Jessica Montgomery (assistant administrator of medical group practice) spends the weekend pondering how to deal with some events that happened at work. She works in a highly-regarded practice and the job is all she hoped it would be. She was disturbed by some of the interactions with one of the physicians, Dr. Curtis Sanford, well-respected and has been in the practice for 20 years. During Jessica’s first week, Dr Sanford made a number of sexually suggestive remarks to Jessica that she felt were unprofessional and demeaning. Because she did not want to stir up trouble, she chose to remain silent. During her 3rd week she had lunch with 2 female coworkers. They verified that Dr. Sanford tends to pick on new female employees. “When the next female is hired, Dr. Sanford will stop this behavior and transfer it to the new girl.” They noted that several highly-competent female employees had left after only 2 weeks on the job. Although Jessica understands this may be a form of sexual harassment, she feels she can live with the situation until it ends. But she feels legally and ethically obligated to put an end to this behavior. Going into her 4th week, Jessica is still not sure how to deal with the situation.
Please discuss how you would handle the situation. Males, discuss how you would handle if this was a same-sex situation. Also, I want you to consider this as if it were real. The doctor has been there 20 years- you’ve been there 4 weeks. If you move forward with harassment complaints, what could be the downside for you.