Business groups are asking the California Supreme Court to change the state's sexual harassment law to protect employers who were unaware of a supervisor's harassment of an employee due to the victim?s failure to bring the incident to the attention of management through the company complaint procedure. The way the law stands now, any employer is automatically liable for monetary damages if a supervisor harasses an employee. Employers complain that the law fails to distinguish between employers who have strong policies against sexual harassment and those who do nothing about the problem. However, harassed employees are often reluctant to come forward because they fear retaliation.
See "Suits by Harassed Workers Face Curbs", Maura Dolan, Los Angeles Times, November 10, 2003