Sex harassment still happening, workshop organizer says

By ELISE McKEOWN SKOLNICK

news@vindy.com

BOARDMAN

Sexual harassment has been unlawful since the Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed.

But Delphine Baldwin-Casey, a former Youngstown police officer, said it’s still happening in the workplace. So, in observance of Women’s History Month, she had a workshop to address the issue.

“In the past, I was a victim myself when I worked for the city,” Baldwin-Casey said.

Looking back and then at today, Baldwin-Casey said there still are a lot of unresolved issues with sexual harassment. Baldwin-Casey retired from the police force in 2009.

“A lot of people still don’t get what sexual harassment is,” she said. “It’s almost like times have not changed.”

For the workshop at the Holiday Inn on Friday, Baldwin-Casey brought together a group of experts to educate participants.

They presented topics related to sexual harassment including recognizing it, protecting the legal rights of employees and employers, that sexual harassment isn’t always about sex and an overview of the process after filing a complaint.

Workshops such as this are important, said James E. Roberts, an attorney and speaker at the event.

First, he noted, the law requires employers to have policies that prevent sexual and other types of harassment.

“But more importantly,” Roberts said. “To have a good workplace, you want to proactively make sure you prevent these kinds of harassment problems. And then, if they do occur, to correct them so that people have a comfortable workplace and can get their job done in an effective manner. Unfortunately, even though it’s been illegal, some people don’t know it unless you tell them.”

Marilyn Montes, human-resource director for Mahoning-Youngstown Community Action Partnership in Youngstown, attended to get a refresher course on the issue.

The workshop is excellent, she said.

“Although I’ve had the training through the years, it’s always good to refresh what’s going on in the workplace, [learn] what other techniques you could use,” Montes said.

About 30 people participated in the workshop. It qualified for continuing-education credits for social-service workers and continuing legal education credits for attorneys.

Other speakers were Michelle Crew and Marcel Baldwin, both of the Cleveland office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.