/or repeated sexual or gender-based behavior that is unwelcome, unrequested, and unrequited.” EEOC guidelines state that unwanted sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical actions of a sexual nature become illegal when related to a manager's or supervisor's decision regarding the hiring, termination, compensation, promotion, job assignment or any other aspect of the situation. employment, or when such behavior interferes with an employee's ability to perform his or her job or creates a hostile and offensive work environment (Sexual Harassment, Meyer, M, (1981)). In many cases, sexual harassment is clearly evident. Take for example the case against Hooters Restaurants. Women who worked there had to wear a tight-fitting T-shirt with “HOOTERS” written across the chest (Newsweek, 1993). Another case of sexual harassment is when the woman's boss said things like "Let's go to the Holiday Inn to negotiate your raise" or "You're just a stupid woman." This man also asked female employees to put their hands in his pants pockets to get change (New Republic, 1993). These cases are clear examples of what sexual harassment is. In other cases, however, sexual harassment is not really obvious or has not really been proven. However, decisions are made and heavy sanctions are imposed. There was a recent case in Rhode Island where a woman sued her former lawyer/lover for $225,000. She claimed he forced her to have sex with him. the problem in this particular case is that she had sex with this man approximately 200 times over an 18 month period. They had even discussed marriage (Mens Health, 1994). She had no grounds for harassment because she was dating this man and was even planning to marry him. She was just upset that he broke up with her. Another case that shows no grounds for accusations of harassment is that of the University of Nebraska graduate student, who was reprimanded by his department head after complaints from female colleagues who claimed he was creating an environment hostile work. He committed harassment because he had a 5x7 photo of his "wife" wearing a bikini in his..