How Are Women Lobbyists Handling Harassment?
Associate Evan Gibbs is quoted in a story published by the Public Affairs Council titled, “How Are Women Lobbyists Handling Harassment?” The article highlights the challenges female lobbyists face pertaining to sexual harassment. Gibbs is quoted, saying, “As others have pointed out, the difficulty for lobbyists is that the harasser is not an employee of the same company, where company policies and procedures can be followed and you can complain to the company’s human resources department. It is comparable to the Weinstein situation in that the women he harassed were not employees of his company but other people in the film industry who looked to him to help them with their careers. They needed the relationship to succeed.” Gibbs also discusses available legal avenues, saying, “Not many people know this, but Title VII, which is the federal law covering sexual harassment and gender discrimination, prohibits employers from allowing their employees to be harassed by a third party. Ultimately, [the employer] is responsible whether the person committing the harassment is an employee or not. If you work for a restaurant, the owner of the restaurant is required by law to protect their wait staff from harassment by a customer. The same holds true for lobbyists and elected officials.”