How much harassment does there have to be before the conduct is considered unlawful?
A. Unlawful sexual harassment can occur with a single incident, such as quid pro quo harassment where the employee is terminated for refusing to provide sexual favors. For unlawful hostile environment harassment, the conduct must be “severe or pervasive.” For example, a one time “severe” incident, such as a rape, would constitute unlawful sexual harassment. Alternatively, for less severe conduct, such as sexist comments or “jokes”, there must be much more than one incident to constitute sexual harassment.
