3 Reasons Your Company Shouldn’t “Side” with this Law
What am I referring to?
Well, according to a Yahoo! Finance article, Lihuan Wang, a former intern at Phoenix Satellite Television U.S., wasn’t permitted to file a sexual harassment claim under the New York Human Rights Laws, because as an unpaid intern, Wang was not considered an employee.
The story goes:
Wang was a graduate student at Syracuse University in 2009 when she interned in the New York bureau of Phoenix Satellite Television, the American subsidiary of Hong Kong-based media conglomerate Phoenix Media Group.
In a lawsuit, she said the station’s Washington D.C. bureau chief Zhengzhu Liu sexually harassed her after luring her to his hotel room on the pretext that he wanted to talk about her job performance and the possibility of hiring her full time.
When the two were alone, Wang alleged that Liu threw his arms around the then 22-year-old intern, tried to kiss her and “squeezed her buttocks with his left hand.” After she refused to let him go any further and left the hotel, she said Liu no longer expressed interest in permanently hiring her.
New York Judge Kevin Castel ruled that Wang can’t assert these claims, because as an unpaid intern, she didn’t have the status of an employee.
“It is uncontested that Wang received no remuneration for her services,” Castel wrote. “New York City’s Human Rights Law’s protection of employees does not extend to unpaid interns.”
The former intern has since moved back to China, and Liu—the alleged harasser—was fired after the company looked into the allegations, the story said.
Unfortunately, no matter how absurd, the law was on the alleged harasser’s (and ultimately the company’s) side. And although we’re all brought up to obey the “laws of the land,” I have a few good reasons why companies should choose to disagree with this one (or any like it).
Besides the fact that a law saying that only on-paper employees can receive legal protection in sexual harassment situations clearly sends the message that interns, fellows and all other “non-employee” people who still actually work for a company aren’t as valuable or important; there are three other reasons your company may want to reconsider “siding” with this law if ever faced with a similar situation.
They are:
1. This law will harm your brand.After hearing about what allegedly happened between workers at Phoenix Satellite Television U.S., don’t you think people will associate a negative image with the company? Who cares that the company fired the worker; the article stated nothing about the company reaching out to the intern or rectifying the situation (on her behalf). On the outside, it can look like this company “won” over a victim of sexual harassment because of a stupid law, and that image sure doesn’t help a company’s brand.
No company wants to be associated with sexual harassment, yet now, this company (and its brand) may be damaged because 1) the situation went public and 2) people are sure to disagree with how it was handled (or the lack thereof). Like the law, this can send the message to others that company X doesn’t value its interns, which is harmful to an employer brand.
2. Siding with this law can decrease your applicant pool. As a woman, I would be deterred from a company I know had a manager accused of sexual harassment. I would be even more turned off from applying to that business if, like in this situation, I knew the female intern wasn’t even able to seek justice against the company.
People apply to a company because they desire to work there and like its culture. What would it tell potential applicants about a company’s culture that seemingly does nothing (in regards to the intern herself) when the law says interns aren’t “real” workers and are, therefore, unprotected and not of value? Job seekers pay attention to the way ALL workers are treated, and if a company treats its interns as “less than,” they’ll look to a different business for their employment needs.
3. Overall, the negative effects can cause a loss of business/revenue.If doing nothing to aid the intern harms your brand and decreases your applicant pool, it will undoubtedly lead to a loss of business and revenue. Again, this type of law can send the wrong message to people; you don’t want customers and/or clients questioning your company’s morals and values.