Taking a Few Steps Backward

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            When it comes to sexual harassment and assault, taking a few steps backward in regards to protections is never a good thing. April was sexual assault awareness month (SAAM), where we highlight the problem of sexual assault a little more heavily than usual. Much advancement has been made over the years in combatting sexual assault; however, the fight is far from over.
On March 27th, just a few days before he would make a declaration that April would be SAAM, President Donald Trump signed an executive order overturning the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Act, signed by President Barak Obama in 2014. Among other protections, this act would require companies who have federal contracts to be open about what they’re paying their employees and not allow them to keep sexual harassment, sexual assault, or discrimination allegations or cases in private. This is called an arbitration clause, which companies put in employees’ contracts “to keep sex discrimination claims out of courts and off public record” (O’Hara, 2017, pg. 1). Under the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Act, forced arbitrations clauses could no longer be used (O’Hara, 2017).
With the rollback, this protection is no longer in effect. This will no doubt keep women from coming forward when they are assaulted, harassed, or discriminated against in the workplace. Without knowing other women’s stories they may feel they are the only one experiencing this abuse and may be more likely to not say anything. When the cases are held from the public, companies can easily continue with bad practices toward women without any retribution or accountability. In addition, incoming or prospective employees will not be aware of previous claims, which could deter them from working with the company in an effort to protect themselves.
Last year, charges of sexual harassment came out against Roger Ailes, the former CEO of Fox News. The victim was able to sue Ailes directly and it came out in public. Because it became public knowledge, other women started coming forward with their experiences of sexual harassment by Ailes and eventually he was let go from Fox News. If the original victim’s case had not come out to the public, the other women probably would not have come forward and Ailes would have remained at Fox News and continued to harass women (O’Hara, 2017). Now that companies are again able to use forced arbitration clauses, women will continue to suffer assault, harassment, and discrimination with little hope of it changing or getting protection.
Another recent situation, regarding another Fox News employee, Bill O’Reilly
As an advocate for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence, this step backward breaks my heart. Women should be safe in their workplace, and if they are not, they should have protections in place to help them come forward, not discourage them. Many survivors of sexual assault and harassment do not report the abuse they experience for many reasons – they may fear to lose their job and really need the paycheck, they may fear further or worse abuse, they may feel nothing will be done, etc. We need to strengthen protections for women in the workplace not scale them back. This really is a significant loss in the world of advocating for women’s rights and safety and against sexual assault and harassment.
References

O’Hara, M. E. (2017, April 3). Trump pulls back Obama-era protections for women workers. Retrieved from http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-pulls-back-obama-era-protections-women-workers-n741041.

Written by Missy H., Union County Legal Advocate

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