Workplace harassment policies are often just legal loopholes that help companies stop people from reporting.
March 19, 2026
Original Paper
The Protection Illusion: Sexual Harassment Policies And Low-Wage Workers
SSRN · 6434241
The Takeaway
Standard corporate policies use legal jargon and evidence-gathering requirements that are so burdensome they effectively silenced low-wage workers. Instead of providing safety, these 'compliant' policies frequently serve as an affirmative defense that helps employers escape liability in court.
From the abstract
This Article reveals how workplace sexual harassment policies may appear legally compliant but actually create significant barriers to reporting. The non-reporting of harassment eviscerates the protections the policies are supposed to provide employees by creating a loophole for employers to escape liability. A critical review of these policies under procedural and testimonial injustice frameworks uncovers that they are (1) inaccessible due to the extensive use of legal jargon that make them dif