Understanding What Is and Isn't Sexual Harassment: QuickTake Q&A

It seems like hardly a day goes by without a disclosure of sexual harassment claims against a man in a powerful position, from Harvey Weinstein to Louis C.K., Matt Lauer and Garrison Keillor. Some commentators are asking where it will all end, with TV personality Geraldo Rivera tweeting that the "epidemic" of accusations could be "criminalizing courtship." Many companies have policies forbidding sexual behavior that go beyond legal proscriptions. Still, it’s worth sorting out where the legal lines lie -- to distinguish the acceptable from the unacceptable, and the legally actionable from the isolated incident.

Unlike criminal acts of sexual abuse or sexual assault, harassment in the U.S. is a matter of civil law, tied to the workplace. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which is responsible for enforcing federal laws against job discrimination, defines it as "unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors or other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature" in a work environment. The harasser needn’t be in a superior role to the victim and can be a non-employee, such as a client or customer. Courts have ruled that the harasser and victim can be the same sex.