Beyond Jones v. Clinton: Sexual harassment law and social work

Abstract

In the wake of the Jones v. Clinton case, there has been a renewed interest in sexual harassment issues, particularly the chaotic case law in this important field of practice. The author urges the social work profession to resurrect its commitment to achieving social justice by participating in the current efforts to unravel the complexities of sexual harassment law. Toward this end, the article presents an analysis of the concept of sexual harassment by providing an overview of the legal issues and case law to highlight the statutory questions that have left the judicial system confounded by the difficulties of practical application of the law. Furthermore, the article deals with the relevance of this topic for the professional mission and suggests the utility of some conceptual frameworks and key concepts that might help social workers to address the clinical, administrative, and advocacy concerns in this substantive area. © 2000 National Association of Social Workers, Inc.