Slapping Anyone on the Behind in Any Workplace is Illegal in Business and at Work

The respective responses from the reporter who got slapped on her behind while broadcasting live on t.v. and her employer is an ensemble best practice in harassment response safety and accountability.

From the Washington Post via the Albany Times Union this past weekend:

Man who hit reporter’s backside on live TV is arrested on sexual battery charge

The Georgia man (later identified as Thomas Callaway of Statesboro, Georgia) who was captured on video swatting at the backside of a female reporter while she spoke on live TV has been arrested on a misdemeanor charge of sexual battery, according to police records.

A week ago, Alex Bozarjian, a reporter for NBC affiliate WSAV-TV, was standing along the route for the Savannah Bridge Run and reporting on the race’s atmosphere when a man smacked her behind as he ran by. Bozarjian was visibly shaken and fell silent for a few moments, video of the incident shows.

“It’s not OK to help yourself to a woman’s body just because you feel like it,” Bozarjian said during an interview with “CBS This Morning.” “It’s not playful.”

Callaway’s lawyer told “CBS This Morning” that Callaway was a “loving husband and father” who “did not act with any criminal intentions.”

Bozarjian told CBS that the most important thing to her was not Callaway’s intentions, but the message his actions sent.  (Emphasis mine.)

Bozarjian filed a report with the Savannah Police Department. On Friday afternoon, authorities arrested Callaway, according to jail records.

From Bozarjian’s employer: “This conduct displayed toward Alex Bozarjian during her live coverage of Saturday’s Savannah Bridge Run was reprehensible and completely unacceptable,” the statement said. “No one should ever be disrespected in this matter. The safety and protection of our employees is WSAV-TV’s highest priority. WSAV continues to support Alex completely as this case moves forward.”

Key learnings for employers and their employees:

• As I constantly underscore in harassment prevention training for employers and employees, we can all be recorded everywhere. Consider your actions as if you’re being recorded, because in all likelihood, with the assistance of current technology, you are being recorded.
• There was no need for an investigation, because Callaway’s assault was broadcast on live t.v. for everyone to see.
  • Don’t want your reputation and your career ruined by negative publicity? Don’t engage in harassing behavior at all for any reason or intention.
• Workplaces are everywhere – we’re in each other’s workplace all the time. Laws and regulations still apply, even if it’s the harasser’s day off.
• Don’t touch employees in their workplace. Definitely don’t slap them on the behind.
• Slapping an employee on the behind in their workplace is also criminal behavior known as sexual battery.
• Employees who are physically assaulted at work absolutely have the right to report the assault to the police. Only the employee can file a police report, not the employer (unfortunately).
• Bozarjian’s employer’s public statement and support of her pursuing the criminal complaint against Calloway was and is spot on.
• Bozarjian was spot on in her response to Callaway’s lawyer: no matter what Callaway’s intention, his impact on Bozarjian are the only facts (under law and regulation) to consider in the clear accountability for his behavior. 
  • If he hadn’t been captured on live t.v., would Callaway have even admitted to his harassing and criminal behavior – or apologized (albeit poorly, deferring accountability for his action) at all?

How do you ensure the safety of your employees and your company by preventing anyone from slapping anyone else on the behind (or anywhere else) in business and at work?