[0] 21 Percent of Women Surveyed in the Latest National Poll Report Having Been Sexually Harassed At Work.

Business Editors

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 5, 2002

Valentine's Day, a holiday marked by boxes of chocolates and bouquets of roses, has also become a time to reflect on sexual harassment in the American workplace.

This year's national "America At Work" survey by the Employment Law Alliance (ELA), the world's largest network of employment and labor lawyers, reveals that 21 percent of women and 7 percent of men polled say they've been sexually harassed at work.

ELA member Mary Petersen, a partner at Miller Nash LLP in Seattle, says that given the amount of litigation and the volume of claims filed with federal and state government agencies, many observers would expect the percentage to be higher.

"The poll results confirm that sexual harassment is still very much a fact of life in the American workplace," says Petersen.

Other key findings in the ELA survey include the following:

-- 20 percent of those surveyed said they knew of a romantic relationship
between a supervisor and a subordinate at work.

-- 66 percent said romantic relationships at work cause favoritism and poor
morale.

-- 54 percent said employees were likely to face retaliation if they rejected
romantic relationships with their supervisors.

-- 66 percent believe that romantic relationships at work are personal and
private and should not be regulated by employers.

Overall, the findings underscore the need for ongoing workplace education of managers and employees. "Today's workplace is more susceptible than ever to sexual harassment, largely because of the World Wide Web and typically unrestricted, often sexually suggestive e-mail communications," says Petersen. "Office e-mail can easily be transformed into a tool for sexual harassment. Employers have to make sure that doesn't happen."

The Employment Law Alliance is an integrated, global practice network comprised of more than 2,000 employment and labor lawyers in more than 75 premier independent law firms distinguished for their practice in employment and labor law. There are member firms in every jurisdiction in the United States and Canada, and in more than 50 countries around the world.

For more information about the ELA and the "America At Work" survey series, including production-quality charts of the findings, visit: www.employmentlawalliance.com.