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E-news Issue 193

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EOC takes sexual harassment case to court

The EOC issued legal proceedings on 3 September 2018 under the Sex Discrimination Ordinance (SDO) in the District Court on behalf of a woman (the “Claimant”) against her former supervisor (the “1st Respondent”) for sexually harassing her on a number of occasions, and her former employer (the “2nd Respondent”) for being vicariously liable for the unlawful sexual harassment acts committed by the 1st Respondent.

The SDO defines sexual harassment as any unwelcome sexual advances, unwelcome requests for sexual favours, or any other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature, where a reasonable person, having considered all the circumstances, would have anticipated that the victim would be offended, humiliated or intimidated. In this particular case, the 1st Respondent asked for the Claimant’s view about sharing a room with him during a business trip. He also engaged in other conducts of sexual nature, which the Claimant found offensive and intimidating.

Sexual harassment in the workplace is common and should not be tolerated. From 2015 to 2017, the EOC received 232 complaints about sexual harassment, representing 44% of the complaints lodged under the SDO. By taking the case to court, the EOC wishes for the public to acknowledge the gravity of sexual harassment at work, and for employers to fully grasp the concept of vicarious liaiblity – according to the SDO, employers may be vicariously liable for any discriminatory and sexual harassment acts done by their employees in the course of their employment, unless they can show that they have taken reasonably practicable steps to prevent those acts.

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