Facts:
1. There were roughly the same number of complaints made to the (federal) Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2015 and 1994 cite
2. Federally, punitive damages are capped relative to the size of the company. (Filings under state law may not have this limit.) cite
3. People who file through the (federal) EOC are very unlikely to actually go to court - "27% of employees who file a sexual harassment charge with the EEOC and continue to pursue redress, receive any benefit”. Of these (federal) cases, "the average award is $24,700, the median award is $10,000". Importantly, “less than 1% of awards are over $100,000” cite
That third link is particularly interesting because federal surveys indicate that 5% of women and 2% of men report sexual harassment at work, but the vast majority of people do not report. Why not? Because "Past research is clear that harassment, firing and retaliation are frequent employer responses to complaints of discrimination. Our analysis shows that sexual harassment is no exception to this pattern. Sixty-eight percent of sexual harassment allegations include a charge of employer retaliation in the face of a discrimination complaint. Almost two-thirds of those filing sexual harassment charges (64%) report losing their jobs as a result of their complaint. High instances of job loss and retaliation are present across race and sex categories (Table 3).”
Here’s table 3:
[CODE]http://www.umass.edu/employmentequity/sites/default/files/Table%203.%20Employer%20Response%20to%20Sexual%20Harassment_0.png[/CODE]
These facts have one clear interpretation: reporting sexual harassment doesn’t occur at higher rates due to the normalization of feminism between 1994 and 2015, and claims of sexual harassment (including “””fraudulent””” claims) carries a major risk to the employee. Devious women looking to extract a “large” judgment from their employers risk their current income stream because it is more likely than not that they will experience retaliation. Moreover, judgments are limited by federal statute. Getting a punitive award of $300,000 by suing your employer sounds great until you realize that the complainant will find it very difficult to find a new job. 300K is not “never have to work again” money, but it might be “never able to work in this field again” money.
Given the difficult path faced by reporters of sexual harassment and the unpredictable payout, DDM’s claim that false reports are endemic clearly strains credulity. Compare this flimsy justification for ostracizing women with the simpler explanation of sexism, and you won’t have to waste any additional time listening to the complaints of mens’ rights activists.
also: @cdtm:
I'd argue being regulated by "one of your own" does lead to being badly managed.
You're right - I should have said that DDM's version of the legal system is both ineffective at detecting the truth AND immune to manipulation by rich insiders. Being cynical about the law in that particular combination is a new kind of conspiracy theory for me. But lawyers can have poor oversight b/c of their relationship with judges while still competently trying cases RE: sexual harassment.