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In a case that went to federal court in the early 1990s, a woman presented evidence that her supervisor tried to kiss her on multiple occasions, placed “I love you” signs on her desk, called her a dumb blonde, put his hands on her shoulders and asked her out on dates. The trial court judge dismissed her suit, declaring that this conduct did not meet the threshold for sexual harassment, and the appeals court affirmed the dismissal. Since then, courts have cited this case and others like it hundreds of times in rejecting sexual harassment claims. Such conduct, these courts have declared, is not...

After a well-known chef tried but failed to drag Rachel Waynberg, then a 27-year-old restaurant marketer, into the bathroom at a party, he still bragged to everyone around that he'd had sex with her. Last year, as Iman Oubou, the founder of Swaay, a new-media company for women entrepreneurs, wrapped up her first-ever investment meeting, the potential backer suggested they could "seal the deal" in his hotel room. When Amy Rose Spiegel, the editor-in-chief at Brooklyn-based Talkhouse Media, was 19 and interning at Death & Taxes seven years ago, co-founder Stephen Rockwell harassed her and...

Top brass at advertising giant Interpublic Group of Co s. told its 20,000 U.S. employees last week they had until year’s end to complete sexual-harassment training. The session quizzes employees on what to do when a co-worker discusses weekend sexual exploits at work or comes on to a colleague’s girlfriend after hours. IPG doesn’t have a harassment scandal. Chief Executive Michael Roth told his board he fast-tracked announcing the mandatory training, a board member says, in response to high-profile harassment allegations in Hollywood and media. “Women are crucial to our business and our...

One key obstacle to understanding the scope of sexual harassment and discrimination in Silicon Valley is the culture of employment agreements, non-disparagement clauses, and ironclad settlements that keep everything from product plans to allegations of abuse under wraps. But amid growing concern about sexual harassment in key American industries, iconic tech companies like Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and Uber are largely silent about legal agreements that might hamper their employees' ability to publicly discuss sexual harassment in the workplace, a position that reflects the...