Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Social Construction of Sexual Harassment Law - A Cross-National Proposal for Research

美国劳动力的生产力和福祉受到鼓励或实际上构成性骚扰的敌对工作环境的很大影响。与此同时，心怀不满的员工对没有性骚扰行为的公司提起诉讼，可能会威胁到公司的盈利能力、生产力和效率。用来判断什么是敌对工作环境的法律标准仍然存在争议。本研究将探讨国家与组织法律文化与组织内性骚扰法律建构的关系。它将建立在对横跨美国和奥地利的国内和跨国组织的三个详细案例研究的基础上。它将使比较社会法律研究考虑到国际法律环境的影响，这是以前关于各组织将法律纳入其工作的能力的研究所缺乏的。该项目将促进对个人如何在其组织背景下解释和使用性骚扰法的理解。

The productivity and well-being of the American workforce is much affected by hostile work environments that encourage or actually constitute sexual harassment. At the same time, suits from disgruntled employees who allege sexual harassment against firms that have not engaged in that illegal behavior can threaten profitability, productivity, and efficiency. The legal standards used to judge what constitutes a hostile work environment remain controversial. This study will examine the relationship between national and organizational legal cultures and the construction of sexual harassment law within organizations. It will be built upon three detailed case studies of domestic and multinational organizations spanning the United States and Austria. It will bring to comparative sociolegal studies a consideration of the impact of international legal environments that has been lacking in previous studies of the ability of organizations to integrate law into their work. The project will promote understanding of how individuals interpret and use sexual harassment law within t he contexts of their organizations.