Each supervisor is responsible for maintaining the workplace free of sexual harassment. This is accomplished by promoting a professional environment and by dealing with sexual harassment as with all other forms of employee misconduct. It must be remembered that supervisors are the first line of defense against sexual harassment. By setting the right example, a supervisor may discourage his or her employees from acting inappropriately. In addition, supervisors will often be the first to spot objectionable conduct or the first to receive a complaint about conduct which he or she did not observe.
Specifically, a supervisor must address an observed incident of sexual harassment or a complaint, with equal seriousness, report it, take prompt action to investigate it, implement appropriate disciplinary action, take all necessary steps to eliminate the harassment and observe strict confidentiality. This also applies to cases where an employee tells the supervisor about behavior considered sexual harassment but does not want to make a formal complaint. Also, supervisors must ensure that no retaliation will result against an employee making a sexual harassment complaint.