Justice Management Division...Serving Justice - Securing Results
December 14, 1998 Office of the Attorney General Washington, DC 20530
MEMORANDUM FOR DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE EMPLOYEES
FROM: THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
SUBJECT: Prevention of Harassment in the Workplace
The Supreme Court recently issued three important decisions on sexual harassment in the workplace. I want to take
this opportunity to reiterate to all employees that it has been and continues to be the policy of the Department of
Justice to maintain a work environment that is free from harassment based on race, color, gender, religion, national
origin, age, disability and sexual orientation. It is also the policy of this Department to ensure that no employee is
subjected to retaliation because he or she has alleged unlawful harassment. Immediate and appropriate corrective action
will be taken to address any form of harassment.
Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment based on gender by
managers, supervisors, or coworkers violate the law when:
- An individual is told (or it is implied) that he or she must submit to the unwelcome conduct as a condition of
the job;
- An employment decision affecting the individual is made because the individual submitted to or rejected the
unwelcome conduct; or
- The unwelcome conduct unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance or creates an intimidating,
hostile or abusive working environment.
In addition, unwelcome verbal or physical conduct based on an employee's race, color, religion, national origin, age,
or disability is unlawful, if the conduct unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance or creates an
intimidating, hostile or abusive working environment. Furthermore, the Federal Government will not tolerate any
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
I want everyone to be aware of the Supreme Court's recent decisions. In Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc.,
the Court held that harassment on the basis of sex, where both the harasser and the victim are the same sex, is prohibited
by Title VII. In Faragher v. City of Boca Raton and Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Ellerth, the Supreme Court held that
when a manager or supervisor sexually harasses an employee and the harasser results in a "tangible employment decision"
"such as discharge, demotion or undesirable reassignment), the employer has violated federal law. Other types of illegal
sexual harassment by supervisors and managers are treated as hostile environment harassment. In cases of hostile environment
harassment, the employer will not be held responsible for harassment by its managers or supervisors if it: (1) exercised
reasonable care to prevent and correct promptly any sexually harassing behavior; and (2) the victims of harassment
unreasonably failed to take advantage of any preventive or corrective opportunities provided by the employer.
I am committed to taking a proactive approach in addressing the critical problem of sexual harassment. We must continue
to take all necessary steps to ensure that no employee of the Department is subjected to harassment, whether based on sex
or another prohibited factor. We must continue to educate our employees to ensure that everyone has a clear understanding
of this issue. Any employee who believes that he or she has been subjected to harassment should report such behavior
immediately to a supervisor, any higher level manager, the personnel officer in their office, or to individuals who may
have been identified specially by their office to receive sexual harassment reports. Employees can also seek assistance
through appropriate provisions of their collective bargaining agreement. I assure you that the matter will be dealt with
promptly and impartially and that employees will not suffer any form of reprisal or retaliation. Please remember that
employees who want to file a formal complaint of harassment and preserve their legal rights must contact their Office of
Equal Employment Opportunity within 45 days of occurrence of the conduct believed to be unlawful harassment.
I will hold managers and supervisors responsible for enforcing this policy. I expect each manager and supervisor in the
Department to set the example in his or her organization by ensuring that the workplace is free of such behavior. Every
manager and supervisor must:
- watch for the potential for harassment in his or her work environment;
- take all necessary steps to prevent harassment from occurring; and,
- if it does occur, ensure that the harassment is eliminated in a manner that is prompt and effective but minimizes the
effect on the victims to the extent possible.
Appropriate corrective action will be swiftly taken against any manager, supervisor or employee who engages in
harassment. Likewise, action will be taken against supervisors and managers who either condone or fail to act promptly
to correct harassing conduct brought to their attention.
I ask each one of you to continue to work with me in this important effort to ensure that the Department is a model
among public and private employers.
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