Harassment | The Worker Protection Act: One strike and you're out

We’re all familiar with the phrase “three strikes and you’re out”. Most know its sporting origins in baseball. Some may associate it with Bill Clinton’s 1994 legislation mandating life imprisonment for those committing three serious, violent, offences. It’s colloquially used in employment – often around lateness and attendance.

With the Worker Protection Act now 12 months’ old, we need to be clear about one thing. You don’t clock up three strikes with sexual harassment. One is all it takes. However, harassment often generates (at least) three unpleasant business outcomes.