* An employer has a responsibility to correct clearly unwelcome harassment regardless of whether or not a complaint is filed. For example, if there is graffiti in the workplace containing racial or sexual epithets, management should not wait for a complaint before erasing it.

* An employer should ensure that its supervisors and managers understand their responsibilities under the organization's anti-harassment policy and complaint procedures.

* An employer should designate more than one individual to take complaints and should ensure that these individuals are in accessible locations. The employer should instruct all of its supervisors to report complaints of harassment to appropriate officials. A third party employee of equal merit to that of a supervisor, though one outside of the chain-of-command should be put in charge of receiving complaints to ensure employees feel their complaints are received fairly.

* Since a supervisor may be the one committing the harassment, or may not be impartial, it is not recommended that a supervisor be the designated person for complaints.

* When a complaint is filed, an employer should conduct a prompt, thorough, and impartial investigation as soon as possible. The alleged harasser should not have any direct or indirect control over the investigation.

* The investigator should interview the employee who complained of the harassment, the alleged harasser, and others who could reasonably be expected to have relevant information.

* Harassment must be stopped by an employer in order to further develop an environment of safety.

* An employer should screen applicants for supervisory jobs to see if they have a history of engaging in harassment. To prevent the harassment from reoccurring, an employer should monitor interactions of this individual with other coworkers.

* Keeping files on both an individual who receives a complaint or who files a complaint is important to record patterns on any individuals.

* Employees must take reasonable steps to avoid harm from the harassment. If this occurs, an employee should act by following the harassment procedure to report the complaint.

An employer is not legally responsible for its supervisors' harassment if an employee does not file a complaint, unless the harassment resulted in a tangible employment action or unless it was reasonable for the employee not to complain to management.

An employee's failure to complain would be reasonable, for example, if the individual had a legitimate fear of retaliation. The employer must prove that the employee acted unreasonably.

An employee should speak with an experienced harassment attorney if the harassment is not dealt with appropriately as well as within a quick timeline. The deadline for filing an EEOC charge is either 180 or 300 days after the last date of alleged harassment, depending on the state in which the allegation arises. This deadline may not be extended because of an employer's internal investigation of the complaint.

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