Workplace harassment policies are often just legal loopholes that help companies stop people from reporting.
Standard corporate policies use legal jargon and evidence-gathering requirements that are so burdensome they effectively silenced low-wage workers. Instead of providing safety, these 'compliant' policies frequently serve as an affirmative defense that helps employers escape liability in court.
The Protection Illusion: Sexual Harassment Policies And Low-Wage Workers
SSRN · 6434241
This Article reveals how workplace sexual harassment policies may appear legally compliant but actually create significant barriers to reporting. The non-reporting of harassment eviscerates the protections the policies are supposed to provide employees by creating a loophole for employers to escape liability. A critical review of these policies under procedural and testimonial injustice frameworks uncovers that they are (1) inaccessible due to the extensive use of legal jargon that make them dif